{"nrhp_refnum":"02001633","name":"Valdosta Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Valley, Lee, and Toombs Sts. and Crane Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Valdosta","county":"Lowndes County","state":"GA","lat":30.836111005500044,"lon":-83.27974499030171,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-12-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce","Community Planning and Development","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A boundary increase and additional documentation for the downtown commercial historic district of Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia. It adds about two acres and six buildings to the original 25-acre district listed in 1983.","why_significant":"The district is the historic central business district of Valdosta, a regional commerce center, with a gridiron plan and courthouse square dating to the city's 1860 incorporation. It is significant for architecture, commerce, community planning and development, and politics/government. The update extends the period of significance to 1952 and reclassifies ten earlier noncontributing buildings as contributing.","narrative":"Downtown Valdosta's commercial core was first listed in 1983, and this update enlarges it by two acres on the north and south sides. Six buildings were added: the 1898 First Baptist Church designed by Stephen F. Fulgham, a late-1930s telephone exchange, a Streamline Moderne automobile dealership from about 1940, a furniture building from about 1900, and two brick warehouses. Ten buildings once judged noncontributing were reclassified after reaching fifty years of age or having false facades removed, including a 1940s International Style Kress store front and a 1947 Big Star Food Store. Two monuments on the courthouse square were also counted. The district reflects Valdosta's role as a regional commerce center, its gridiron plan and courthouse square dating to the 1860 incorporation, and its function as the county's governmental center. The period of significance now runs from 1860 to 1952, the year the last major building was completed.","period_of_significance":"1860-1952","architect_builder":"Bart A. Walton (builder/contractor); Edward E. Dougherty, Stephen F. Fulgham, Lloyd Greer, Frank P. Milburn (architects)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Romanesque; Commercial Style; Modern Movement: Moderne, International Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Boundary increase functions include specialty store, department store, warehouse, religious facility and communications facility, and current functions include some vacant or unused space.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:43.232164-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/02001633.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001633/4362b6e432-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001633/4362b6e432-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":"Ebyabe","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valdosta_GA_Comm_Hist_Dist01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ebyabe</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valdosta_GA_Comm_Hist_Dist01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208849","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdosta_Commercial_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29094031"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/lowndes-county/valdosta-commercial-historic-district-boundary-increase-02001633/"}