Downtown Altoona Historic District is a national historic district

Historic district (United States)

In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...

 located at Altoona

Altoona, Pennsylvania

-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...

, Blair County, Pennsylvania

Blair County, Pennsylvania

-Significant Topographic Features:*Brush Mountain*Logan Valley*Morrison Cove*Tussey Mountain-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 129,144 people, 51,518 households, and 34,877 families residing in the county. The population density was 246 people per square mile . There were 55,061...

. The district includes 240 contributing buildings in the central business district

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 and surrounding residential areas of Altoona. The buildings were primarily built after about 1860 and include residential, civic, social, and religious buildings. Notable buildings include the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (1920s), First Methodist Episcopal Church, First Presbyterian Church, First Evangelical Lutheran Church (1896-1897), U.S. Post Office (1931-1933), Fraternal Order of Eagles Building, Altoona City Hall, Casanave Building (1890s), Hutchison Block, McCrory's Department Store (1937), and Aaron-Penn Furniture Building. Located in the district are the separately listed Central Trust Company Buildings

Central Trust Company Buildings

Central Trust Company Buildings are two historic commercial buildings located at Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania. They are two, five-story buildings connected by a stair and elevator tower. The buildings measure 130 feet by 120 feet. The Central Trust Company Building was built in 1905 and...

, Mishler Theatre

Mishler Theatre

The Mishler Theatre is a Beaux-Arts stage and movie theater located at 1208 Twelfth Avenue in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was designed by Albert E. Westover and built by local theatre owner and manager Isaac Charles Mishler and opened on February 15, 1906. Nine months later, the neighboring Rothert...

, and Penn Alto Hotel

Penn Alto Building

The Penn Alto Building is a landmark building located in downtown Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA. The building is nine stories high and has a partial tenth floor penthouse. The name of the building remains the same, even though its usage has changed over time...

.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1992, with a boundary increase in 2004.