{"nrhp_refnum":"97001246","name":"Karolcik Building","other_names":["Perry Theater"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"115-117 S. Liberty St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Perryopolis","county":"Fayette County","state":"PA","lat":40.086620313000026,"lon":-79.75104306699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-10-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story commercial building with a theater, storefronts, basement bowling alley and poolroom, and second-floor hall and apartment, at 115-117 Liberty Street in Perryopolis Borough, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It was constructed in 1921 of red textured brick and glazed terra cotta and is the largest and most ornate building in downtown Perryopolis.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant for its association with the early twentieth century commercial development of Perryopolis and its role as an area entertainment and civic center. It is also significant as an example of early twentieth century commercial architecture that retains integrity, reflecting prosperity derived from the coal and coke industry.","narrative":"Built in 1921 of red textured brick and glazed terra cotta at 115-117 Liberty Street, just south of the Washington Diamond in Perryopolis, this two-story building was the largest and most ornate commercial block in the borough's center. Michael Karolcik, a grocer and meat market operator of Slovak descent, opened it on Thanksgiving 1921. It combined a 412-seat movie and vaudeville theater, storefronts, a basement bowling alley and billiards hall, and a second-floor public hall with an owner's apartment. The building's entrance features blue and white mosaic tile and leaded prism transoms, and its facade is decorated with terra cotta pilasters, belt courses and a peaked parapet bearing the name Karolcik. It is significant for its link to the coal and coke era growth of Perryopolis as an entertainment and civic center, and for its well-preserved commercial architecture. The theater and public hall ceased regular use by the 1980s.","period_of_significance":"1921-1945","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Craftsman","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The theater has been unused since the early 1980s and shows some effects of water leaks; the bowling alleys operated until the 1980s.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.013802-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/97001246.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001246/1c10cc569b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001246/1c10cc569b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Canadian2006","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Karolcik_Building_2011.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Canadian2006</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:Karolcik_Building_2011.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996906","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karolcik_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6373094"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/fayette-county/karolcik-building-97001246/"}