{"nrhp_refnum":"70000870","name":"Falls Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"115 E. Fairfax St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Falls Church (Independent City)","county":"Falls Church","state":"VA","lat":38.881075114000055,"lon":-77.17093590999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-02-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick colonial parish church at 115 E. Fairfax Street in Falls Church, Virginia, built between 1767 and December 1769 to a plan by Colonel James Wren, replacing an earlier frame church of 1733.","why_significant":"The church is tied to the early history of Northern Virginia, and the independent city took its name from it. George Washington served on the vestry that ordered its construction. Its architecture is related to Christ Church in Alexandria and Pohick Church, although a 1959 chancel addition compromised its integrity.","narrative":"Falls Church, at 115 E. Fairfax Street, is a brick colonial church that gave its name to the independent city around it. It replaced a frame church of 1733 that the vestry, including George Washington, judged rotten and unfit for repair in 1763. Colonel James Wren's plan was accepted in 1764, and the new building was raised between 1767 and December 1769. It measures about 60 by 40 feet, with Flemish bond brickwork, two tiers of windows and a hipped roof. During the Revolution it served as a recruiting station, and it was abandoned after Disestablishment until 1839. Federal troops used it as a hospital and a stable during the Civil War. A restoration followed in 1905. In 1959 the east wall was demolished for a large chancel, turning the original building into a nave. The church remains architecturally related to Christ Church in Alexandria and Pohick Church, and its churchyard keeps a shaded setting amid an urbanized neighborhood.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"James Wren (plan and specifications); earlier frame church built by Richard Blackburn","architectural_style":"Colonial Virginia church","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a religious building; condition listed as fair and altered, with an enlarged chancel added in 1959.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.097838-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/80/6805/41680580/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/70000870.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000870/56cb820687-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000870/56cb820687-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Southerngs","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thefallschurch.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Southerngs</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thefallschurch.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680580","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Falls_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7733254"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/falls-church/falls-church-70000870/"}