{"nrhp_refnum":"06001055","name":"Academy Hall","other_names":["Austin Hall","Literary Hall","Commercial Hall","Music Hall"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"On the campus of Edinboro University, Jct. of Highland and Normal Sts","address_restricted":false,"city":"Edinboro","county":"Erie County","state":"PA","lat":41.87392955900003,"lon":-80.12771522499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-11-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Academy Hall is a two-story Italianate frame building on the northwestern edge of the Edinboro University campus in Edinboro, Erie County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1857 by Nathaniel C. Austin and moved about 200 yards in 1880 to its present site.","why_significant":"The building is associated with the founding of the institution that became Edinboro University and is described as the oldest surviving State Normal School building in Pennsylvania. It is also significant as a locally prominent Italianate building by Nathaniel C. Austin that retains most of its original exterior and interior character.","narrative":"Academy Hall is a two-story Italianate frame building on the northwestern edge of the Edinboro University campus in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Nathaniel C. Austin, a regionally prominent master carpenter, built it in 1857 from a carpenters' planning book, at a cost of $3,200. Its cross-shaped plan, low-pitched roofs, wide overhanging eaves, paired brackets, tall narrow windows and cupola are typical of the style. Built as an academy, it became part of the Northwestern State Normal School in 1861, the second such school chartered in Pennsylvania, and it housed the model school for teacher training. In 1880 the building was moved about 200 yards to its present site to make room for a new building. Its interior still includes original trim, wainscoting, doors and a model classroom. It has been vacant since 1996.","period_of_significance":"1857-1955","architect_builder":"Austin, Nathaniel C. (builder)","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The building has been vacant since 1996, and a rehabilitation was planned.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.578449-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/06001055.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06001055/3e458fd30f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06001055/3e458fd30f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Niagara","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Academy_Hall,_Edinboro_University.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Niagara</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Academy_Hall,_Edinboro_University.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995417","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Hall_(Pennsylvania_Western_University_%E2%80%93_Edinboro)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4671360"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/erie-county/academy-hall-06001055/"}