{"nrhp_refnum":"88003047","name":"Strawbridge and Clothier Store","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Old York Rd. N of Rydal Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Jenkintown","county":"Montgomery County","state":"PA","lat":40.101789352000026,"lon":-75.12515351699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-12-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story Art Deco department store on Old York Road in Jenkintown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, completed in 1931 as a suburban branch of the Strawbridge and Clothier firm. A 1954 three-story addition and attached parking structure abut its north facade.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a significant local example of the development of suburban branch department stores by major urban retailers, and was the second suburban branch of its kind in the greater Philadelphia area. It is also presented as a restrained Art Deco design by Frederick W. Dreher, a leading developer of suburban shopping centers and automobile-oriented commercial developments.","narrative":"Completed in 1931 on Old York Road in Jenkintown, this four-story Art Deco department store was built for the Philadelphia firm Strawbridge and Clothier and designed by Dreher and Churchman. Its steel frame is clad in limestone above a polished granite base, with carved geometric and floral piers rising above the roofline. It opened in September 1931 as a branch store, the second suburban branch of its kind in the greater Philadelphia area, following the Ardmore branch at Suburban Square. Dreher proposed building and furnishing the store in return for a share of its gross sales rather than a fixed fee, an arrangement regarded as radically innovative in 1930. The building is significant for its link to the rise of automobile-oriented suburban retailing in the 1920s and for its restrained Art Deco design. A 1954 renovation added a three-story north addition and a two-story reinforced concrete parking structure.","period_of_significance":"1930-1938","architect_builder":"Dreher & Churchman (1930-1931)","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:35.905429-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88003047.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88003047/e0d59d0c64-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88003047/e0d59d0c64-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shuvaev","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Strawbridge_and_Clothier_Store,_Jenkintown_PA_02.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Shuvaev</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Strawbridge_and_Clothier_Store,_Jenkintown_PA_02.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995962","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawbridge_and_Clothier_Store","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7622532"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/montgomery-county/strawbridge-and-clothier-store-88003047/"}