{"nrhp_refnum":"09001158","name":"First Battalion Virginia Volunteers Armory","other_names":["Leigh Street Armory","Monroe School, Monroe Center","VDHR No. 127-5676"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"122 W. Leigh St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.55008384900003,"lon":-77.44137693199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-12-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story red brick armory at 122 West Leigh Street in the Jackson Ward neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia, built in 1895 to a design from the office of City Engineer Wilfred Emory Cutshaw.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the oldest armory still standing in Virginia and the only one known to have been built for a Black militia unit in the state. It is also described as the oldest of three identified African American armories in the country. It later served as a school and as a World War II reception center for Black servicemen, and it is a surviving example of the castellated armory design.","narrative":"Built in 1895 at 122 West Leigh Street in Richmond's Jackson Ward, this brick armory was designed in the office of City Engineer Wilfred Cutshaw for the First Battalion Virginia Volunteers, a Black militia unit. Its four towers, terra cotta crenellations and granite trim give it the look of a fortress. The city contributed $10,000 toward construction, and the brickwork contract went to Armistead Walker, a Black mason. The militia was disbanded in 1899, and the building became Monroe School, an elementary school for Black children that operated for about forty years. During World War II it served as a reception center for African American servicemen, and later it housed a Black history museum. The nomination calls it the oldest armory in Virginia and the only 19th-century Black militia armory still standing in the country. A fire and later decay destroyed most of the interior, but the exterior remains largely intact after stabilization and demolition of a 1940s gymnasium addition.","period_of_significance":"1895-1945","architect_builder":"Cutshaw, Wilfred Emory","architectural_style":"Late Victorian","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as vacant and not in use. The interior was lost to fire and rot, and the building has been stabilized with a temporary roof, plywood floors and plywood-covered window openings.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.922587-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/71/6830/41683071/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/09001158.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09001158/2be5603878-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09001158/2be5603878-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Morgan Riley","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leigh_Street_Armory,_Richmond,_Virginia.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Morgan Riley</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leigh_Street_Armory,_Richmond,_Virginia.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000982","name":"James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/james-river-and-kanawha-canal-historic-district-71000982/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683071","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battalion_Virginia_Volunteers_Armory","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16836914"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/first-battalion-virginia-volunteers-armory-09001158/"}