{"nrhp_refnum":"83002225","name":"New Century Clubhouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"High and Lacey Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"West Chester","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":39.95542427300006,"lon":-75.59952907299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-02-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Colonial Revival clubhouse on the east side of High Street in West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania, set on a corner lot between the town center and the campus of West Chester State College. It was built in 1914 for the New Century Club.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a well-executed example of Colonial Revival architecture in the community, with academic detailing in its Doric porch, cornice and symmetrical front. It also argues the building is the home of a women's club that championed women's rights, civic improvement, the arts and cultural life in West Chester from the 1890s onward.","narrative":"Built in 1914 on High Street in West Chester, the New Century Clubhouse is a Colonial Revival building with a white-stuccoed high basement, gray-stuccoed upper walls, and a pedimented Doric porch with fluted columns. Its plan is a T, with a rear auditorium wing measuring 75 feet 6 inches by 38 feet 6 inches. The club was founded in 1894 and met first in the Romanesque Revival West Chester Library before moving into its own headquarters. Members pressed for a kindergarten, a girls' club and a street-cleaning association, and they invited nationally known poets, artists and musicians to perform in town. Composer Samuel Barber and opera singer Louise Homer were raised in the club's circle. A 1923 addition, designed by William J. Corcoran and built by Cloyd R. Baldwin, added storage space behind the stage. The mortgage was paid off in 1920.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Ralph E. White (architect); Joseph M. Burns (builder)","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival","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 17:11:33.939785-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/83002225.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83002225/db5882f0b6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83002225/db5882f0b6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Century_Clubhouse.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Century_Clubhouse.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998662","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Century_Clubhouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7006485"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/new-century-clubhouse-83002225/"}