Dunlap, Thomas, School
Why it's listed
Philadelphia's Thomas L. Dunlap School is a school building designed in the Colonial Revival mode by Lloyd Titus, who worked as Chief Draftsman for the Philadelphia School Board's Department of Building from 1901 to 1905. Titus was the last non-architect to hold that post, serving under the department's supervisor, a licensed architect. His successor, the architect Henry deCoursey Richards, produced Colonial Revival schools of greater refinement in their detailing and innovation. The Dunlap School is regarded as an intact and distinctive example of Titus's work. His designs were simple, with minimal detailing and ornamentation, yet showed a practical skill with materials suited to early twentieth-century school design. The building is significant in the history of Philadelphia school architecture as a representative product of a designer who shaped the city's public school buildings in the early 1900s without holding an architect's license.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the school is an intact and distinctive example of the Colonial Revival design of Lloyd Titus, who served as Chief Draftsman for the Philadelphia School Board's Department of Building from 1901 to 1905. It notes that Titus was the last non-architect to hold the position, and that his simple, skillfully handled school designs illustrate the non-architect's approach compared with the more sophisticated work of architect Henry deCoursey Richards, his successor. The area of significance is architecture.
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 86003277, listed December 4, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence low).
Key facts
| Address | 5031 Race St., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | December 4, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86003277 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Lloyd Titus (designer, non-architect Chief Draftsman, Philadelphia School Board Department of Building) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Within district | Fairmount Park |
| Coordinates | 39.96289, -75.22162 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 86003277.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7789109
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.