{"nrhp_refnum":"08001053","name":"Galax Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"107 West Oldtown St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Galax","county":"Galax","state":"VA","lat":36.66263838300006,"lon":-80.92468570999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A boundary increase to the Galax Commercial Historic District in Galax, Virginia, adding the ca. 1920 Louie Pearlman House at 107 West Oldtown Street and a ca. 1945 rear garage apartment building.","why_significant":"The house is one of the few surviving residences that once surrounded Galax's commercial district, and it was built by a merchant who ran a clothing business on South Main Street. It was built within the district's period of significance and relates to the rigid gridiron town plan laid out in 1903.","narrative":"Two buildings at 107 West Oldtown Street in Galax, Virginia, were added to the Galax Commercial Historic District: the Pearlman House, built around 1920, and a garage apartment built around 1945. The house is a one-story, four-bay frame dwelling with asbestos shingle siding, a brick foundation and a steeply pitched hip roof with intersecting gables. Though vernacular in style, its complex roofline and paired windows show slight Queen Anne influence. Louie Pearlman, a Jewish merchant who moved from New York, built it near his L. Pearlman Fashion Shop on South Main Street. The neighborhood was residential until the 1930s and 1940s, when downtown commercial development expanded along West Oldtown Street. The house is now one of the few survivors of the homes that once ringed the business district, and it reflects the town's 1903 gridiron plan. The city owns it and intends to adapt it as a visitors' center.","period_of_significance":"1903-1949","architect_builder":"Not known (built by Louie Pearlman, per the historical background)","architectural_style":"Vernacular, with minor Queen Anne influences","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently in domestic use as a single dwelling with garage/multiple dwelling; the city owns the property and plans to renovate it as a visitors' center.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.128038-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/6808/41680879/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/08001053.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001053/57f49fa19a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001053/57f49fa19a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Cyoung9","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Main_St_Galax_Va.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Cyoung9</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Main_St_Galax_Va.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"02000593","name":"Galax Commericial Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/galax-commericial-historic-district-02000593/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680879","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galax_Commercial_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712347"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/galax/galax-commercial-historic-district-boundary-increase-08001053/"}