{"nrhp_refnum":"10000308","name":"The Tabernacle-Fireman's Field","other_names":["Bush Meeting Tabernacle","VDHR File No. 286-5007","286-5001-0234"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"250 S Nursery Ave","address_restricted":false,"city":"Purcellville","county":"Loudoun County","state":"VA","lat":39.13447444600004,"lon":-77.71484466242988,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-05-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History","Entertainment/Recreation","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large eight-sided frame meeting hall, the Bush Meeting Tabernacle, built in 1903 by local builder Arch Simpson on a roughly 16-acre property called Fireman's Field in Purcellville, Loudoun County, Virginia. The grounds also hold a mid-1940s picnic pavilion, barbecue pits and baseball fields.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the Tabernacle is a rare survivor of social history, built for summer religious and temperance revivals and later used for political speeches, fairs, recreation and roller skating. It is described as one of only three such revival structures surveyed in Virginia and the only one not tied to a single denomination. Its scale and form support significance for architecture as well as religion, recreation and social history.","narrative":"Set in a wooded park in Purcellville, the Bush Meeting Tabernacle is a one-story, eight-sided timber-frame hall measuring roughly 80 by 160 feet. Builder Arch Simpson completed it in 1903 for the Prohibition and Evangelical Association of Loudoun County, which had held outdoor summer gatherings on the site since 1878. The building was said to hold 3,000 people and originally had sliding wooden doors on most sides and a dirt floor. Over the years it hosted religious revivals, temperance and political speeches, fairs and community events, with speakers including William Jennings Bryan and Billy Sunday. In 1939 it became a roller skating rink, a use that continued until 2009. The surrounding Fireman's Field, acquired by the local fire company in the 1940s, has picnic pavilions, barbecue pits and baseball fields. The property was recognized for its role in religion, recreation and social history, and for its distinctive architecture, between 1903 and 1960.","period_of_significance":"1903-1960","architect_builder":"Arch Simpson (builder)","architectural_style":"Other: Vernacular","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The roller rink closed in 2009 and the building is vacant, awaiting rehabilitation. The grounds remain in use for outdoor recreation and as a sports facility.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.403427-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/6816/41681633/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/10000308.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000308/1bff627c39-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000308/1bff627c39-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FIREMAN%27S_FIELD_,_PURCELLVILLE,_LOUDOUN_COUNTY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</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:FIREMAN%27S_FIELD_,_PURCELLVILLE,_LOUDOUN_COUNTY.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"07000277","name":"Purcellville Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/purcellville-historic-district-07000277/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681633","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabernacle-Fireman%27s_Field","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5001416"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/loudoun-county/the-tabernacle-firemans-field-10000308/"}