Tamaqua Historic District
Why it's listed
Tamaqua is a borough of tightly arranged buildings on narrow lots, centered on the Five Points intersection where Broad Street meets the railroad. Its built fabric dates mostly from the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century, with a large number of buildings constructed between 1900 and 1925. The district holds commercial blocks of three and four stories, frame and brick residences, row houses, iron steps linking hillside neighborhoods to downtown, and five bridges. Its development followed the 1831 Little Schuylkill Railroad, which opened the eastern end of the southern anthracite field to the Philadelphia market. The borough became a center of mining, rail transport and manufacturing, with powder works and a major colliery. The nomination regards the district as an intact collection of nineteenth century residential, industrial and commercial architecture, in both vernacular and high style forms.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is significant for its role in the southern anthracite coal industry and for commerce and rail transport, under Criterion A, and for its collection of nineteenth and early twentieth century residential, commercial and industrial architecture, under Criterion C. It notes the borough grew from the 1831 Little Schuylkill Railroad into a mining and manufacturing center second only to Pottsville in the southern field.
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 01000059, listed February 2, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by the Odd Fellows Cemetery, Rowe & Mauch Sts., East End Ave., Mountain Ave., and West Cottage Ave., Tamaqua |
|---|---|
| County | Schuylkill County |
| Listed | February 2, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01000059 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | c. 1801-1950 |
| Architect / builder | Schlegel, James (architect); Weaver, Edward E. (builder); Becker & Schilbe Co. (builders) |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne, Second Empire, Stick/Eastlake, Colonial Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman, Classical Revival, Romanesque, Italianate, Tudor Revival, Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival, Federal, Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 178.6 |
| Coordinates | 40.79995, -75.95684 (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 01000059.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7680716
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.