{"nrhp_refnum":"79002214","name":"Carlisle Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Penn, East, Walnut and College Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Carlisle","county":"Cumberland County","state":"PA","lat":40.202312652000046,"lon":-77.18392065599528,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-06-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of approximately 800 structures in the borough of Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, containing residential, commercial and public buildings dating from the 18th through the 20th centuries.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that Carlisle's significance lies in its role as the seat of the newly established Cumberland County and its long-standing function as a governmental and commercial center for the surrounding region. It also cites the district's intact small-town atmosphere and the late Victorian residential and commercial buildings that dominate its architectural character, along with associations with James Wilson and Colonel Ephraim Blaine.","narrative":"Carlisle's historic district in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, covers the downtown core of a town laid out in 1751 as the seat of the newly created Cumberland County. Its roughly 800 buildings range from late-18th-century log, brick and rubble stone houses to late Victorian commercial blocks and 20th-century civic buildings. Much of the district reflects the late 19th century, when prosperity from the regional grain trade and local industry created demand for middle-class housing, producing numerous two-and-a-half-story brick houses in the half Georgian plan. The district served as the county's market, legal and service center through the first half of the twentieth century, with retail sales and shops drawing shoppers from a wide surrounding region. Its commercial buildings, courthouse and municipal architecture document that role, and its concentration of intact buildings is valued for preserving a small-town character. The nomination also links the district to James Wilson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and to Colonel Ephraim Blaine, a financial supporter of the American Revolution.","period_of_significance":"1751-1950","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian, Italianate, Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival, Romanesque Revival, Late Gothic Revival, Classic Revival, Beaux Arts Classic, Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.187808-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79002214.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002214/3eccb22717-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002214/3eccb22717-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carlisle,_Pennsylvania.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carlisle,_Pennsylvania.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994905","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlisle_Historic_District_(Carlisle,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5041382"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/cumberland-county/carlisle-historic-district-79002214/"}