{"nrhp_refnum":"66000040","name":"Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial","other_names":["Custis-Lee Mansion"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Arlington National Cemetery","address_restricted":false,"city":"Arlington","county":"Arlington County","state":"VA","lat":38.88038026800004,"lon":-77.07383549818468,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Arlington House is a Greek Revival mansion with a two-story central block and two one-story wings, built from 1803 to about 1817-18 on the Custis estate in Arlington, Virginia. It overlooks the Potomac River and Washington, D.C., and sits within Arlington National Cemetery.","why_significant":"Congressional legislation designates the house as a memorial to Robert E. Lee, who lived there for about 30 years until he resigned his U.S. Army commission in 1861. It is also tied to George Washington Parke Custis, the step-grandson and adopted son of George Washington. The form further calls it an outstanding example of early Greek Revival architecture, likely designed by George Hadfield.","narrative":"Arlington House is a Greek Revival mansion on a rise above the Potomac, facing Washington, D.C. George Washington Parke Custis, foster son of George Washington, began building it in 1803 with the north wing, added the south wing in 1804, and finished the two-story center about 1817-18. It is believed to be the work of architect George Hadfield. The brick walls are stuccoed and scored to imitate stone, and eight Doric columns carry a large pediment across the front. Robert E. Lee married Custis's daughter Mary and treated the house as home for about 30 years. Six of their seven children were born there. On April 19, 1861, Lee decided in an upstairs bedroom to resign from the U.S. Army, and the family left soon after. The federal government acquired the estate in 1864, and a national cemetery was established on the grounds. Congress later authorized a memorial to Lee, and restoration began in 1928. The National Park Service has managed the house since 1933.","period_of_significance":"1803-61","architect_builder":"George Hadfield","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Operated as a museum and park under the National Park Service. Many original or historically associated Custis and Lee furnishings are on display. The house was restored beginning in 1928 and transferred to the National Park Service in 1933.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.415066-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/6796/41679614/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/66000040.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000040/c70aaa4ba4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000040/c70aaa4ba4-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arlington_House_front_view.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arlington_House_front_view.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679614","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_House,_The_Robert_E._Lee_Memorial","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q675702"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/arlington-county/arlington-house-the-robert-e-lee-memorial-66000040/"}