{"nrhp_refnum":"78002413","name":"Silkman House","other_names":["Providence Branch of the Scranton Public Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2006 N. Main Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Scranton","county":"Lackawanna County","state":"PA","lat":41.43802692400004,"lon":-75.65532946899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-12-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story frame Greek Revival house with a full basement at 2066 North Main Avenue in Providence, now part of Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1840 by Aron Silkman and is now used as a public library.","why_significant":"The nomination describes it as one of the finest Greek Revival residences in Lackawanna County. Its main facade has a four-column portico with square columns, and it was home to several generations of the Silkman family from 1840 until 1936. It was then purchased by the city for use as the Providence Branch of the Scranton Public Library.","narrative":"Built in 1840 at 2066 North Main Avenue in Providence, a village later absorbed into Scranton, this two-and-a-half-story frame house with a full basement is regarded as one of the finest Greek Revival residences in Lackawanna County. Its gable roof has a large central brick chimney and pediments at both gable ends. The front facade is dominated by a four-column portico, unusually fitted with square rather than round columns, and the main facade has twelve-over-twelve windows. Aron Silkman built the house, and his cousin William Silkman bought it a few years later. William lived there until his death in 1874 and worked in coal lands and real estate, and he spent years in Harrisburg lobbying for the separation of Luzerne from Lackawanna County. The Silkman family owned the house until the last member died in 1936. The city then bought it for the Providence Branch of the Scranton Public Library, which it remains today.","period_of_significance":"1840","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used as a public library","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.588428-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/78002413.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002413/2b0742f2ee-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002413/2b0742f2ee-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Stanley Jones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silkman_House,_Scranton.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Stanley Jones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silkman_House,_Scranton.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998087","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silkman_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7515264"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lackawanna-county/silkman-house-78002413/"}