{"nrhp_refnum":"82003816","name":"Touraine, The","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1520 Spruce St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.94712763200005,"lon":-75.16771744499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Touraine is a limestone apartment building at the 1500 block of Spruce Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built in 1917 in a barbell plan with broadened ends facing Spruce Street and Delancey Place.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an important, largely intact work by Frederick Webber, a Philadelphia architect who specialized in apartment house design. It is presented as part of a major early 20th century streetscape and as an example of the popularization of urban apartment living in the 1920s. Its interior and exterior retain original features, and the nomination notes its well-preserved condition.","narrative":"Completed in 1917 on Spruce Street in central Philadelphia, the Touraine is a limestone apartment building designed by Frederick Webber, a Philadelphia architect known for apartment house design. It follows a barbell plan with broadened ends facing Spruce Street and Delancey Place. Its symmetrical street facade has projecting blocks flanking a recessed entrance, three horizontal divisions, and corinthian pilasters at the upper story. Webber used unusually large windows to admit light and air, and the building's interior includes a lobby with ionic piers and Georgian-style elevator surrounds. Apartments have marble fireplaces, paneled bookcases and hardwood floors. The building is considered one of Webber's most accomplished works and an important part of the Spruce Street streetscape. It was also notable for including a restaurant and barber shops for residents, and it stood among a group of apartment houses marking the growth of high-rise living in the city.","period_of_significance":"1900-1917","architect_builder":"Frederick Webber (architect); A. Mershon (developer)","architectural_style":"Traditional classical style with flattened detail anticipating Art Deco","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The document states the building is exceptionally well preserved, with only the restaurant converted to an office suite.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:32.71477-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/82003816.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003816/15dfd0b82e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003816/15dfd0b82e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tourain_Philadelphia.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tourain_Philadelphia.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"84003563","name":"Washington Square West Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/washington-square-west-historic-district-84003563/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997224","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Touraine","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7769705"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/touraine-the-82003816/"}