{"nrhp_refnum":"76001644","name":"Finch Building","other_names":["International Correspondence Schools Building","Hudson Coal Co"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"424 Wyoming Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Scranton","county":"Lackawanna County","state":"PA","lat":41.411689386000035,"lon":-75.66152573399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-06-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-and-a-half-story rock-faced stone building in Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, with corner turrets, a balustraded entrance bay and a tile roof. It was erected in 1898.","why_significant":"The building was the first permanent administrative headquarters of the International Correspondence Schools, a home study school founded in 1890 by Thomas J. Foster. It is also described as an excellent example of Victorian architecture in the Chateauesque style, with finely crafted masonry and steep tile roofs.","narrative":"Scranton's Finch Building is a four-and-a-half-story rock-faced stone structure with corner turrets, tile roofs and a two-story balustraded entrance bay. William Scott-Collins, a member of the faculty of the International Correspondence Schools, designed it in 1898 as the school's first permanent administrative headquarters. The International Correspondence Schools was founded in 1890 by Thomas J. Foster as a home study school for vocational and industrial subjects, and by 1900 it had enrolled more than 250,000 students. Former alumni named in the nomination include labor leader F. Philip Murray, entertainer Arthur Godfrey, and Ernest Henderson, founder of the Sheraton Hotel chain. The building is significant for its educational association and for its Chateauesque architecture, which features finely crafted masonry, elaborate window treatment and steep tile roofs. Interior oak wainscoting and oak purlin ceilings survive. The building was occupied by the Hudson Coal Company for some years and has been vacant since 1965.","period_of_significance":"1898","architect_builder":"William Scott-Collins (architect)","architectural_style":"Chateauesque","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Vacant since 1965 and deteriorated, particularly in the interior.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.271972-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/76001644.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001644/f5931b1925-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001644/f5931b1925-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Finch_Building,_Scranton,_PA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Finch_Building,_Scranton,_PA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998093","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finch_Building_(Scranton,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5449815"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lackawanna-county/finch-building-76001644/"}