{"nrhp_refnum":"90000703","name":"Highspire High School","other_names":["Highspire Elementary School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"221 Penn St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Highspire","county":"Dauphin County","state":"PA","lat":40.20997239400003,"lon":-76.79059508799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-04-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick former high school building on the southeast corner of Penn and Roop Streets in the Borough of Highspire, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It was built in stages from 1875 to 1939 and was later used as an elementary school until it closed in 1983.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building was the borough's original high school and its only high school until 1958, and remains its largest public building and a focal point for the community. Its 1915 Collegiate Classical design set the theme for later additions, which reflect the borough's population growth. It is also presented as a good example of an older, unconsolidated neighborhood high school.","narrative":"Built in stages between 1875 and 1939 on the southeast corner of Penn and Roop Streets in Highspire, this two-story brick school grew from a four-room schoolhouse into a complex of connected additions in 1902, 1915, 1926 and 1939. The 1915 addition, which occupies the principal corner, set a Collegiate Classical design theme with large multi-pane windows that later additions repeated. The building served as the borough's only high school until the district merged with Steelton in 1956 and a regional school opened in Swatara Township in 1958. It then served as an elementary school until closing in 1983. It is regarded as the largest public building in the community and a central anchor of the old town center. Interior features such as wainscotting, classroom doors and hallway transoms survive in parts of the building, although the building has been vacant since 1983 and has lost some interior elements.","period_of_significance":"1875-1939","architect_builder":"Fisher, G. (architect) for the 1875 building; Alexander, H.B. (builder) for the 1939 building; Lawrie & Green (architect)","architectural_style":"Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Vacant since 1983 and showing physical deterioration, especially in the older sections.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.090061-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/90000703.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000703/47d85d07e3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000703/47d85d07e3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"JoeRed","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highspire_High_School.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JoeRed</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:Highspire_High_School.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995875","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highspire_High_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15223964"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/dauphin-county/highspire-high-school-90000703/"}