{"nrhp_refnum":"71000723","name":"Drinker's Court","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"236-238 Delancey St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.94355242300003,"lon":-75.14652126199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-05-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Drinker's Court is a group of buildings at 236-238 Delancey Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of two two-and-a-half-story brick main buildings fronting the street with three one-room-per-story \"bandbox\" houses behind each, arranged around a narrow courtyard.","why_significant":"The nomination states that the buildings are the only remaining eighteenth-century bandbox court houses in the Washington Square East area. They were built in 1765-1766 by John Drinker, bricklayer, and are placed under the architecture area of significance.","narrative":"Drinker's Court at 236-238 Delancey Street in Philadelphia is a small group of brick buildings from the eighteenth century. Each street-facing main building is two and a half stories tall with a half gambrel roof, box cornice and sash windows, and behind each stand a row of three one-room-per-story houses known as bandbox houses, arranged around a narrow courtyard. John Drinker, a bricklayer, built the group in 1765-1766, and he also built the houses at 241-243 Pine Street directly behind. The complex is important because it is regarded as the only surviving eighteenth-century bandbox court houses in the Washington Square East area, which makes it a rare example of this building type. The main buildings were restored and converted into single dwellings in 1966 and 1968, and some original openings were altered during that work, including the removal of one doorway and the cutting of openings for air-conditioning equipment. The surviving brick walls, roof forms and courtyard layout keep the early character of the area visible to visitors today.","period_of_significance":"1765-1766","architect_builder":"John Drinker (bricklayer/builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Both main buildings were restored and converted into single dwellings, 236 Delancey in 1966 and 238 Delancey in 1968.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.004644-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/71000723.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000723/6b1c7b97d4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000723/6b1c7b97d4-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jack Boucher, HABS Photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DrinkersCourt.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jack Boucher, HABS Photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DrinkersCourt.jpeg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000065","name":"Society Hill Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/society-hill-historic-district-71000065/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997018","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinker%27s_Court","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5307713"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/drinkers-court-71000723/"}