{"nrhp_refnum":"88002332","name":"Vaux, Roberts, Junior High School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"230--2344 W. Master St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.97612992400008,"lon":-75.17434671899997,"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 four-story yellow brick junior high school building at 2300-2344 West Master Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, constructed 1936-1938 for the School District of Philadelphia, designed by architect Irwin T. Catharine.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is one of the most striking examples of Art Deco and Moderne school architecture in a city with relatively few buildings in those styles. It is described as Catharine's last junior high school design and the culmination of his long career as the district's architect. Its scale, design quality and high degree of integrity are cited as reasons it serves as a neighborhood landmark.","narrative":"A four-story yellow brick school at West Master Street in Philadelphia, built between 1936 and 1938 for the School District of Philadelphia. Its design is by Irwin T. Catharine, the district's principal architect from 1919 until 1937. The main facade has seven major bays with three openings per floor, finely carved terra cotta panels above the fourth-floor windows, and a large two-story Tudor-arched entrance with paired sash flanking it. Brick piers, pilasters and diapered panels articulate the walls. Built during the Depression, when the district erected relatively few schools, it marks a shift in Catharine's work toward Art Deco and Moderne forms, which conveyed a message of progress in public education. It was the last junior high school the district built until 1949. The building is regarded as one of the city's most striking examples of these styles and is noted for its excellent condition and high integrity.","period_of_significance":"1936-1938","architect_builder":"Irwin T. Catharine (architect)","architectural_style":"Art Deco/Moderne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Present use listed as school.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.978655-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002332.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002332/491048ee47-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002332/491048ee47-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vaux_Jr_HS_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vaux_Jr_HS_Philly.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993510","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberts_Vaux_Junior_High_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7352051"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/vaux-roberts-junior-high-school-88002332/"}