{"nrhp_refnum":"69000361","name":"Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E. Beverly St. and Pleasant Ter.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Staunton (Independent City)","county":"Staunton","state":"VA","lat":38.153693611500046,"lon":-79.0549077126337,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Main Building of the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind in Staunton, Virginia, a three-story brick Greek Revival structure on a high stone basement, designed by Robert Cary Long, Jr. and completed in 1846.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is one of the major Greek Revival public buildings in the United States. It is also the focal point of one of the country's oldest and most distinguished schools for deaf and blind students. Its scale and quality are said to symbolize the Commonwealth's humanitarian tradition.","narrative":"The Main Building of the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind in Staunton is a three-story brick structure on a high stone basement, with a 182-foot facade laid in Flemish bond. A large hexastyle Greek Doric pedimented portico marks the center, and two-level piazzas flank it. A 1838 act of the General Assembly created the school, and Staunton was chosen as its site in 1839. Baltimore architect Robert Cary Long, Jr. prepared the plans, and William Donoho of Albemarle County built it. Pupils were admitted from November 1839, though the building was not fully finished until 1846. A Greek Revival chapel was added at the rear around 1885. The building was designed to house separate deaf and blind schools sharing service facilities. The interior remains largely unaltered, and later campus buildings do not detract from it. It is regarded as one of the major Greek Revival public buildings in the country and the focal point of an old, distinguished school.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"Robert Cary Long, Jr. (architect); William Donoho of Albemarle County (builder)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition, occupied and in educational use; the interior has not been significantly altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:58.10631-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/6838/41683831/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/69000361.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000361/5c51024d20-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000361/5c51024d20-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Entrance,_Virginia_School_for_the_Deaf_and_Blind.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Entrance,_Virginia_School_for_the_Deaf_and_Blind.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683831","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_School_for_the_Deaf_and_the_Blind","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7934492"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/staunton/virginia-school-for-the-deaf-and-blind-69000361/"}