{"nrhp_refnum":"06000367","name":"Benjamin's Department Store","other_names":["DHR Number 065-0528","Peebles Department Store"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3327 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Exmore","county":"Northampton County","state":"VA","lat":37.53360686100007,"lon":-75.82193968299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-05-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick Italianate commercial building at 3327 Main Street in Exmore, on Virginia's Eastern Shore, built circa 1910 for John W. Chandler and operated as a department store by Harry Benjamin.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant under Criterion C for its architectural style and for the rarity of its type, materials and construction on the Eastern Shore. It was the earliest large-scale building in Exmore and the first in town with a passenger elevator. It is described as the most distinguished building in downtown Exmore.","narrative":"Standing at the northeast corner of Main Street and Willis Wharf Road in Exmore, Virginia, this three-story brick building is the largest and tallest in town. Built circa 1910 for local produce broker and landholder John W. Chandler, it housed a department store run by Harry Benjamin, a member of a merchant family active in Northampton County. The Italianate building has storefronts on its south and west sides, a bracketed metal cornice, and an open interior with pressed-metal walls and coffered ceilings, wood columns and a double-return stair. It also holds the first passenger elevator in Exmore, still original to the building. It was listed for its architecture, since department stores of this scale were rare on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Peebles Department Store later rented and, in 1975, bought the building, and it closed in the late 20th century. The property is now vacant, with many upper windows boarded.","period_of_significance":"Circa 1910","architect_builder":"John W. Chandler","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Italianate","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Current function is listed as vacant/not in use; the store closed in the late 20th century.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.042342-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/20/6822/41682220/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/06000367.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000367/0d06b487bc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000367/0d06b487bc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"James Shelton32","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin%27s_Department_Store.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">James Shelton32</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:Benjamin%27s_Department_Store.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682220","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin%27s_Department_Store","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14691877"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/northampton-county/benjamins-department-store-06000367/"}