{"nrhp_refnum":"02001002","name":"Shea Terrace Elementary School","other_names":["124-5083"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"253 Constitution Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Portsmouth (Independent City)","county":"Portsmouth","state":"VA","lat":36.84204910400007,"lon":-76.32418437399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-09-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story red brick elementary school at 253 Constitution Avenue in the Shea Terrace neighborhood of Portsmouth, Virginia, built in 1925 and designed by architect Charles M. Robinson.","why_significant":"The school is argued to be significant under Criterion A for education, as a progressive-era school with a gymnasium/assembly room, library and special rooms that replaced an outmoded school. Under Criterion C it is significant for architecture as the work of Charles M. Robinson, a prominent Virginia school architect. It served as a neighborhood school for about seventy-five years.","narrative":"Opened in September 1925 as the Sixth Avenue School, this two-story, nine-bay red brick building in Portsmouth's Shea Terrace neighborhood was later renamed when Sixth Avenue became Constitution Avenue. It replaced the outmoded Glasgow Street School and was the second largest school in the city at the time. Its sixteen classrooms were joined by a manual training room, library, infirmary and a large assembly and gymnasium space, reflecting a modern idea of what a school should offer. The projecting center pavilion carries cast concrete floral panels, colored brick patterning and a modillioned cornice. Inside are terrazzo corridors, pressed tin ceilings and classrooms with five-window walls and built-in coat closets. Architect Charles M. Robinson, who designed schools across Virginia, produced the plans. The building served students until June 2000 and is now vacant. It was listed for its role in local education and for its architecture.","period_of_significance":"1925-1952","architect_builder":"Charles M. Robinson","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The form lists current function as vacant, not in use. The school operated until June 2000.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:01.135415-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/6826/41682612/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/02001002.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001002/c5207ee88f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001002/c5207ee88f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Capt1922","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shea_Terrace_Elementary_School.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Capt1922</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shea_Terrace_Elementary_School.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682612","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shea_Terrace_Elementary_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7492150"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/portsmouth/shea-terrace-elementary-school-02001002/"}