{"nrhp_refnum":"86000349","name":"Penns Park Historic District","other_names":["Penns Park"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Intersection of Second St. Pike and Penns Park Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wrightstown","county":"Bucks County","state":"PA","lat":40.26700201750003,"lon":-74.9976865703052,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-03-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Penns Park Historic District is a collection of 36 major buildings at the center of Wrightstown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, at the intersection of 2nd Street Pike and Penns Park road. The village is overwhelmingly nineteenth century in appearance, with most buildings constructed between 1800 and 1899.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the village is significant in architecture, commerce, community planning and, to a lesser extent, religion. It is Wrightstown Township's oldest village and the township's largest collection of buildings built before 1891, laid out on a plan associated with William Penn's open townstead. Its uniform vernacular buildings, built with local materials and techniques, are described as an outstanding assemblage of small-town rural architecture.","narrative":"Penns Park is a village of 36 major buildings at the crossroads of 2nd Street Pike and Penns Park road in Wrightstown Township, Bucks County. Most of its buildings date from between 1800 and 1899. The standard building is a two-and-a-half-story frame or local stone residence with a gable roof, and the village has almost no brick or ornamental work. The village was the township's main commercial center until the North Pennsylvania Railroad opened in 1890 and drew business to Wycombe. Its residents included a strong Methodist congregation, one of the county's first, which had a major role in its development. Penns Park developed around a townstead William Penn planned to remain an open park for all Wrightstown residents, which gave the village its name. Because growth slowed after the railroad and trolley bypassed it, the village kept its nineteenth century character and integrity. Its uniform scale and building techniques make it a rare surviving example of a small rural village of this period.","period_of_significance":"1780-1920","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Nineteenth century vernacular with Georgian, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival and Queen Anne elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Village largely unchanged since the late nineteenth century, with a high degree of integrity; two intrusive ranch houses and a small number of unsympathetic alterations.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.344951-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/86000349.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000349/911d91238f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000349/911d91238f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shuvaev","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Penns_Park_HD_01.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Shuvaev</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Penns_Park_HD_01.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998804","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penns_Park_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7163501"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/bucks-county/penns-park-historic-district-86000349/"}