{"nrhp_refnum":"66000839","name":"Colonial National Historical Park","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"VA 359","address_restricted":false,"city":"Jamestown and","county":"James City County","state":"VA","lat":37.214523008500066,"lon":-76.5291246261332,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Military","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture","Maritime History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Colonial Parkway is a 21.44-mile scenic parkway historic district in Colonial National Historical Park on Virginia's James-York peninsula, linking Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestown. It was built between 1931 and 1958 by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads.","why_significant":"The form argues the parkway is a preeminent example of 1930s American parkway design, with an emphasis on scenic views and careful landscaping and construction. It was the first National Park Service effort to apply western park road-building experience to an eastern location, and it retains a very high degree of integrity. It is also significant for conservation, landscape architecture and recreation.","narrative":"Colonial Parkway is a 21.44-mile scenic road running between the Yorktown Visitor Center and the Jamestown Visitor Center on Virginia's James-York peninsula. Built between 1931 and 1958 by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads, it connects Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestown within Colonial National Historical Park. The road follows a curving route with wide views over the York and James Rivers. It passes through open river terrain, enclosed forest, brick-arched underpasses and low concrete bridges across tidal marsh. Colonial-style brickwork marks its bridges and culverts, and the pavement used marl exposed by hand sweeping to give a historic look. The parkway was the National Park Service's first attempt to bring its western park road-building methods to an eastern, more developed area. Its emphasis on scenery and detailed landscaping made it a leading example of 1930s parkway design. It keeps its original width, alignment and most views, and is still used as a park road and recreation route.","period_of_significance":"1930-1958","architect_builder":"Charles Peterson, Oliver \"O.G. Taylor, Stanley Abbott","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The parkway is described as retaining extraordinary integrity, with a few intrusions such as two post-1958 bridges, some concrete swales and modern wooden guard rails. Current function is still park, road-related and outdoor recreation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.525466-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/56/6813/41681356/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/66000839.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000839/a923e9e55d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000839/a923e9e55d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":"No machine-readable author provided. Aude assumed (based on copyright claims).","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yorktown_monument1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">No machine-readable author provided. Aude assumed (based on copyright claims).</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yorktown_monument1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681356","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_National_Historical_Park","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5148351"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/james-city-county/colonial-national-historical-park-66000839/"}