{"nrhp_refnum":"76001248","name":"Robeson, Paul, Home","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"555 Edgecombe Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.83382718650006,"lon":-73.93901495809868,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-12-08","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1976-12-08","areas_of_significance":["Black","Literature","Social History","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A thirteen-story apartment building with a penthouse at 555 Edgecombe Avenue, at the corner of 160th Street in Manhattan, completed in January 1916 by builder Roger Morris, Inc. to designs by architects Schwartz and Gross.","why_significant":"The building was the residence of Paul Robeson and his family from 1939 to 1941, after his return from living and performing in Europe. Robeson was a celebrated concert singer, stage and screen actor, athlete and scholar, and an outspoken critic of American racism. The nomination places the property within Afro-American history.","narrative":"This thirteen-story apartment building with a penthouse sits on an escarpment at Edgecombe Avenue and 160th Street, facing Highbridge Park in Manhattan. Completed in January 1916, it was built by Roger Morris, Inc. and designed by the architects Schwartz and Gross. Its beaux arts classical facade combines stone on the lower floors with brick above, a two-story arched entrance with ironwork, string courses, wooden-sash windows and terra cotta ornament. Apart from a slight change to apartment layouts in 1943, the exterior has not been significantly altered. The building matters because Paul Robeson lived here with his family from 1939 to 1941, after returning from years in Europe. Robeson was a Rutgers football All-American, a Columbia-trained lawyer, an acclaimed Othello, and a concert singer who brought Negro spirituals to the concert stage. His protests against racism brought him ostracism in the United States during the 1940s and 1950s. The apartment house is recognized for its link to him.","period_of_significance":"1939-1941","architect_builder":"Builder - Roger Morris, Inc.; Architect - Schwartz & Gross","architectural_style":"Beaux arts classical","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as generally well maintained but beginning to show initial signs of seediness; no major exterior alterations since construction, and a slight change to apartment interior layouts in 1943. Form marks the property as occupied and in private ownership.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:40.013169-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/76001248_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001248/58097f1425-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001248/58097f1425-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Epicgenius","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_Heights_Apr_2026_23.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Epicgenius</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_Heights_Apr_2026_23.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100011048","name":"Dominican Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/dominican-historic-district-100011048/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315944","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_Edgecombe_Avenue","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4640573"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/robeson-paul-home-76001248/"}