Downtown Altoona Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Why it's listed
Along 11th and 12th Avenues in downtown Altoona, Blair County, this extension adds eleven contributing buildings to an existing district, most built in the 1920s. Eleventh Avenue was the city's main commercial street in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and was nicknamed the Great White Way after electric light posts were installed in 1910. The contributing buildings are mostly two- and three-story brick commercial blocks with large upper-story windows, some with tri-partite Chicago-style openings. The Aaron-Penn Furniture Building includes a five-story addition. The First Evangelical Lutheran Church, a sandstone building completed in 1896-97 at 12th Avenue and 14th Street, is the only non-commercial contributor. Gable's Department Store and its annex are counted as non-contributing because 1970s brick veneer hides their historic facades.
Significance in brief: The increase is argued to be significant for commerce and architecture. 11th Avenue was Altoona's main commercial street in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the contributing buildings reflect prevalent early 20th-century commercial architecture. Businesses such as Aaron (later Penn) Furniture and the S. H. Kress 5 & 10 Cent Store are represented. The First Evangelical Lutheran Church is regarded as individually eligible for the Register.
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) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 04000885, listed August 20, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1330-1410 and 1409-1431 11th Ave. and 1331-1429 Ave., Altoona |
|---|---|
| County | Blair County |
| Listed | August 20, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04000885 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | D. G. Puderbaugh (buildings at 1409-13 11th Avenue); Charles M. Robinson (First Evangelical Lutheran Church) |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival (church); Commercial and Neo-Classical influences (commercial buildings) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Some buildings have been rehabilitated since 1990, and the Gable's buildings are clad in brick veneer added in the 1970s or early 1980s; three vacant parcels are part of the boundary increase. |
| Acreage | 3.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.51637, -78.40372 (NPS GIS) |
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.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 04000885.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5303347
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.