{"nrhp_refnum":"97000289","name":"Oakdale Public School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"33 Hastings St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oakdale","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.398743127000046,"lon":-80.17929005299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-03-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story brick public school building on a knoll in Oakdale Borough, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, about 15 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. It was built in 1894 with a rear addition of about 1895-1905.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is the only remaining public or institutional building from Oakdale's boom years and the only school of its period surviving in the immediate region. It is presented as a handsome, if modest, example of transitional Romanesque/Classical Revival design reflecting regional school-building trends of the 1890s. Its role in local education and community life is also cited.","narrative":"Built in 1894 on a terraced knoll above State Street in Oakdale Borough, the brick school rises two and a half stories over a raised basement, with a central tower, a datestone reading MDCCCICIV, and a projecting entrance pavilion. Contractor J. M. Andrews was awarded the job for $17,948 in September 1894 after fourteen bids, and J. E. Allison of Pittsburgh is named as architect. A rear block, probably added between about 1895 and 1905, closely matches the original in materials and detailing. The building served as the borough's only elementary school until it closed in 1972, and it hosted school board business, a Vacation Bible School and Polish language classes. It is significant for its educational role and as a restrained Romanesque/Classical Revival design, one of the few surviving schools of its period in the region. The building has been empty since 1972 and water damage has affected the interior, though many original features remain.","period_of_significance":"1894-1946","architect_builder":"J. E. Allison (architect); J. M. Andrews (builder)","architectural_style":"LATE VICTORIAN/Romanesque Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Vacant since its school closing in 1972; windows boarded up and tower roof missing.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.808274-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/97000289.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000289/ee7c40ced5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000289/ee7c40ced5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Lee Paxton","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OakdalePublicSchool.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lee Paxton</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OakdalePublicSchool.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996836","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakdale_Public_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7073812"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/oakdale-public-school-97000289/"}