{"nrhp_refnum":"88002318","name":"Rowen, William, School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6801 N. 19th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":40.05869598900006,"lon":-75.14817406499998,"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 two-story brick school building at 6801 N. 19th Street in Germantown, Philadelphia, built in 1937-1938 and designed by Irwin T. Catharine for the School District of Philadelphia. It is the William Rowen School.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a fine representative of the stylistic range in which Catharine designed schools, combining Art Moderne flatness with Georgian Revival features such as a truncated steeple. It is listed under Criterion C for architecture and is described as a unique design. It is nominated as part of the Philadelphia Public Schools Thematic District.","narrative":"Built in 1937-1938 at 6801 N. 19th Street in Germantown, the Rowen School is a two-story brick building with limestone trim, designed by Irwin T. Catharine for the School District of Philadelphia. Its front facade is five bays wide, with a large stone entrance on the first floor, a pseudo-Palladian opening above it, and stone bands at each outside corner. A long rear wing extends seven bays, and a truncated steeple marks the junction between the main block and the wing. The design is closely related to Catharine's Thomas Mifflin School in East Falls but relies less on Georgian Revival motifs. The building blends Art Moderne flat surfaces with Colonial Revival detailing, and it is regarded as a representative example of the range of styles Catharine used for schools before he returned to Colonial Revival designs in later work. The property includes one contributing building and one non-contributing building on the historically associated land.","period_of_significance":"1937-1938","architect_builder":"Irwin T. Catharine (architect)","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival/Moderne","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 17:11:36.199325-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002318.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002318/cf48d1c7e0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002318/cf48d1c7e0-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rowen_School_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rowen_School_Philly.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993591","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rowen_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8017809"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/rowen-william-school-88002318/"}