{"nrhp_refnum":"77000336","name":"Administration Building, Atascadero Colony","other_names":["Veterans' Memorial Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6500 Palma Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Atascadero","county":"San Luis Obispo County","state":"CA","lat":35.48970527500006,"lon":-120.66710056299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-11-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Exploration/Settlement","Politics/Government","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A government and former colony headquarters building at 6500 Palma Avenue in Atascadero, San Luis Obispo County, California, built 1914-24 for the Atascadero Colony. It is now known as the Veterans' Memorial Building and is owned by the county.","why_significant":"The building was the administrative center of E. G. Lewis's pre-planned Atascadero Colony, which laid out roads, water systems and civic buildings before any homes were built. It is also notable for its Italian Renaissance revival design by a prominent San Francisco firm and its double rotunda. The nomination also ties it to Lewis's women's suffrage advocacy and to national promotion of the colony.","narrative":"Built between 1914 and 1924 at 6500 Palma Avenue, this Greek-cross building served as headquarters of the Atascadero Colony in San Luis Obispo County. Designed by the San Francisco firm Bliss & Faville in an Italian Renaissance revival manner after Palladio, it is reinforced concrete faced with terra cotta brick and has two stacked rotundas rising about 100 feet, with coffered domes holding medallions carved by Taxile Doat. It housed the offices of the Colony Holding Corporation and its subsidiaries, along with a bank, library, exhibition area and telephone exchange. Developer E. G. Lewis planned the colony with experts, building roads, a water system, parks, civic buildings and orchards before settlers could build homes. Lewis also supported women's suffrage, and the cornerstone was laid by the president of the American Women's League. The building became the colony's recognized symbol through the Illustrated Review and promotional publications. It now serves as county offices and a museum.","period_of_significance":"1914-24","architect_builder":"Bliss & Faville (W. D. Bliss, as named in the form; also given as H.P. Bliss)","architectural_style":"Italian Renaissance revival (after Palladio)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Rated good condition, occupied, and in use as county offices and a museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.0787-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/77000336.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000336/dc17b30511-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000336/dc17b30511-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atascadero_City_Hall_-_Atascadero,_CA_-_DSC05365.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atascadero_City_Hall_-_Atascadero,_CA_-_DSC05365.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861437","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atascadero_Administration_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29641824"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-luis-obispo-county/administration-building-atascadero-colony-77000336/"}