{"nrhp_refnum":"88002263","name":"Dobbins, Murrell, Vocational School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2100 Lehigh Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.99542214400003,"lon":-75.16689849799997,"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 six-story brick vocational school at 2100 Lehigh Avenue (21st and Winter Streets) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built 1936-1937 for the School District of Philadelphia. It is now known as the Murrell Dobbins Vocational School and remains in use as a school.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a landmark in its community and a major work of the Art Deco/Art Moderne styles, popularized by architect Irwin T. Catharine during his tenure as School Board Architect. It was erected alongside the Edward Bok Vocational School and uses many of the same design elements, and the Plan TS-4 type was used only once, for this school. It is nominated under Criterion C for architecture as part of the Philadelphia Public Schools Thematic District.","narrative":"Built in 1936-1937 for the School District of Philadelphia, this six-story brick vocational school stands at 2100 Lehigh Avenue at the corner of 21st and Winter Streets. Designed by Irwin T. Catharine, then School Board Architect, it uses brick with stone and terra-cotta trim. Its central section rises seven stories with nine window registers, while the outer sections are six stories high, with terra-cotta trim along the top of the building and along the piers separating the registers. The front block is a one-story stone facade thirteen registers wide, with carved stone panels over the central openings, fluted pilasters separating the bays, and the school name carved above the entrances. The building was erected at the same time as the Edward Bok Vocational School and shares many of its design elements. Its Plan TS-4 type was used only once, here. It is regarded as a major example of the Art Deco and Art Moderne styles in Philadelphia's public school building program and a landmark in its community.","period_of_significance":"1936-1937","architect_builder":"Irwin T. Catharine (architect)","architectural_style":"Art Deco/Moderne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Present use is school; condition recorded 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 17:11:35.74498-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002263.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002263/5d07bcbcca-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002263/5d07bcbcca-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dobbins_School_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dobbins_School_Philly.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993508","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murrell_Dobbins_Career_and_Technical_Education_High_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6939577"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/dobbins-murrell-vocational-school-88002263/"}