{"nrhp_refnum":"79002288","name":"Zollinger-Harned Company Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"605--613 Hamilton Mall and 14016 N. 6th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Allentown","county":"Lehigh County","state":"PA","lat":40.60288961200007,"lon":-75.47027500399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-12-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A department store building at 611-613 Hamilton Street in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, built 1925-1926 for the Zollinger-Harned Company, with a three-story terra cotta Hamilton Mall facade and a four-story red brick Court Street elevation.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is the most elegant and best preserved example of an early twentieth-century eclectic retail structure in the area. It was among the first major local uses of reinforced concrete in a non-industrial building. It is also tied to the history of Allentown's first department store, whose origins date to 1866.","narrative":"Built in 1925-1926 on Hamilton Street in downtown Allentown, this three-story terra cotta department store blends an Italian treatment with neo-classical, Georgian and Adam-inspired detailing. Its Hamilton Mall facade has bronze display windows with cast medallions showing the Liberty Bell and William Allen, plus a second floor of fan-lighted French doors and balconies. It is regarded as the best preserved example of its type in the area. It was also one of the first large local commercial buildings to use reinforced concrete, and its interior relied almost entirely on artificial light. The business traces to 1866, when W.R. Lawfer and W.R. Steckel opened a dry goods store. After Nathan Folwell acquired it in 1906 and sent two nephews to run it, it became Allentown's first department store. Later alterations in the 1960s changed the entrance, though much of the original bronze glazing was salvaged.","period_of_significance":"1925","architect_builder":"George H. Hardner/Jacoby & Everett, John T. Brugger","architectural_style":"Eclectic, with an \"Italian Treatment\" and neo-classical, Georgian Revival and Adam-inspired detailing","criteria":[],"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 17:11:32.590326-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79002288.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002288/ae2adddae7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002288/ae2adddae7-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1945_-_Zollinger-Harned_Department_Store.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1945_-_Zollinger-Harned_Department_Store.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994475","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zollinger-Harned_Company_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8073580"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lehigh-county/zollinger-harned-company-building-79002288/"}