{"nrhp_refnum":"86002713","name":"Sterrett Sub-District School","other_names":["Sterrett School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"339 Lang Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.446566061000055,"lon":-79.90548752799998,"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":"A two-story brick school building at 339 Lang Avenue in Pittsburgh's Point Breeze neighborhood, Allegheny County, with a raised basement and hip roof. It was opened in 1899 and named for jurist James Patterson Sterrett.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is significant for its classically inspired design and for its progressive features for the turn of the century, including an observatory, a second-story auditorium with full stage, and a basement drill room. It also cites its library, built with student fundraising and donations from H. C. Frick, and the attendance of children from wealthy neighboring families.","narrative":"Built of blackened buff brick with stone and terra cotta trim, this two-story school in Pittsburgh's Point Breeze neighborhood opened in 1899 and was named for James Patterson Sterrett, a local jurist who served twenty years as a school director in Pittsburgh and Allegheny. Its central pavilion on Lang Avenue is capped by a pediment, and its entrances have carved stone frontispieces with fluted Ionic columns. The building was designed by Edward J. Carlisle and includes a rooftop observatory, a 600-seat second-story auditorium with a full stage, and a basement drill room. Henry Clay Frick donated library books, a telescope made by astronomer John A. Brashear, and athletic equipment. Students and Frick raised over 3,000 volumes for one of the most complete school libraries in America at the turn of the century. The school is regarded as Carlisle's best effort, and its features reflect the progressive education of its era.","period_of_significance":"1881-1900","architect_builder":"Edward J. Carlisle (architect)","architectural_style":"Second Renaissance Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Several alterations were made, including removal of the rooftop observatory dome in 1958 and removal of some auditorium stained glass; the school is listed as in use as a school.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:34.024301-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/86002713.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002713/d1078eec2a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002713/d1078eec2a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Lee Paxton","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SterrettSub-DistrictSchool.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:SterrettSub-DistrictSchool.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992178","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterrett_Sub-District_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7611630"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/sterrett-sub-district-school-86002713/"}