{"nrhp_refnum":"89000464","name":"Aquinas Institute","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1127 Dewey Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rochester","county":"Monroe County","state":"NY","lat":43.187682999500055,"lon":-77.64022004699044,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-06-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A private Catholic secondary school building at 1127 Dewey Avenue in northwest Rochester, New York, designed by Rochester architect J. Foster Warner and built in 1923-24, with the first class admitted in September 1925.","why_significant":"The form ties the school to the growth of Rochester's Catholic school system and to the city's ethnic Catholic communities, and to the diocese's effort to build a new boys' high school in a growing residential area. It also presents the building as a well-composed work by a noted local architect, with a modular classroom plan and extensive cast-stone detailing.","narrative":"Aquinas Institute is a private secondary school at 1127 Dewey Avenue in northwest Rochester, built in 1923-24 to designs by Rochester architect J. Foster Warner. It sits well back on a thirteen-acre site in a quiet residential neighborhood. The three-story steel-frame building has clay tile infill and buff brick laid in Flemish bond, with light cast stone on the principal facades. Its plan combines a classroom block, an auditorium seating about 850 on the main floor and 150 in the balcony, and a rear wing holding a gymnasium and cafeteria. Classrooms follow a standard module that shapes both plan and facade. The east entrance has a triple arcade with a Tuscan Doric order, a niche holding a statue of Thomas Aquinas, and a cast-stone crown carrying a Latin cross. The school was created when Bishop Hickey sought a site for a new boys' high school, and it reflects the growth of Catholic education among Rochester's Irish, German, Polish and Italian communities. The school remains in use as a secondary school.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"J. Foster Warner (architect)","architectural_style":"Late 19th-Early 20th Century Revival: Italianate Renaissance","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as a private secondary school; a 1985 metal \"Butler\" building on the site is noncontributing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.422489-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/89000464.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000464/0a8d5e2884-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000464/0a8d5e2884-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"DanielPenfield","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aquinas_Institute_front_entrance.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">DanielPenfield</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:Aquinas_Institute_front_entrance.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"16000779","name":"Maplewood Historic District (Boundary Increase)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/maplewood-historic-district-boundary-increase-16000779/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318756","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aquinas_Institute_of_Rochester","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4782994"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/monroe-county/aquinas-institute-89000464/"}