Lancaster Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: See Also:Lancaster Historic District
Why it's listed
Old Town Lancaster is a compact residential neighborhood of thirty-nine principal buildings within about one and a half blocks of Penn Square in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Most are two-story red brick houses with gable roofs, built in common bond and set at or near the sidewalk, and they date mainly from about 1840 to 1910. Streets such as South Duke, East Vine and South Christian were among the original town streets laid out in 1730. Unlike most of the city centre, the area was not given over to stores or businesses in the century after 1830 and developed instead as a middle-class neighborhood. Its houses show limestone, frame, red brick and yellow brick construction side by side. The stone house at 130 East Vine Street was built as a stable before about 1802 and converted to two houses in 1838, and the paired houses at 40-42 East Vine Street, dating from about 1857 to 1858, have some of the most elaborate mid-nineteenth-century facades in Lancaster. The neighborhood is also linked visually and historically to the adjacent Historic Lancaster district.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the neighborhood is significant for its socio-economic history and as a fine sampling of domestic architecture. It is described as a residential area within about one and a half blocks of Penn Square, dating back to the 1740s, and it illustrates the external building materials used in Lancaster over two centuries. Its houses are linked to the adjacent Historic Lancaster district.
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 83004219, listed November 10, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Bounded by E. Vine, S. Christian, Washington, S. Duke, and Church Sts., Lancaster |
|---|---|
| County | Lancaster County |
| Listed | November 10, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83004219 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | c. 1790-1920 |
| Architectural style | Victorian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 3.6 |
| Within district | Lancaster City Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.03894, -76.30271 (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 83004219.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.