{"nrhp_refnum":"71000295","name":"Pittsfield East School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"400 E. Jefferson St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsfield","county":"Pike County","state":"IL","lat":39.61003946100004,"lon":-90.80096798499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-02-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Pittsfield East School is a red brick public school building at 400 E. Jefferson in Pittsfield, Pike County, Illinois, built 1862-1866 and designed by John M. Van Osdel.","why_significant":"It was the first public school, as such schools are known today, built in Pittsfield, and was considered one of the largest and finest modern educational buildings of its time. It is also the only surviving building by architect Van Osdel that has not been altered, and it illustrates Lombard Romanesque motifs.","narrative":"East School, at 400 E. Jefferson in Pittsfield, Illinois, is a red brick schoolhouse built between 1862 and 1866 to designs by Chicago architect John M. Van Osdel. It is regarded as the first public school in Pittsfield as such schools are known today. Local leaders, including Judge Chauncey L. Higbee, Colonel William Ross and lawyer William A. Grimshaw, pushed for its construction. The contract price was $35,000, though the actual cost reached $45,000. Stone came from Joliet by way of the Illinois River, and the brick was burned locally. Work began in 1861, was interrupted by the Civil War, and finished in 1866. The design uses Lombard Romanesque details such as pilaster strips and corbelled brickwork, a bracketed wood cornice, and a two-stage clock tower. Each floor holds four large classrooms. It is the only surviving Van Osdel building that has not been altered, and it remains in excellent condition.","period_of_significance":"1862-66","architect_builder":"John M. Van Osdel","architectural_style":"Lombard Romanesque motifs","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition, with no masonry cracks, sound roof timbers and all but one of its original windows; owned by the local school district and marked occupied.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.486994-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/5/8939/28893905/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/71000295.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000295/36ca084675-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000295/36ca084675-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pittsfield_East_School.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pittsfield_East_School.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893905","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsfield_East_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7199472"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/pike-county/pittsfield-east-school-71000295/"}