{"nrhp_refnum":"88002292","name":"Levering, William, School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5938 Ridge Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":40.03084486500006,"lon":-75.21304613199999,"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 school building at 5938 Ridge Avenue in Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built 1894-1896 as the Levering School, with a 1928-1929 addition. It is a 2 1/2-story stone building with a later three-story limestone-trimmed brick addition.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is significant under Criterion C for architecture. The original building was designed by Joseph W. Anschutz, and the 1928-1929 addition by Irwin T. Catharine in an Art Deco style, so the two designs show how public school design changed within thirty years. The form states the school contributes to the Philadelphia Public Schools Thematic District.","narrative":"Built in Roxborough in 1894-1896 from designs by Joseph W. Anschutz, this two-and-a-half-story stone school has projecting end and center sections, stone lintels and sills, and gabled dormers over the hipped roof. An annex followed in 1899, built by contractor Charles McCaul, and a mansion later acquired for school use was replaced by a large addition in 1928-1929. Irwin T. Catharine designed that three-story limestone-trimmed brick wing in an Art Deco style, with vertical brick piers dividing each section into a 1-3-1 window pattern. The entrance section is more finely detailed than the other three. The school is significant for showing, on one site, how public school planning and design changed over about thirty years. It was counted among the contributing properties of the Philadelphia Public Schools thematic group, and the nominated parcel includes all historically associated land.","period_of_significance":"1894-1896/1928-1929","architect_builder":"Joseph W. Anschutz (architect, 1894-1896 building); Irwin T. Catharine (architect, 1928-1929 addition); Charles McCaul (contractor, 1899 annex)","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival/Art Deco","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 17:11:36.752251-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002292.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002292/0eb7fc67c3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002292/0eb7fc67c3-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Levering_School_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Levering_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/71993585","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMY_Northwest_Middle_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8014517"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/levering-william-school-88002292/"}