Basch & Fisher Tobacco Warehouse
Why it's listed
Built about 1880 as a tobacco warehouse on the south side of New Holland Avenue in Lancaster, this one-and-one-half story brick building has a front-gabled north facade over a high basement, a rectangular plan, and an interior north-south brick wall that divides the space into two portions. The 1886 Sanborn map records it under the Basch & Fisher Tobacco Warehouse name. By 1897 it had been divided in two, and John Himmen, a tobacco sweating, or curing, operator, occupied it. Andrew H. Hershey used the eastern portion for his leaf tobacco warehouse around 1912, and Jacob Bowman, a tobacco leaf broker and importer, was an occupant in 1931. The building remained in tobacco use into the 1940s. It is regarded as representative of Lancaster's late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century cigar leaf tobacco industry, which was central to the city's economy. A heater room was added around 1935 and a garage around 1950.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is significant under criteria A and C as an integral part of Lancaster City's late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century cigar leaf tobacco processing and storage industry. It is presented as representative of a large body of industrial buildings of the period and as an example of a front-gabled tobacco building with a rectangular plan bisected by a longitudinal brick wall.
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 90001399, listed September 21, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 348 New Holland Ave., Lancaster |
|---|---|
| County | Lancaster County |
| Listed | September 21, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001399 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c.1880-1940 |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Undergoing renovations to convert it to apartments and an office; some window openings and brickwork have been altered. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Lancaster City Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.04401, -76.29896 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 90001399.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4866320
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.