{"nrhp_refnum":"88002224","name":"Adamson, William, School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2637--2647 N. 4th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.99104525200005,"lon":-75.13807186699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-11-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story, four-register brick school building at 2637-2647 North 4th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built in 1879-1880 and later used as a church. The form lists the present name as Iglesia Evangelica Bautista Church.","why_significant":"The building was designed by Addison Hutton, a leading Philadelphia architect, to incorporate new ideas in school design such as light, ventilation and fire-safe stairways. It is described as the only surviving school of the two Hutton designed in this program and the only school building in the period not designed by a Board of Education employee. Its Queen Anne style design is cited as the basis for its eligibility under Criterion C.","narrative":"Built in 1879-1880 on North 4th Street in Philadelphia, this three-story brick school has a stone basement, brownstone sills, lintels and belt courses, and a corbeled brick cornice. The building was designed by Addison Hutton, a leading Philadelphia architect, who was hired by the Controllers of the Public Schools after the city had passed a 1877 ordinance requiring fireproof stairways in school buildings. Hutton's plans aimed to improve light, ventilation and safety, and the building is regarded as the only survivor of the two schools he designed for this program, the other being the William Welsh School. It is also noted as the only school building between 1867 and 1946 not designed by a Board of Education employee. Alterations were made in 1946 and 1948, the latter by Cronheim & Weger, architects, for the Textile Workers Union. The building is presently used as a church.","period_of_significance":"1879-1880","architect_builder":"Addison Hutton (architect); Philip H. Somerset (builder)","architectural_style":"Queen Anne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Church use is recorded as the present use, with condition given as fair and integrity as good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:38.050561-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002224.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002224/a440e05938-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002224/a440e05938-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adamson_School_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adamson_School_Philly.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993689","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Adamson_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8004158"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/adamson-william-school-88002224/"}