{"nrhp_refnum":"96000023","name":"Cement City Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly, Chestnut and Walnut Sts. from Mooisette Ave. to Bertha Ave. and along Ida and Bertha Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Donora","county":"Washington County","state":"PA","lat":40.171041141000046,"lon":-79.86531285338012,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A district of 80 contributing poured-concrete two-story houses in Donora, Washington County, Pennsylvania, on a terraced hillside overlooking the central business district. The houses were built in 1916-1917 for workers of the American Steel and Wire Company.","why_significant":"The district is significant for industry and community planning as an intact example of large-scale early twentieth-century western Pennsylvania company housing. It is also significant for architecture as an example of poured-in-place concrete used to mass produce fireproof houses influenced by the Prairie style.","narrative":"Built between 1916 and 1917 in South Donora, the Cement City Historic District is a group of 80 contributing houses constructed of poured-in-place concrete. The American Steel and Wire Company commissioned the houses to stabilize its workforce during rapid wartime growth, when many workers lacked family housing. Lambie Concrete House Corporation held the building contract and used reusable steel forms, and Aberthaw Construction served as contractor. The houses are finished in stucco and follow variations of the American four-square plan, with hipped roofs, porches, and concrete sidewalks. Planned for 152 units, the project stopped at 100 because of high costs and a shortage of skilled labor. The district is regarded as an intact example of early twentieth-century company housing and as a notable use of concrete construction for mass-produced, fireproof worker housing. Its streets, alleys, and rear yards largely retain their original layout.","period_of_significance":"1916-1945","architect_builder":"Lambie Concrete House Corporation (builder); Aberthaw Construction (contractor)","architectural_style":"Prairie","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Eighty contributing buildings remain; one original rental/maintenance building was converted with a mansard roof, and three post-1945 houses are non-contributing. Many windows and doors have been replaced.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.506142-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/96000023.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000023/0bf5cdf528-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000023/0bf5cdf528-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Generic1139","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cement_City_Historic_District.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Generic1139</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:Cement_City_Historic_District.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994724","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cement_City_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5058646"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/washington-county/cement-city-historic-district-96000023/"}