{"nrhp_refnum":"100001850","name":"Clifton Forge Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":["VDHR File No. 105-17"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"321 Commercial Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Clifton Forge","county":"Alleghany County","state":"VA","lat":null,"lon":null,"geom_source":null},"listed_date":"2017-11-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly ten-acre commercial historic district in downtown Clifton Forge, Virginia, centered on Main and East Ridgeway streets. It holds seventy-two resources, mostly commercial buildings from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.","why_significant":"The district preserves the business core of a railroad town that grew around the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. Its buildings show the city's commercial development from the 1880s into the early twentieth century, including work by the Lynchburg firm Frye & Chesterman, mail-order architect George F. Barber, and local builders.","narrative":"Downtown Clifton Forge, Virginia, contains a ten-acre commercial district along Main and East Ridgeway streets. It includes seventy-two resources, fifty-seven of them contributing. Most are frame, brick and concrete-block commercial buildings from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with offices and apartments upstairs. The town grew after the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad built a roundhouse in 1878, and Main Street became its principal business area in the 1880s. East Ridgeway Street developed after the railroad added a freight depot, office building, hotel and YMCA nearby. Notable buildings include the 1898 W. W. Pendleton Building, drawn on plans from mail-order architect George F. Barber, and two concrete-block buildings with decorative detailing. The Lynchburg firm Frye & Chesterman designed the 1905 Masonic Theatre and Alleghany Building in buff-colored brick with Neoclassical detail. Local builders such as Andrew Jackson Acord and Edward P. Fisher also shaped the downtown. The district represents the commercial life of a railroad hub.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Frye & Chesterman; E. R. Green; George F. Barber; Andrew Jackson Acord; Edward P. Fisher","architectural_style":"Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Neoclassical, Tudor Revival, Spanish Eclectic, Mission, Art Deco, International Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Current uses include commercial, multiple dwelling, government, museum and parking; some buildings are vacant or not in use, and several historic buildings have been demolished.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.592581-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/6802/41680258/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/91002015.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":null,"wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/alleghany-county/clifton-forge-commercial-historic-district-boundary-increase-100001850/"}