{"nrhp_refnum":"86002706","name":"Schenley High School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Bigelow Blvd. and Centre Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.45026399100004,"lon":-79.95460285699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-09-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Schenley High School is a three-story, forty-bay school building in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, with a distinctive triangular plan and limestone facade. It was designed by Edward Stotz and completed in 1916.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school was nationally noted as a precedent-setting building when constructed and into the 1940s, incorporating very modern and lavish facilities. It was the first school building in the country to cost over $1,000,000. It is also presented as the epitome of the platoon school type advocated by William Wirt, with expensive facilities used by students in shifts and by the community in the evenings and weekends.","narrative":"Built in 1916 to a design by Edward Stotz, Pittsburgh's most experienced school architect of the period, this three-story building on a triangular lot at Bigelow Boulevard and Centre Avenue is faced in limestone and steel, with rounded corners and a flat roof. Its Neo-Classical detailing includes a central entry pavilion with six Ionic columns. The building was designed for 1,800 students, with 40 classrooms, 11 laboratories, 11 shops, two gymnasiums, a swimming pool and a 1,600-seat auditorium. Its cost made it the first school in the country to exceed $1,000,000 to build. It is regarded as the best example of the platoon school type, in which expensive facilities were shared among rotating classes and used by the community in evenings and on weekends. The school was named for Mary Croghan Schenley and is part of the Schenley Farms district.","period_of_significance":"1901-1920","architect_builder":"Edward Stotz (architect)","architectural_style":"Neo-Classical","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Used as a school; the form records present use as school and condition as excellent","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.509162-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/86002706.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002706/04bd8d52f1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002706/04bd8d52f1-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"EgyptianSushi at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SchenleyHigh2007.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">EgyptianSushi at en.wikipedia</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SchenleyHigh2007.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83002213","name":"Schenley Farms Historic District (Additional Documentation)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/schenley-farms-historic-district-additional-documentation-83002213/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992206","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenley_High_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7431174"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/schenley-high-school-86002706/"}