{"nrhp_refnum":"02001620","name":"Rapp Road Community Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Rapp Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Albany","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.69577976250005,"lon":-73.8530663767333,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-12-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History","Community Planning and Development","Black"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district of 27 lots on both sides of Rapp Road at the southwestern edge of Albany, New York, developed from land purchased in 1930 by Rev. Louis Parson and subdivided among members of his church.","why_significant":"The district is a rare, still-intact rural African American chain-migration community tied to the Great Migration from the South, notably Mississippi. It is significant for social history and community development, and for its link to Rev. Louis W. Parson, who recruited most of its families from the South.","narrative":"Rapp Road Community Historic District occupies a narrow lane on the southwestern edge of Albany, along the Guilderland border. It grew from a tract bought in 1930 by Rev. Louis Parson, pastor of the First Church of God and Christ, who sold irregular lots to church members, many recruited from Mississippi and other Southern states. Families such as the Owens, Woodards, McCanns and Johnsons built modest wood-frame bungalow and ranch-style houses themselves, often working in stages as money and wartime materials allowed. Later state construction of the Washington Avenue Extension removed or relocated some homes. Today the district holds 21 contributing resources, mostly single-story houses, with a few garages, sheds and driveway features, plus two modern noncontributing homes. It was listed for its role as a rare, intact chain-migration community of the Great Migration, where residents preserved Southern rural customs across generations, and for its association with Parson.","period_of_significance":"1930-1952","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: Craftsman/Bungalow","criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"Largely residential and still in single-dwelling use; most homes are occupied by original families' descendants, while one house (8 Rapp Road) is noted as vacant and several lots are empty or contain demolished homes.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.323323-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/02001620.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001620/b93519acc2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001620/b93519acc2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:67_and_68_Rapp_Road,_Albany,_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</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:67_and_68_Rapp_Road,_Albany,_NY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316317","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapp_Road_Community_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7294297"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/rapp-road-community-historic-district-02001620/"}