{"nrhp_refnum":"12000009","name":"Allentown Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Portions of Delaware, Elmwood, S. Elmwood, Linwood, Normal, Plymouth, Porter, & Richmond Aves., Franklin, & Hudson Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buffalo","county":"Erie County","state":"NY","lat":42.899444,"lon":-78.879722,"geom_source":"wikidata"},"listed_date":"2012-02-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Landscape Architecture","Exploration/Settlement","Commerce","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large historic neighborhood district in central Buffalo, Erie County, New York, about a mile north of downtown. It expands the 1980 Allentown listing to cover streets, residential squares and commercial corridors from the early 19th century to the early 1960s.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the neighborhood keeps a largely intact mid-19th to early 20th century fabric of houses, churches, clubhouses and commercial blocks, with a wide range of styles. It includes residential squares designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and a period of significance from 1829 into the 1960s, when the Allentown Association formed and midcentury buildings were added.","narrative":"Allentown is a neighborhood of central Buffalo, roughly a mile north of downtown, that grew from the early villages of Buffalo and Black Rock. This boundary expansion replaces the 1980 listing with one record covering the neighborhood's historic borders and its community identity. Most buildings are detached single-family homes from the mid-19th to early 20th century, many of them frame, alongside clubhouses, churches, apartment buildings and commercial blocks along Allen Street, Delaware Avenue and Main Street. Five residential squares survive, two of them, Symphony Circle and Day's Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Notable buildings include a Greek Revival block from 1829, thought to be the oldest in the district, and the Coit house, reputed to be the oldest dwelling in Buffalo. Irving Place includes the childhood home of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The updated period of significance runs from 1829 into the 1960s, when the Allentown Association formed and midcentury buildings were constructed. The district count lists 316 contributing and 21 noncontributing buildings in the added area.","period_of_significance":"1829 into the 1960s","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Mid-19th century Greek and Gothic Revival; Late Victorian (Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Stick/Eastlake, Romanesque); Late 19th and early 20th century Revivals; Modern Movement (Moderne, Art Deco, Miesian)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Most mid-19th and early 20th century buildings remain intact; some streets have lost buildings to surface parking lots and vacant lots.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:47.89703-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/12000009.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000009/f36c3fe3af-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000009/f36c3fe3af-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Andre Carrotflower","credit_html":"Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allendale_Theatre,_Buffalo,_New_York_-_Bastille_Day_2019.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317534","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allentown_Historic_District_(Buffalo,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4732064"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/erie-county/allentown-historic-district-boundary-increase-12000009/"}