{"nrhp_refnum":"06000290","name":"Lenoir Grammar School","other_names":["East Harper School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"506 Harper St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lenoir","county":"Caldwell County","state":"NC","lat":35.91645498500003,"lon":-81.53558810699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-04-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick consolidated elementary school built in 1927 at 506 Harper Street near downtown Lenoir, Caldwell County, North Carolina, designed by Charlotte architect Louis H. Asbury, with 1951-52 and 1958 additions.","why_significant":"The school was the first public elementary school in Lenoir and is considered locally significant under Criterion A in the area of Education. It was funded by a 1926 bond issue as part of Lenoir's school consolidation and expansion. Additions in the 1950s reflect population growth driven by the county's furniture and related industries.","narrative":"Lenoir Grammar School is a two-story brick school at 506 Harper Street in Lenoir, North Carolina, completed in 1927 to designs by Charlotte architect Louis H. Asbury. Robert M. Perry held the general contract, with a bid of $39,940. Funded by a 1926 bond, it was the first public elementary school in Lenoir, serving grades one through six, and opened with twelve classrooms and an auditorium for 396 students. Enrollment reached 454 by 1938, the largest in the city. A one-story addition with classrooms, a cafeteria and offices was built in 1951-52, and a library was added in 1958, giving the building an L shape. The school closed after a fire in 1987 and was later used for daycare before classrooms became apartments. Original corridors, stairwells and the auditorium survive, and the building was being rehabilitated for affordable housing. Its significance lies in local education history from 1927 to 1956.","period_of_significance":"Ca. 1927-1956","architect_builder":"Asbury, Louis, architect; Robert M. Perry, general contractor (named in the narrative)","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"The school closed after a 1987 fire, was later used as a daycare, and had classrooms converted to apartments in the 1990s. At the time of the form the building was under renovation for affordable housing.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:52.729157-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/95/7193/47719395/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/06000290.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000290/3ef6424cfd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000290/3ef6424cfd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bigdaverhuberg","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LenoirElementary.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bigdaverhuberg</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LenoirElementary.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719395","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenoir_Grammar_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18153527"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/caldwell-county/lenoir-grammar-school-06000290/"}