{"nrhp_refnum":"73002208","name":"Klugel, H. T., Architectural Sheet Metal Work Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"135 Atlantic Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Emporia (Independent City)","county":"Emporia","state":"VA","lat":36.69447457700005,"lon":-77.53626080199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-04-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A commercial building at 135 E. Atlantic Street (U.S. Route 58) in Emporia, Virginia, occupied by the H.T. Klugel sheet metal business since 1914. It has a brick structure with an elaborate galvanized sheet metal front.","why_significant":"The nomination calls the building an excellent and highly original example of a galvanized iron or sheet metal decorative building front, with few comparable fronts in Virginia. All the ornament was made in Emporia by the Klugel firm itself, probably as a showcase of its skills. The front has survived essentially unaltered for nearly sixty years and is a familiar downtown landmark.","narrative":"Located on East Atlantic Street in Emporia, this long flat-roofed brick building carries a five-bay front covered in silver and black painted sheet metal. Round-arched windows and doorways with fan tracery, lion's heads, swags of bellflowers and drapery, a modillioned cornice, a balustrade with onion-domed pedestals and a crowning pediment make up the design, which is described as Edwardian classicism. Panels advertise skylights, cornices and architectural sheet metal work, and an inscription reads 1902 H.T. Klugel 1914. Klugel came to Emporia in 1902 after learning the craft in his father's shop in Illinois, and he moved the business into this building in 1914. Every ornament was made by his own firm, and the front likely served as an advertisement of its skills. It was recognized as an unusually rich surviving sheet metal facade in Virginia, essentially unaltered for nearly sixty years and a recognizable downtown landmark. The firm continues to do sheet metal work.","period_of_significance":"1914","architect_builder":"H. T. Klugel (Klugel firm)","architectural_style":"Edwardian classicism, highly eclectic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition, altered (a cinderblock section was added), on its original site, occupied, and in commercial use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.573396-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/29/6804/41680429/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/73002208.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002208/2a01ddecba-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002208/2a01ddecba-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"DanTD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HT_Klugel_Building_from_US_58_Business.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">DanTD</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:HT_Klugel_Building_from_US_58_Business.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680429","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._T._Klugel_Architectural_Sheet_Metal_Work_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15222432"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/emporia/klugel-h-t-architectural-sheet-metal-work-building-73002208/"}