{"nrhp_refnum":"95000524","name":"Parkesburg School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"360 Strasburg Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Parkesburg","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":39.96115644500003,"lon":-75.92016029599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-04-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Italian Renaissance Revival brick school building on a hill overlooking the borough of Parkesburg in Chester County, Pennsylvania, with a Colonial Revival rear addition and a one-story 1958-1959 addition to the east.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school was the community's main public school for decades, serving as the only public school in Parkesburg from 1900 until 1956 and as a high school for much of that time. Its hilltop siting makes it a visual landmark, and it is described as the largest and most elaborate public school built in the borough before 1956.","narrative":"Built of brick on a hill above Parkesburg, the two-story school with a dual-pitched hip roof was completed in 1899-1900 after a fire destroyed the earlier public school in June 1898. R. Preston Shoemaker held the building contract, and a bond issue of twenty thousand dollars funded it. A two-story Colonial Revival addition followed in 1916, designed by Clyde Adams. The school served as the community's main educational facility, and from 1912 it housed all grade levels, including a high school. Students from outside the borough also attended during the period before the Great Depression. Its hilltop position makes it a prominent landmark, and the 72-step concrete staircase from Main Street is a contributing structure. The school closed in 1980 and has been vacant since then.","period_of_significance":"1900-1943","architect_builder":"Shoemaker, R. Preston (Builder); Adams, Clyde (Architect of 1916 addition); Elliott, W. J. (Builder of 1916 addition)","architectural_style":"Italian Renaissance Revival; Colonial Revival (addition)","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Vacant after the Octorara Area School District closed the school in 1980; the document also describes plans for conversion to elderly apartments.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:35.81865-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/95000524.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000524/81aa59eacf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000524/81aa59eacf-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parkesburg_School.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parkesburg_School.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996881","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkesburg_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7138452"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/parkesburg-school-95000524/"}