Greensburg Downtown Historic District
Why it's listed
Greensburg's downtown grid, laid out by Christopher Truby and William Jack around the county courthouse site, forms a district of commercial, governmental, social and religious buildings. Most were built between 1872 and 1930 in brick and stone, often with carved stone, terra-cotta and cement ornament. The Westmoreland County Courthouse, completed in 1906 at a cost of about $1,250,000, anchors the district and is the fourth courthouse on the site. Coal money drove its growth: companies such as Jamison Coal and Coke and Westmoreland-Fayette Coal and Coke kept offices on Main Street, and the Pennsylvania Railroad's Main Line made the town a coal shipping center. Banks, hotels, theaters such as the Palace Theatre of 1926-27, and churches including the 1919 First Presbyterian Church by Ralph Adams Cram were built in the same boom. The district holds 79 contributing buildings, and the nomination treats its streetscapes and architecture as the main reasons for listing.
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 | 1870-1945 |
|---|---|
| Styles | Italianate, Romanesque Revival, Classic Revival, Georgian Revival, Moderne, Gothic Revival |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Acreage | 21.8 |
| Boundary source | NPS cultural-resource GIS polygon |
| Full listing page | Greensburg Downtown 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.