{"nrhp_refnum":"12000234","name":"George, Lee & Helen, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"16 9th Ave., NE.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hickory","county":"Catawba County","state":"NC","lat":35.74478481400007,"lon":-81.33712485299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-04-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-story Modernist ranch-style house at 16 Ninth Avenue NE in the Combford Park subdivision of Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina, built in 1951 for Lee and Helen George and designed by Aiji Tashiro.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is locally significant under Criterion C as an intact early example of Modernist residential design in Hickory. It reflects Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian house type in plan and use of materials. It is described as the first Modernist house built in Hickory and the city's most outstanding example of the style.","narrative":"Built in 1951 at 16 Ninth Avenue NE in Hickory, this one-story house was among the first homes in the Combford Park development. Architect Aiji Tashiro, brother-in-law of owner Helen George, designed it, and D. Carroll Abee managed construction. The flat-roofed house has a compound plan, a stone-and-redwood exterior, large fixed windows with louvered ventilation panels, and a rear wall of floor-to-ceiling glass opening onto a stone terrace. Inside, wood paneling, built-in cabinetry and an in-floor hydronic heating system survive largely intact. The design follows the Usonian house type developed by Frank Lloyd Wright, with its slab foundation, carport, private bedroom wing and emphasis on natural materials and horizontality. Tashiro's main departure was placing the master bedroom near the kitchen. The nomination describes it as the earliest identified Modernist dwelling in Hickory and the city's most outstanding example of the style, which is why it was recognized for its architecture.","period_of_significance":"1951","architect_builder":"Tashiro, Aiji, architect; Abee, D. Carroll, architect (construction managed)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Used as a single dwelling; the form says it was occupied until recently by the George family, and restoration plans include insulation, replacing some window glass and rehabilitating the radiant heating system.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:54.444411-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/91/7194/47719491/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/12000234.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000234/49281217db-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000234/49281217db-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tyler Grove","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lee_and_Helen_George_House_Hickory_North_Carolina.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tyler Grove</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:Lee_and_Helen_George_House_Hickory_North_Carolina.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719491","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_%26_Helen_George_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18169255"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/catawba-county/george-lee-and-helen-house-12000234/"}