Downtown Indiana Historic District
Why it's listed
Downtown Indiana is a commercial and civic district in the borough of Indiana, Pennsylvania, centred on Philadelphia Street between Fifth and Seventh Streets. Its growth followed the designation of the borough as county seat in 1805, and it became the first and largest commercial area in Indiana County. Merchants established hotels, taverns and shops here in the early nineteenth century, and later the Indiana Normal School, opened in 1875, and the coal boom of 1900 to 1930 brought further construction. The district holds a wide range of architectural styles, including Federal, Italianate, Second Empire and Colonial Revival buildings, with many retaining original features. The 1870 Second Empire courthouse, designed by James W. Drum of Punxsutawney, is one of the landmarks. Drum is regarded as the most significant architect of the district for the number and variety of his buildings. The area is considered to have excellent integrity and a large concentration of historic commercial structures in the county.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29).
| Period of significance | 1800-1942 |
|---|---|
| Styles | Federal, Italianate, Second Empire, Colonial Revival, Romanesque Revival, Queen Anne, Art Deco, Art Moderne, Edwardian and others |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Acreage | 39.5 |
| Boundary source | NPS cultural-resource GIS polygon |
| Full listing page | Downtown Indiana Historic District (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.