{"nrhp_refnum":"79002324","name":"McIlvain, Francis, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1924 Arch St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.95541086000003,"lon":-75.17177688199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-11-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-and-a-half-story brick house with ashlar brownstone facing at 1924 Arch Street in Philadelphia, built for Francis McIlvain around 1869.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a well-preserved example of Second Empire styling in Philadelphia, with notable carved black walnut doors and an intact attic billiard parlor. It also represents the middle-class residential character of west Arch Street, much of which has since been lost to commercial redevelopment and demolition.","narrative":"Built around 1869 for Francis McIlvain, who owned the F. McIlvain and Company Iron Foundry on Washington Avenue, this three-and-a-half-story brick house at 1924 Arch Street is faced with ashlar brownstone and finished in the Second Empire style. Its bracketed mansard roof has pilastered, arch-crowned dormers, and the main entrance has a pair of boldly carved black walnut doors that match a set made for the neighboring Charles T. Parry house. Interior survivals include paneled vestibule doors, a turned post balustrade on the main stair, complex plaster ceilings on the first and second floors, and an attic billiard parlor with burl and grain veneer walls and an original gas fixture. McIlvain's son-in-law, Ferdinand L. Fetherston, also lived here, and he published the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. The house is one of the few survivors of the residential Arch Street district that developed after the Civil War, much of which has been replaced by storefronts and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.","period_of_significance":"c. 1869","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Second Empire","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Converted to offices on the first two floors, with an apartment and storage above; the document notes the owner intended to restore the house.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.039875-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79002324.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002324/ffc5a440e2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002324/ffc5a440e2-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1924_Arch_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1924_Arch_Philly.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997406","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_McIlvain_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5481901"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/mcilvain-francis-house-79002324/"}