{"nrhp_refnum":"86002707","name":"Schiller Elementary School","other_names":["Schiller School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1018 Peralta St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.45646346400008,"lon":-79.99330826199997,"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":"Schiller Elementary School is a two-story, twenty-five-bay U-shaped school building occupying an entire city block in Pittsburgh's densely populated East North Side, Allegheny County. It was built in 1939 for the Pittsburgh Board of Education.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is an important local example of Art Deco design, with bold geometric forms throughout the exterior and interior. It is presented as a representative work of Marion Steen, a major Pittsburgh school architect, and as an outgrowth of the 1930s Public Works Administration building program. The reviewer described it as exceptionally significant within the context of the city's schools.","narrative":"Built in 1939 by the Pittsburgh Board of Education, Schiller Elementary School is a two-story, twenty-five-bay U-shaped brick building that fills an entire city block in the East North Side. Its flat roof has stone coping and diamond-patterned corbelling, and boxy end pavilions house the auditorium and gymnasium. Geometric chevrons in brick above the entries, an ornamental iron fence with Art Deco details, and matching interior chevrons and heating grates carry the style throughout. The school was designed under Superintendent of Buildings Marion Markle Steen and built by Edward Crump, Jr., Inc. It was named for the German poet Friedrich von Schiller, reflecting the large German population of the area. Funded in part through federal Public Works Administration money, it is regarded as a clear example of Steen's in-house school design and of the 1930s public building program in Pittsburgh. The building is also valued for its fireproof construction and restrained geometric ornament.","period_of_significance":"1921-1940","architect_builder":"Marion M. Steen (architect/supervisor); Edward Crump, Jr., Inc. (builder)","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed in the National Register on 1986-09-30 as part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools multiple resource area; the form records the condition as excellent and integrity 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 17:11:33.84204-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/86002707.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002707/f6ca21993f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002707/f6ca21993f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Lee Paxton","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SchillerElementarySchool.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lee Paxton</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SchillerElementarySchool.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992120","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiller_Elementary_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7431308"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/schiller-elementary-school-86002707/"}