{"nrhp_refnum":"10000544","name":"Portsmouth Community Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"904 Elm St","address_restricted":false,"city":"Portsmouth","county":"Portsmouth","state":"VA","lat":36.832337507000034,"lon":-76.31392450199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-08-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History","Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, roughly 900-square-foot brick Colonial Revival library building at 904 Elm Avenue, Portsmouth, Virginia. It was built in 1945 at 804 South Street and has been moved twice, most recently in 2007.","why_significant":"It was the first freestanding library building in Portsmouth to serve African Americans, staffed by African American librarians, during the segregation era. It was the centerpiece of a late-1950s federal civil rights lawsuit that led to integration of the public library. It is eligible at the local level under Criterion A for Ethnic Heritage (Black) and Social History, with Criterion Consideration B for its moves.","narrative":"Built in 1945 at 804 South Street, this small brick library served Portsmouth's African American residents at a time when the city's public library excluded them. Black residents raised money for the land, and the city agreed to pay for construction and upkeep. The one-story Colonial Revival building has a hipped slate roof, 8/8 wood windows and a classical entrance, with bookshelves lining the reading room. Students from nearby I. C. Norcom High School, which lacked its own library, used it often, and Bertha W. Edwards served as librarian. In 1959 two local dentists sued to integrate the public library, and the suit led to this library's closure. Facing demolition, it was moved to a church parking lot on Effingham Street, then in 2007 to Elm Avenue, where a historical society hoped to create a museum. Few changes have been made apart from a lowered chimney, a ramp and a new foundation. Its significance rests on its role in local Black heritage and social history.","period_of_significance":"1945 to 1962","architect_builder":"Van Leeuwen, George (architect); Lucas, E.W. (builder)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals/Colonial Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Described as vacant after the library closed following the lawsuit; later moved to the church lot, then relocated in 2007 for a possible black history museum. Current function is listed as work in progress.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.589971-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/6826/41682614/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/10000544.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000544/91a8f31404-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000544/91a8f31404-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Capt1922","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portsmouth_Community_Library_13SEP2014.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Capt1922</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:Portsmouth_Community_Library_13SEP2014.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682614","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth_Community_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16898714"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/portsmouth/portsmouth-community-library-10000544/"}