{"nrhp_refnum":"66000917","name":"Monroe Law Office","other_names":["James Monroe Law Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"908 Charles St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fredericksburg (Independent City)","county":"Fredericksburg","state":"VA","lat":38.30245432600006,"lon":-77.46163508263552,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-11-13","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1966-11-13","areas_of_significance":["Law","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A story-and-a-half brick law office at 908 Charles Street in Fredericksburg, Virginia, built in 1758, where James Monroe practiced law. It was expanded in 1948 with an L-shaped addition and now operates as a museum and memorial library.","why_significant":"James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, practiced law in this building from 1786 to 1789. The building was later restored, expanded and furnished with Monroe furniture from later in his life. The form concedes that the building has little historic integrity today.","narrative":"This brick law office at 908 Charles Street in Fredericksburg, Virginia, dates to 1758. It was originally a long, story-and-a-half building with green-shuttered windows, three chimneys and three dormers along a low gabled roof. James Monroe, later the fifth President of the United States, practiced law here from 1786 to 1789, after leaving the Congress of the Confederation and returning to the Virginia legislature. During those years he attended the Annapolis conference of 1786 and opposed the new Constitution at the Virginia ratifying convention of 1788. In 1948 an L-shaped addition was built to house Monroe furniture, memorabilia and a small library, and a new front door was added to manage visitors. The nomination notes that these changes left the building with little historic integrity. It is nonetheless recognized for its link to Monroe's career before his later service as governor, diplomat, cabinet member and President.","period_of_significance":"1786-1789","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition and altered; in use as a museum and memorial library, open to the public.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.870077-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/6790/41679033/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/66000917_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000917/15e6584d8e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000917/15e6584d8e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Theodor Horydczak","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Law_office_jmonroe.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Theodor Horydczak</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Law_office_jmonroe.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679033","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Monroe_Law_Office","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6139918"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/fredericksburg/monroe-law-office-66000917/"}