O'Hara, John, House
Why it's listed
Built before 1870 for the brewer David C. Yuengling, this three-story stone townhouse at 606 Mahantongo Street in Pottsville has a scored smooth facade, a heavily carved overhanging cornice, and a rounded door hood in the Italianate manner. Its interior, now divided into five apartments, keeps a stained glass window, ceramic pictorial tiled walls and a marble chip mosaic floor in the vestibule, a great staircase, and some original woodwork. The house was later the residence of the Frederick G. Yuengling family, who lived there from 1870 until 1913. In 1913 Dr. Patrick O'Hara bought it, and his family settled there in 1916 and remained until 1940. The novelist John O'Hara spent his youth in the house, where he began writing at the dining room table. Its street and neighborhood served as models for the settings of several of his novels, including Gibbsville. It is one of the few surviving places tied to his early life.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is significant for its association with novelist John O'Hara, who grew up there and drew on Pottsville and the house's social setting in much of his fiction. It also cites the building's surviving interior features and its Italianate-style exterior as representative of a prosperous mid-19th-century townhouse.
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 78002466, listed May 22, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 606 Mahantongo St., Pottsville |
|---|---|
| County | Schuylkill County |
| Listed | May 22, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78002466 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Literature |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The house is in very good condition and has been altered to accommodate five apartments, while several original interior features remain. |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Coordinates | 40.68292, -76.19945 (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 78002466.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6250905
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.