{"nrhp_refnum":"69000374","name":"Jefferson Playhouse","other_names":["Sinai Hebrew Synagogue","St Mary's Catholic School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NW corner of Market and Henderson Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Jefferson","county":"Marion County","state":"TX","lat":32.757217825000055,"lon":-94.34770058299995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-10-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-part building at the northwest corner of Market and Henderson Streets in Jefferson, Marion County, Texas, combining the former St. Mary's Catholic School (c. 1860) and the Senai (Sinai) Hebrew Synagogue (c. 1876).","why_significant":"The building represents the Jewish and Catholic communities that were strongly represented in Jefferson when it was a major center of river passenger and commercial traffic. It is also noted for its Greek Revival architecture and a synagogue that falls between late Greek Revival and Victorian styles. It was designated a Texas historic landmark in 1965.","narrative":"Two linked buildings on a corner in Jefferson, Texas, form what is now used as a playhouse. The older part, St. Mary's Catholic School, dates to about 1860 and is a two-story Greek Revival structure with a central hall plan and a tetra-style portico with square two-story columns. Attached to it is the Senai Hebrew Synagogue, built around 1876, a tall gabled building that blends late Greek Revival and Victorian features. Its interior includes a balcony on columns and finely crafted altar woodwork. Both are clad in clapboard. When Jefferson was a hub of river traffic, Jewish and Catholic residents, many from the New Orleans area, were well represented in town. After the port population declined, the two buildings were sold and for a time used as a residence. A local garden club now owns and maintains them as a playhouse that often stages scenes from Jefferson's past. The Texas State Historical Survey Committee designated the property a landmark in 1965.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival (school); transitional late Greek Revival/Victorian (synagogue)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair and altered; owned by a garden club and maintained as a playhouse whose programs often depict scenes from Jefferson's history.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.500048-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/9729/40972912/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/69000374.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000949","name":"Jefferson Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/jefferson-historic-district-71000949/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972912","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107321558"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/marion-county/jefferson-playhouse-69000374/"}