National Register
Physical Description
About Our Architecture
Historic Influences
House Plaques
Surrounding Districts

Other local National Register Historic Districts

Viewed in the context of the region, the Ridgway Historic District compares with several historic districts within an eighty-mile radius, some of which reflect the boom-to-bust cycle of petroleum in Pennsylvania.
 
             The Warren Historic District, north of Ridgway, is comparable in size and also contains a large residential neighborhood associated with its commercial core area.
 
             The Brookville Historic District, thirty-four miles to the south, compares favorably to the Ridgway district in its architectural character, although the Ridgway district is larger in size and also contains a larger number of properties.
Three mixed-use National Register Districts in Oil City (the Downtown, North Side, and the South Side Historic Districts) contain similar resources.
 
             The Johnsonburg and DuBois Historic Districts, seven miles north and about thirty miles to the south, respectively, are both commercial districts and are considerably smaller, containing about sixty resources each.

The St. Mary's Historic District, seven miles to the east and also in Elk County, is particularly significant for its association with the religious heritage of the area and while it contains locally significant architecture, several downtown properties have been lost.
 
             The Bradford Historic District, in adjacent McKean County, is nearly exclusively commercial in character, although potential residential historic districts are also found there.
 
             The downtowns of Kane and Smethport, also in McKean County, developed concomitant with Ridgway and are linked to the fortunes of petroleum in the Bradford field. Both of these are much smaller communities, although Smethport, like Ridgway, is the county seat. Kane contains a rich collection of commercial buildings, while Smethport's architectural inventory is smaller and less ornate.
 
             The Ridgway Historic District is clearly a significant representative of the pattern in industrial prosperity which was born of the lumber boom of north-central Pennsylvania. The district retains its historic architectural integrity and contains examples of many of the styles of design which were popular during its century-long period of significance.