{"nrhp_refnum":"88002260","name":"Creighton, Thomas, School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5401 Tabor Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":40.02522704200004,"lon":-75.10509113899997,"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 brick elementary school built in 1929-1930 on a raised basement at 21st and Winter Streets (the form also gives 5401 Tabor Road) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is listed as part of the Philadelphia Public Schools multiple resource area.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is significant for its place in the history of education and school architecture in Philadelphia. It is one of a group of schools built in the 1920s from Irwin T. Catharine's standard design, and it is described as the most fully developed version of that design, blending Late Gothic Revival detailing with Art Deco forms. The form notes the building retains excellent integrity.","narrative":"Built in 1929-1930 to a design by Irwin T. Catharine, the Thomas Creighton School is a three-story, eight-bay elementary school of red brick with terra cotta trim, set on a raised basement. Its outer bays are blank and feature a large diapered brick panel, while the central bays have five windows each arranged in a 1-3-1 pattern, separated by brick piers with terra cotta capitals. Stone arched entrances flank the ground floor, and the top is finished with a crenellated battlement and four small corner towers. The building uses the same basic plan as six yellow brick schools Catharine designed in the 1920s, with the Creighton School substituting red brick and a Late Gothic Revival treatment in place of Art Deco. The nomination regards it as an example of the Philadelphia School District's large 1920s building program and of Catharine's late work in the Collegiate Gothic idiom. It is considered to retain excellent integrity.","period_of_significance":"1929-1930","architect_builder":"Irwin T. Catharine (architect); Unknown (builder)","architectural_style":"Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"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 17:11:38.127054-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002260.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002260/688c8c9622-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002260/688c8c9622-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Creighton_School_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Creighton_School_Philly.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"99000629","name":"Friends Hospital","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/friends-hospital-99000629/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993635","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Creighton_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7788695"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/creighton-thomas-school-88002260/"}