{"nrhp_refnum":"72001516","name":"Portsmouth Naval Hospital","other_names":["Norfolk Naval Hospital"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"On Hospital Point at Washington and Crawford Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Portsmouth (Independent City)","county":"Portsmouth","state":"VA","lat":36.84798772950006,"lon":-76.3045530173776,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Health/Medicine","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Greek Revival naval hospital building on the U.S. Naval Reservation in Portsmouth, Virginia, designed by architect John Haviland and first occupied in 1830 on the former Fort Nelson site.","why_significant":"The original portions are presented as a major example of Greek Revival architecture by a leading architect of the period. The hospital also reflects early national concern for seamen's welfare, as the first permanent structure built from the Naval Hospital Fund. It served civilians during the 1855 yellow fever epidemic and was used by Confederate and Union forces during the Civil War.","narrative":"Portsmouth Naval Hospital is a granite and freestone building on the U.S. Naval Reservation in Portsmouth, Virginia. Philadelphia architect John Haviland designed it in the late 1820s on part of the former Fort Nelson site. Its plan is a hollow square with a ten-column Doric portico on the northeast front, and the north wing was finished and occupied by 1830. It was the first permanent structure built from the Naval Hospital Fund, which was raised from seamen's pay. The hospital treated more than 500 civilians during the 1855 yellow fever epidemic, was fortified by Confederate forces in 1862, and was later used as a federal army hospital. Between 1907 and 1910 it was reconstructed, keeping the outer walls and adding a shallow dome and new wings. A fifteen-story building was added in 1960. The original portions are noted as a major example of Greek Revival design by a leading architect of his time.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John Haviland, architect; Thomas Tolson (freestone and granite); Isaac Phillips of Baltimore (bricks); Wood, Donn and Deming of Washington, D.C. (1907-1910 reconstruction)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in good condition, in use as a military hospital; the form notes alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.902715-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/6825/41682598/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/72001516.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001516/08dc403b39-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001516/08dc403b39-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"unidentified HABS photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PortsmouthNavalAsylum.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">unidentified HABS photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PortsmouthNavalAsylum.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682598","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Medical_Center_Portsmouth","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12063609"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/portsmouth/portsmouth-naval-hospital-72001516/"}