{"nrhp_refnum":"100002376","name":"Harrisonburg Downtown Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":["DHR No. 115-0187"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"245 and 240 Old South High St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Harrisonburg","county":"Harrisonburg","state":"VA","lat":38.44666667,"lon":-78.86805556,"geom_source":"wikidata"},"listed_date":"2018-04-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 100-acre historic commercial and institutional district in downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia, centered on Main Street, the Rockingham County Courthouse and Court Square. The city was established in 1779-80 as the county seat.","why_significant":"The district preserves the city's commercial, governmental, religious, industrial and residential core, with buildings mostly from the 1870s to the 1950s and some earlier and later ones. The form counts 215 resources, of which 167 (77 percent) contribute to the period of significance, 1779-1955. The excerpt provided does not include the Section 8 statement of significance.","narrative":"Downtown Harrisonburg's historic district covers about 100 acres around Main Street, Court Square and the Rockingham County Courthouse. The city was laid out as the county seat in 1779-80 beside Blacks Run, and the district holds its commercial and institutional core. Dense commercial blocks around the square date mainly from the 1870s to the 1950s. South Main and South Liberty streets are largely residential, though some houses now serve as offices. Industrial and warehouse buildings cluster at the north end and along Chesapeake Avenue, including the Rockingham Milling Company complex and the 1913 Chesapeake Western Railway Station. Other resources include the 1908 Classical Revival former high school, designed by Charles Morrison Robinson, and the early Thomas Harrison House, a limestone dwelling with a Methodist conference connection. Of 215 resources, 167 contribute to the district, which is recognized for the period 1779-1955 and for the range of building types and styles it preserves.","period_of_significance":"1779-1955","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Mixed styles including Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Romanesque, Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, Tudor Revival, Late Gothic Revival, Italian Renaissance, Craftsman, Moderne, International Style and Art Deco","criteria":[],"status_note":"Mixed uses continue. The Chesapeake Western Railway Station is described as vacant, and some south-end dwellings have been converted to hospital offices.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.51749-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/6812/41681208/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/04001536.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/100002376/d3950d5bd0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/100002376/d3950d5bd0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Strawser","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harrisonburg_VA_Historic_District_Bruce_and_Main_St.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Strawser</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:Harrisonburg_VA_Historic_District_Bruce_and_Main_St.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":null,"wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrisonburg_Downtown_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15223092"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/harrisonburg/harrisonburg-downtown-historic-district-boundary-increase-100002376/"}