{"nrhp_refnum":"08000580","name":"Clarksville Elementary School","other_names":["Clarksville Grade School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"58 Verda Lane","address_restricted":false,"city":"Clarksville","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.57884289900005,"lon":-73.95435968799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-07-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A public elementary school at 58 Verda Lane in the hamlet of Clarksville, Town of New Scotland, Albany County, New York. The original section was built in 1949 and expanded in 1954, with later additions in 1966, 1968 and 2004.","why_significant":"The school is presented as an intact and rare example of a mid-twentieth century designed school. It reflects the development of education in rural Clarksville after WWII. Architect Henry L. Blatner designed it around bilateral daylighting and a modular plan that could expand over time, and it drew attention in national architectural journals.","narrative":"Clarksville Elementary School is a one-story, steel-framed school at 58 Verda Lane in the hamlet of Clarksville, Albany County. Clad in clinker brick and concrete, it opened in fall 1949 after the community's earlier small school closed following a coal gas incident in 1942. Architect Henry L. Blatner, drawing on lighting research from his graduate work at M.I.T., aligned the classroom wing east to west so that light entered from both north and south. Clerestory windows, glass blocks and sunscreens help even out daylight and reduce glare. The building was designed to grow in modules, and a gymnasium, library, kitchen, offices and a kindergarten room were added in 1954. Later additions came in 1966, 1968 and 2004. Original features such as asphalt floor tiles, built-ins, vaulted classroom ceilings and colorful ceiling panels survive. The school is valued for its modern design, its coverage in national architectural publications, and its role in local education history.","period_of_significance":"1949-1954","architect_builder":"Henry L. Blatner","architectural_style":"Modern Movement","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a school; the 1960s and 2004 additions are considered compatible but non-historic, and some original windows have been replaced with sympathetic replicas.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.521979-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/08000580.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316195","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarksville_Elementary_School_(Clarksville,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5127688"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/clarksville-elementary-school-08000580/"}