{"nrhp_refnum":"07000133","name":"Matthew Fontaine Maury School","other_names":["Maury Elementary School","Frederick High School","James Monroe High School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"900 Barton School","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fredericksburg (Independent City)","county":"Fredericksburg","state":"VA","lat":38.30259880500006,"lon":-77.46464404099999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-03-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story, L-shaped Colonial Revival brick school building with an adjacent 1935 concrete stadium at 900 Barton Street in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The high school opened in 1920, with additions in 1930 and 1937, on a 7.38-acre site.","why_significant":"The nomination argues for Criterion A because it was Fredericksburg's first purpose-built public high school, served as a public school for sixty years, and its stadium was a major community gathering place, including for the annual Dog Mart. Under Criterion C it is a classic early-twentieth-century public school designed by architect Philip Nathaniel Stern, with a high degree of exterior and interior integrity.","narrative":"Maury School is a three-story, L-shaped brick school building at 900 Barton Street in Fredericksburg, paired with a 1935 concrete stadium whose bleachers face the main entry. It opened in 1920 as Fredericksburg High School, the city's first purpose-built public high school. An auditorium and gymnasium were added in 1930, and an elementary school wing followed in 1937, joined by an arcaded hyphen. Architect Philip Nathaniel Stern designed it in the Colonial Revival style, with Flemish-bond brick, Doric porticos, and a wood cornice. Inside, glazed brick wainscoting, maple floors, and the original gymnasium and auditorium survive. The site lies beside Liberty Town, an African-American neighborhood, and was once a potter's field and cemetery. The stadium hosted football games, concerts, and the annual Dog Mart. The school closed in 1980 and has since stood largely vacant, while the stadium remains in use. The property was recognized for its role in local education and community life and for its architecture.","period_of_significance":"1919-1920 to 1952","architect_builder":"Philip Nathaniel Stern (1878-1960)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revival: Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as vacant and not in use, with the building empty for about 25 years; the stadium remains in use. Plans call for rehabilitating the school as apartments using historic tax credits.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.040774-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/69/6808/41680869/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/07000133.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000133/05c8943ce2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000133/05c8943ce2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Wikipelli","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maury_School.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Wikipelli</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:Maury_School.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680869","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Fontaine_Maury_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6790515"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/fredericksburg/matthew-fontaine-maury-school-07000133/"}