{"nrhp_refnum":"88002295","name":"Lowell, James Russell, School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5801--5851 N. 5th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":40.040609450000034,"lon":-75.12902793599994,"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-faced school with reinforced concrete structure and granite and terra cotta trim at 5801-5851 North 5th Street in Philadelphia, built 1913-1914 for the School District of Philadelphia. It was designed by Henry deCourcy Richards.","why_significant":"The form argues the school is one of eight schools built in 1912-1914 on the same model, type 128, and that four of them, including this one, retain enough integrity for listing. It is presented as representing the school building program carried out from the 1905 reorganization of the School Board to World War I, and as an example of Richards's ability to vary a single expandable plan through ornamentation. Listing is justified under criterion C for architecture and for its place in the history of education and school architecture in Philadelphia.","narrative":"A three-story, five-bay brick school on North 5th Street in Philadelphia, completed in 1913-1914 for the city's School District and designed by Henry deCourcy Richards. Its reinforced concrete frame is faced in brick, with granite and terra cotta trim, and the front elevation has a Classical Revival entrance surround and a decorative entablature. Richards was responsible for about forty-nine schools during his thirteen years with the district, and this building is one of eight built on the same model, type 128, between 1912 and 1914. Four of that group, including this school, retain enough original fabric to qualify for listing. It represents the school construction program carried out from the 1905 reorganization of the School Board to World War I, a period when Philadelphia's population rose from about 1.3 million to over 1.8 million. A 1926 addition by Irwin T. Catharine and a 1976 addition do not compromise its overall appearance.","period_of_significance":"1913-1914","architect_builder":"Henry deCourcy Richards (architect); Charles McCaul Co (builder)","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Good condition; in use as a school","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.178704-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002295.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002295/8b3996729e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002295/8b3996729e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JR_Lowell_School_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JR_Lowell_School_Philly.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993525","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Russell_Lowell_School_(Philadelphia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6142553"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/lowell-james-russell-school-88002295/"}