Donaldson, William, House
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Built in 1888 for William Donaldson, this 3½ story house at 2005 North Third Street in Harrisburg is a Queen Anne Revival residence with an irregular plan, a rounded turret, bay windows, and porches and balconies. Its walls combine brick on the first story with wood shingles above, along with stucco and stone foundations, and its roofs are gabled, gambrel, and hipped. Donaldson lived in the house until his death in 1925, when it was sold and converted to apartments; a tunnel was built that year linking it to the neighboring Sheffield Apartments. The house sits in a small group of freestanding Queen Anne mansions built between 1885 and 1905. Its exterior is regarded as very well preserved, and the interior retains wood panelling in the main entrance and the second-story turret room. A 1985 fire damaged parts of the north side, which were repaired with matching materials. The house is considered the finest Queen Anne mansion in the city.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is the finest existing Queen Anne Revival mansion in Harrisburg, with irregular plan and massing, varied surface textures, multiple intersecting roofs, bay windows, a turret, and porches and balconies. It states that the house is especially well preserved on the exterior and retains outstanding interior woodwork despite a 1985 fire and 1925 and 1988 conversions to apartments.
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 90000699, listed April 26, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 2005 N. Third St., Harrisburg |
|---|---|
| County | Dauphin County |
| Listed | April 26, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90000699 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1888 |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Converted to six apartments in 1988 after earlier conversion in 1925; damaged by a 1985 fire and repaired in kind. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.27804, -76.89460 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 90000699.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16830000
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.