{"nrhp_refnum":"69000364","name":"Handley Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NW corner of Braddock and Piccadilly Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Winchester (Independent City)","county":"Winchester","state":"VA","lat":39.18696849100007,"lon":-78.16642763699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Handley Library is a stone Beaux-Arts public library at the northwest corner of Braddock and Piccadilly Streets in Winchester, Virginia. It was designed by J. Stewart Barney and Henry Otis Chapman of New York and completed in 1913.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the outstanding examples of Beaux-Arts design in Virginia, with monumental French classicism executed in a sophisticated manner. It was advanced for its time, with fine facilities and fireproof construction. It also dominates a busy intersection and contrasts with the smaller 19th-century buildings nearby.","narrative":"Handley Library is a stone Beaux-Arts building on the northwest corner of Braddock and Piccadilly Streets in Winchester, Virginia. A tall dome on an octagonal base rises above a three-arched entrance porch that faces the intersection. Two wings with Ionic colonnades follow the lines of the streets, topped by balustrades and steep roofs with oval dormer lights. Inside, a three-story dome room with a colored glass inner dome serves as the reception area, and the five-level book stacks have glass floors to admit window light. The library was a gift to the city from Judge John Handley, an Irish-born resident of Scranton, Pennsylvania, whose will provided money for a library for the free use of Winchester's people. He died in 1895, construction began in 1908, and the building was finished in 1913 to designs by J. Stewart Barney and Henry Otis Chapman. It is regarded as an outstanding Virginia example of Beaux-Arts design and was notably advanced and fireproof for its time.","period_of_significance":"20th Century (1913)","architect_builder":"J. Stewart Barney and Henry Otis Chapman of New York","architectural_style":"Beaux-Arts","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition and occupied, in educational use as a library. The colored glass inner dome was covered by a temporary wooden floor because of deterioration. A later grant application describes restoration of the glass dome for continued use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.582143-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/6841/41684158/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/69000364.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000364/ba6d20d693-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000364/ba6d20d693-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Carol M. Highsmith","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Handley_Library_exterior.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Carol M. Highsmith</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Handley_Library_exterior.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"80004318","name":"Winchester Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/winchester-historic-district-80004318/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41684158","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handley_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16892089"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/winchester/handley-library-69000364/"}