Cement City Historic District

Cement City Historic District is a historic district in Donora, Pennsylvania. The district includes 80 Prairie School concrete residences built in 1916-17. The homes served as housing for employees of the American Steel and Wire Company. Poured-in-place concrete houses had become popular in large-scale housing developments at the time, partly thanks to promotion by Thomas Edison; the homes built in Donora used a newly patented construction method from the Lambie Concrete House Corporation. Building the houses required a combined 10,000 barrels of Portland cement.[3]

Cement City Historic District
LocationRoughly, Chestnut and Walnut Sts. from Modisette Ave. to Bertha Ave. and along Ida and Bertha Sts., Donora, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°10′15″N 79°51′56″W
Area8.8 acres (3.6 ha)
Built1916
ArchitectLambie Concrete House Corporation; Aberthaw Construction
Architectural stylePrairie School
NRHP reference No.96000023[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 16, 1996
Designated PHMCOctober 04, 1997[2]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.[1] In 1997, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission installed a historical marker on McKean Ave. (Pa. 837) in South Donora, noting the historic importance of the community.[2] It is designated as a historic district by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation.[4] Many of the original cement homes are still standing today, and currently serve as private residences.

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Cement City - PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  3. Piper, Clinton E. (September 1995). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Cement City Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  4. "Cement City Historic District". Landmark Registry - Historic District. Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation. 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.