{"nrhp_refnum":"02000623","name":"Fields, James A., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"617 27th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newport News (Independent City)","county":"Newport News","state":"VA","lat":36.98496816200003,"lon":-76.42149171499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-06-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Health/Medicine"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story red brick Italianate single-family house with a raised basement and entry tower at 617 27th Street in the Madison Heights area of Newport News, Virginia. Fields acquired the property in 1897 and the form says he constructed the house; the architect or builder is unknown.","why_significant":"The house is tied to James A. Fields, a formerly enslaved man who became a teacher, Virginia legislator, Commonwealth's Attorney and lawyer, and who used it as his law office and residence until 1903. In 1908 four Black doctors leased its top floor to open the city's first hospital for Black residents, which led to Whittaker Memorial Hospital. It is also one of the few surviving buildings from the early development of the city.","narrative":"This red brick Italianate house at 617 27th Street in Newport News, Virginia, has two stories over a raised basement, a side-hall entry, brick piers at the porch, and a low-hipped tower above the entrance. James A. Fields acquired the property in 1897 and used it as his law office and home until his death in 1903. Born enslaved in Hanover County, Fields found refuge at Fort Monroe, attended Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, taught for fourteen years, served as a justice of the peace and Commonwealth's Attorney, and sat in the Virginia General Assembly. In 1908 four Black physicians leased the top floor from the Fields family to open the first hospital for Black patients in the city. That effort led to Whittaker Memorial Hospital. After years of abandonment, the house was rehabilitated in 2000, though many original features were replaced. It remains one of few historic buildings left in the area.","period_of_significance":"1897-1952","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Late Victorian Italianate","criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"Abandoned and deteriorated for years, then stabilized and rehabilitated in 2000; many original doors, windows and interior finishes were replaced. Current use is a single dwelling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:59.7787-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/89/6820/41682089/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/02000623.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000623/e5718bfd26-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000623/e5718bfd26-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"JERRYE &amp; ROY KLOTZ. M.D.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JAMES_A._FIELDS_HOUSE,_NEWPORT_NEWS,_VA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE &amp;amp; ROY KLOTZ. M.D.</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JAMES_A._FIELDS_HOUSE,_NEWPORT_NEWS,_VA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682089","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Fields_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16836698"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/newport-news/fields-james-a-house-02000623/"}