{"nrhp_refnum":"88002333","name":"Wister, Mary Channing, School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"843--855 N. 8th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.96697332400004,"lon":-75.15043558899998,"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":"The Mary Channing Wister School is a three-story brick school building with terra cotta and stone trimmings on a raised basement, located at 841-855 N. 8th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1925-1926 for the School District of Philadelphia, with plans by Irwin T. Catharine and construction by McCloskey & Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant for its architecture as a clear break from traditional school designs such as Georgian Revival and Collegiate Gothic, expressing modernity in the Art Deco style. It was one of a group of identical school buildings erected by the School Board between 1925 and 1929 using a single standard design. It was listed as part of the Philadelphia Public Schools Thematic Nomination.","narrative":"Built in 1925-1926 as a three-story brick school with terra cotta and stone trimmings, the Mary Channing Wister School stands on a raised basement at 841-855 N. 8th Street in Philadelphia. Its designer was Irwin T. Catharine, and McCloskey & Company built it for the School District of Philadelphia. The front entrance on the south elevation has a freestanding Greek Doric portico decorated with colored tiles, and a stone dripcourse and a band of colored tiles run beneath the cornice and parapet. The building is regarded as a sharp departure from earlier school designs such as Georgian Revival and Collegiate Gothic, and it expresses modernity through the Art Deco style. It was one of five nearly identical schools the School Board erected between 1925 and 1929 using a single standard plan. A rear entrance added in 1960 is the main later alteration, and the building is considered to retain most of its original appearance. It was designated for its architecture as part of the Philadelphia Public Schools thematic group.","period_of_significance":"1925-1926","architect_builder":"Irwin T. Catharine (architect); McCloskey & Company (builder)","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Vacant, according to the present use entry; condition recorded as good; an addition from 1960 is noted at the rear.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.667066-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002333.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002333/cc066fc54d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002333/cc066fc54d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MC_Wister_School_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MC_Wister_School_Philly.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993506","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Channing_Wister_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6779201"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/wister-mary-channing-school-88002333/"}