{"nrhp_refnum":"76001311","name":"North Carolina School for the Deaf: Main Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"U.S. 64 and Fleming Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Morganton","county":"Burke County","state":"NC","lat":35.73011338550006,"lon":-81.69022698662343,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-12-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Main Building of the North Carolina School for the Deaf is a three-story High Victorian brick institutional building with a five-story clock tower, on a hilltop campus south of Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina. It was begun in 1892 and opened in 1894.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the few surviving examples in the state of full-blown Victorian institutional architecture, designed by Raleigh architect Adolphus Gustavus Bauer. It is also significant to the social history of the state and nation as an ambitious early effort to provide education and care for the deaf at state expense.","narrative":"Crowning the highest knoll of a campus south of Morganton, the Main Building of the North Carolina School for the Deaf is a monumental three-story brick structure with a slate roof and a five-story clock tower at the center of its front. Octagonal towers, corner bartizans with spiral caps, large dormers and a Romanesque arched entrance give it an elaborate High Victorian character. Raleigh architect Adolphus Gustavus Bauer designed it, basing his plan on the Philadelphia Institution for the deaf. Construction began in 1892, and the school opened in October 1894 with only two stories finished and 104 students. It replaced the state's earlier school for the deaf in Raleigh, which dated to 1849. The building is regarded as one of the few surviving full examples of Victorian institutional architecture in North Carolina. It also marks an early effort by the state to fund education for deaf citizens. The interior has been remodeled, and the original front porch has been removed.","period_of_significance":"1892-1894","architect_builder":"Adolphus Gustavus Bauer","architectural_style":"Vernacular High Victorian elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and still in school use; the interior has been remodeled several times, the front porch removed, and most original sash replaced with aluminum jalousie windows.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.818939-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/71/7182/47718271/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/76001311.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001311/78cee4d1d8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001311/78cee4d1d8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Upstateherd","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Carolina_School_For_The_Deaf_-_Main_Building_-_Morganton,_NC.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Upstateherd</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Carolina_School_For_The_Deaf_-_Main_Building_-_Morganton,_NC.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"89000325","name":"North Carolina School for the Deaf Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/north-carolina-school-for-the-deaf-historic-district-89000325/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718271","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_School_for_the_Deaf","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7054584"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/burke-county/north-carolina-school-for-the-deaf-main-building-76001311/"}