{"nrhp_refnum":"84003453","name":"West Lawn","other_names":["Embassy House Apartments"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"407 W. Chestnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lancaster","county":"Lancaster County","state":"PA","lat":40.04060444000004,"lon":-76.31366952299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-05-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"West Lawn, also called the Embassy House Apartments, is a two-story brick mansion with a mansard roof on the northwest corner of Charlotte Street and West Chestnut Street in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1873-1874 as the suburban residence of lumber and coal merchant Barton Bowman Martin.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is among the finest villa-type residences in Lancaster County and is unique locally for combining Italianate massing with a Second Empire mansard roof. It is also tied to Martin's prominence in regional and state lumber and coal commerce, and to builder John Adam Burger, whose work is said to be well preserved here.","narrative":"Two-story brick villa on the northwest corner of Charlotte and West Chestnut Streets in Lancaster City, built in 1873-1874 by builder John Adam Burger for lumber and coal merchant Barton Bowman Martin. Its mansard roof, slate-covered and set with segmental-arched dormers, combines Italianate massing with the Second Empire roof form, a pairing the nomination describes as unique in Lancaster City. The original wood window canopies and most window sash survive. Interior features include walnut stair balusters, pocket doors, a marbleized slate mantel and chestnut woodwork in the tower library, and a marble mosaic entry floor described as the finest late Victorian floor of its kind in the city. Martin was among the leading lumber merchants in the county and held coal lands in Cambria County, and he was one of the founders of Millersville Normal School in 1854. The house was praised by contemporaries in an 1874 biographical encyclopedia as one of the most elegant villas in the state.","period_of_significance":"1873-1874","architect_builder":"J. Adam Burger (builder); architect unknown","architectural_style":"Italianate with Second Empire mansard roof","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Altered: a c.1940 remodelling reduced the east tower and the front porch to a central entry portico, while original interior features largely survive.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.418296-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/84003453.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003453/be72a9fe3b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003453/be72a9fe3b-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:West_Lawn_Lancaster.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:West_Lawn_Lancaster.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"01000956","name":"Lancaster City Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/lancaster-city-historic-district-01000956/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996073","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lawn_(Lancaster,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7985721"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lancaster-county/west-lawn-84003453/"}