{"nrhp_refnum":"88002301","name":"Mifflin, Thomas, School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3500 Midvale Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":40.013583769000036,"lon":-75.19154954399994,"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 2 1/2-story L-shaped brick school building at 3500 Midvale Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built in 1936 and designed by Irwin T. Catharine. It has a raised brick basement, a large brick and wood clock tower at the junction of its wings, and a red brick Georgian Revival exterior with limestone trim.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is one of the last primary school buildings Catharine designed in the Georgian Revival style. It is regarded as a representative example of the many Georgian and Colonial Revival schools he designed, and is nominated as part of the Philadelphia Public Schools Thematic group under the architecture criterion.","narrative":"Built in 1936 to designs by Irwin T. Catharine, the Thomas Mifflin School at 3500 Midvale Avenue is an L-shaped, two-and-a-half-story brick building on a raised basement, with a large brick and wood clock tower where its two wings meet. Its gabled roof has rounded gables, and five openings in a 1-3-1 pattern across each floor are topped by keystone-centered flat arches. Limestone dripcourse and beltcourse trim break up the brickwork between the basement and first floor. The building is one of the last primary schools Catharine designed in the red Georgian Revival manner, and it is more purely Georgian than the related Rowen School at 19th and Haines Streets, which mixes Georgian and Art Moderne features. Its styling is regarded as representative of the many Georgian and Colonial Revival schools Catharine produced for the city. A 1966 addition of matching materials extends the west wing, and a 1968 portable classroom is connected by a corridor. The school is significant for its architecture and for its role within the city's public school building program.","period_of_significance":"1936","architect_builder":"Irwin T. Catharine (architect); John McShain, Inc. (builder)","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition recorded as good and integrity as good; present use listed as school; a 1966 addition of matching materials and a 1968 portable classroom connected by a corridor are noted.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.239186-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002301.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002301/a289044b87-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002301/a289044b87-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TMifflin_School_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TMifflin_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/71993567","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Mifflin_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7792442"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/mifflin-thomas-school-88002301/"}