{"nrhp_refnum":"99001414","name":"Nowak, Dr. John J., House","other_names":["St. Elizabeth's Home"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5539 Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lancaster","county":"Erie County","state":"NY","lat":42.89768899000006,"lon":-78.66348877999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-11-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story yellow brick Spanish Revival house at 5539 Broadway in the Village of Lancaster, Erie County, New York, begun in 1929 and finished in 1930 for physician Dr. John J. Nowak. It later became St. Elizabeth's Home and has one-story institutional additions.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant under Criterion C for architecture as an intact, distinctive local example of Spanish Revival residential design, and the village's only Spanish Revival building from the 1920s. It keeps its period characteristics and a high degree of integrity despite additions on the south side and paving of the front yard.","narrative":"Dr. John J. Nowak, a Buffalo-born ear, nose and throat specialist, began building this house at 5539 Broadway in Lancaster in August 1929, and his family moved in during July 1930. He lived there until his death in 1950. The two-and-one-half-story residence is faced in yellow brick and has a symmetrical three-bay facade, a gabled portico with fluted columns, brick quoins, and a roof of red barrel-form ceramic tile with elongated consoles under the eaves. Inside are eighteen rooms with oak floors and woodwork, including a dining room with walnut paneled walls and a gold leaf ceiling. The property later became a nursing home, and low one-story institutional additions extend from the south end, joined to the original tile-roofed garage. The house is recognized for its architecture as an intact, distinctive local example of Spanish Revival design, and as the only Spanish Revival building from the 1920s in the Village of Lancaster. The additions do not seriously compromise its overall character.","period_of_significance":"1929-1949","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals/Spanish Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Currently used as a nursing home (health care/sanatarium), with mid-1950s and later institutional additions.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:51.571967-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/99001414.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001414/d774951d38-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001414/d774951d38-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr._John_J._Nowak_House_Aug_10.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr._John_J._Nowak_House_Aug_10.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312757","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._John_J._Nowak_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5304199"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/erie-county/nowak-dr-john-j-house-99001414/"}