{"nrhp_refnum":"72001506","name":"Lexington Historic District","other_names":["See Also:Alexander-Withrow House","Lee Chapel,Washington &amp","Lee"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Chesapeake and Ohio RR, Graham and Jackson Aves., and Estill and Jordan Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lexington (Independent City)","county":"Lexington","state":"VA","lat":37.78584260000005,"lon":-79.44011887634326,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-07-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Military","Education","Architecture","Ethnic Heritage-Black"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 600-acre historic district covering much of the northern and central parts of the city of Lexington in the Valley of Virginia, in Rockbridge County. It includes the Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute campuses, a commercial core on Main Street, and residential streets.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that Lexington has been the Valley's center of education since the later eighteenth century, with Washington and Lee and VMI as its historic and aesthetic heart. The district also preserves ties to Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson and a range of nineteenth-century architecture. Its overall character is described as largely unchanged since the later nineteenth century.","narrative":"Lexington's historic district spans about 600 acres of the Valley of Virginia, taking in the northern and central parts of the city. The northern half is given over to the campuses of Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute. VMI's castellated barracks, designed by A. J. Davis, surround the parade ground, while Washington Hall, begun by John Jordon in 1823, anchors the Washington and Lee range beside Lee Chapel, completed in 1868. Main Street holds the commercial core, with brick rows from the early nineteenth to early twentieth century, the circa 1790 Alexander-Withrow House, and the 1843 Greek Revival Presbyterian Church. Residential streets offer temple-form houses, Picturesque cottages, and Queen Anne and Colonial Revival homes. The district was recognized for Lexington's long role as an educational center, its links to Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and a townscape little changed since the later nineteenth century.","period_of_significance":"18th, 19th and 20th centuries (no specific dates given)","architect_builder":"A. J. Davis (VMI barracks and residences); John Jordon (Washington Hall, begun 1823; Stono, 1818)","architectural_style":"Mixed: Greek Revival, Romanesque, castellated, Picturesque Cottage, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition rated good and altered; the district is occupied and in use for educational, commercial, residential, religious and government purposes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.663785-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/6/6815/41681506/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/72001506.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001506/934707c13e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001506/934707c13e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Zeete","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Main_Street,_Lexington,_VA_-_from_Washington_Street_intersection.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Zeete</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Main_Street,_Lexington,_VA_-_from_Washington_Street_intersection.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":null,"wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington_Historic_District_(Lexington,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6537821"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/lexington/lexington-historic-district-72001506/"}