{"nrhp_refnum":"88002265","name":"Durham, Thomas, School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1600 Lombard St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.94478299800005,"lon":-75.16911642999997,"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":"Thomas Durham School, a 3-story brick public elementary school at 1600 Lombard Street (21st and Winter Streets area), Philadelphia, built 1909-1910 to designs by Henry deCourcy Richards.","why_significant":"It is an example of the variety and versatility of Henry deCourcy Richards within the School District of Philadelphia's major school construction program after 1905. It is among his simplest and least expensive designs, a spare Regency-inspired building. It is also significant for its place in the history of education and school architecture in Philadelphia.","narrative":"Thomas Durham School is a three-story, five-register brick building on a raised basement at 1600 Lombard Street in Philadelphia. Built in 1909-1910, it has limestone trim, stone beltcourses above the basement and the third floor, and a carved stone panel bearing the school's name at the top of the front facade. Henry deCourcy Richards designed it for the School District of Philadelphia, which began a large building program after its reorganization in 1905. Under Richards and Superintendent of Buildings J. Horace Cook, the district built dozens of schools in many styles. Durham is described as a very spare, Regency-inspired design and ranks among Richards's simplest works, and it was also one of the least expensive of the group to build. The survey suggests this plainness may relate to its location in a predominantly Black neighborhood. It was listed for its architecture and its place in the history of Philadelphia school design.","period_of_significance":"1909-1910","architect_builder":"Architect: Henry deCourcy Richards; builder: Cramp & Co","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival (described in the text as a very spare Regency-inspired building)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition rated good and integrity very good; still used as a school at the time of the survey form.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:59:06.79454-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002265.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002265/c7ab162c69-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002265/c7ab162c69-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Durham_School_in_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Durham_School_in_Philly.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"84003563","name":"Washington Square West Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/washington-square-west-historic-district-84003563/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993551","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Durham_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7789123"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/durham-thomas-school-88002265/"}