{"nrhp_refnum":"04000055","name":"Glebe Center","other_names":["Glebe Shopping Center","000-9415"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"71-89 N. Glebe Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Arlington","county":"Arlington County","state":"VA","lat":38.87163452300007,"lon":-77.10210167499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-02-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story brick shopping center at 71-89 North Glebe Road in the Ballston area of Arlington County, Virginia, designed by architect Mihran Mesrobian and built in 1940 by F & W Construction.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion C in architecture as a unique commercial shopping center blending Moderne and Art Deco styles by noted architect Mihran Mesrobian. It was a prototype for his Moderne designs for independent, competitive shopping centers and his first use of glass block as a rooftop clerestory.","narrative":"Glebe Center is a one-story shopping center at 71-89 North Glebe Road in Arlington County, Virginia, built in 1940. Architect Mihran Mesrobian designed it and F & W Construction built it. The L-shaped building is faced in brick over cinder block, with cast-stone chevron and geometric floral ornament, rounded corners, and a central square tower topped by a glass-block clerestory and a pyramidal metal roof. A large parking forecourt separates it from the road. It was meant to serve nearby residents of the Buckingham apartments and Ashton Heights, along with motorists on a busy route, and it competed with the Colonial Revival stores of Buckingham. The property was listed because it is a distinctive example of Moderne and Art Deco commercial design, a prototype for Mesrobian's independent shopping centers and the first place he used glass block as a rooftop clerestory. Later alterations include replaced storefronts and renovated interiors, though some original elements survive.","period_of_significance":"1940","architect_builder":"Mesrobian, Mihran (Architect); F&W Construction Company (Builder)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement/Art Deco; Modern Movement/Art Moderne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in commercial use, with six contiguous units; storefronts were replaced circa 1990 and interiors altered from about 1970 to 2000.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.594198-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/6795/41679572/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/04000055.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000055/4dbc293f47-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000055/4dbc293f47-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Farragutful","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glebe_Center.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Farragutful</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:Glebe_Center.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679572","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glebe_Center","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712362"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/arlington-county/glebe-center-04000055/"}