{"nrhp_refnum":"88002264","name":"Dobson, James, School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4665 Umbria St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":40.03126235600007,"lon":-75.23027675099996,"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 school building with stone trim on a raised brick basement, located at 4665 Umbria Street (230 N. 21st Street area, Germantown) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1929-1930 as an elementary school designed by Irwin T. Catharine.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a good example of the typical Philadelphia elementary school of its time, designed from the School Board's Type Number 159 and reflecting Catharine's use of Gothic details. It is nominated as part of the Philadelphia Public Schools thematic group under architecture criterion C.","narrative":"Built in 1929-1930 as an elementary school on Umbria Street in Germantown, Philadelphia, this three-story brick building sits on a raised brick basement and is trimmed in stone. Irwin T. Catharine designed it in the Late Gothic Revival style. A central entrance pavilion carries an arched stone-trimmed opening with the school's name carved above it, and the side elevations repeat the front facade's details, with a stairtower on each. The design followed the School Board's Type Number 159, a standard plan used for two Philadelphia schools of this period. The building is regarded as a good example of the typical Philadelphia elementary school of its era, and its Gothic detailing reflects Catharine's work. It was added to the National Register as part of the Philadelphia Public Schools thematic group, which covers the city's public school buildings from this time, and it is the only contributing building on its nominated parcel.","period_of_significance":"1929-1930","architect_builder":"Irwin T. Catharine (architect)","architectural_style":"Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Used as a 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 17:11:37.311096-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002264.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002264/e0eb7fea84-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002264/e0eb7fea84-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dobson_School_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dobson_School_Philly.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"72001151","name":"Fairmount Park","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/fairmount-park-72001151/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993639","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dobson_Elementary_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6132679"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/dobson-james-school-88002264/"}