{"nrhp_refnum":"86003330","name":"Southwark School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Eighth and Miflin Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.92659776800008,"lon":-75.15853901199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-12-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Southwark School is a school building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, completed in 1911 according to the form's text (OCR reads 19m-11). The nomination names Henry deCoursey Richards as chief draftsman under J. Horace Cook, Superintendent of the Building Department.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a handsome and exceptionally intact example of Richards's school design. It marks a shift in the Building Department's style from Georgian Revival toward Jacobean forms, which were then seen as suitable for institutional buildings. It is one of two Jacobean schools by Richards in the nominated thematic group, making it a rare example of that design.","narrative":"Completed in 1911 in Philadelphia, the Southwark School was designed by Henry deCoursey Richards while he served as chief draftsman under J. Horace Cook, Superintendent of the city's Building Department. The building is executed in the Jacobean Revival style, a choice that marked a turning point for the department, which had previously favored Georgian Revival designs. Its design reflected a contemporary view that the Jacobean mode suited institutional buildings. The nomination describes the school as exceptionally intact. Only two schools by Richards in the nominated thematic group use the Jacobean style, the other being the Edgar Allen Poe School. Because of this scarcity, the Southwark School is considered a rare example of Richards's Jacobean-style school designs, and its significance rests mainly on its architecture and its place in the Building Department's stylistic change.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Henry deCoursey Richards (chief draftsman, Philadelphia Building Department)","architectural_style":"Jacobean Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.572216-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/86003330.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003330/c78da47de0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003330/c78da47de0-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Southwark_School_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Southwark_School_Philly.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993623","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwark_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7571163"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/southwark-school-86003330/"}