{"nrhp_refnum":"81000079","name":"Mount Vernon Memorial Highway","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Washington St. and George Washington Memorial Pkwy.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Alexandria (Independent City)","county":"Alexandria","state":"VA","lat":38.79979181050004,"lon":-77.06122474293439,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-05-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A parkway and commemorative highway, part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, linking Arlington Memorial Bridge on Columbia Island in Washington, D.C. with Mount Vernon in Fairfax County, Virginia, along the Potomac River. It was built 1929-32 by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads.","why_significant":"It is significant as the first parkway constructed and maintained by the U.S. Government and the first with a commemorative function stated in its name and alignment. The section south of Alexandria is probably the least altered of the early parkways in the United States. Its stone-faced arch bridges, concrete slab base, beveled curbing and plantings mark its character.","narrative":"Running along the Potomac River from Arlington Memorial Bridge to Mount Vernon, this highway was built between 1929 and 1932 to honor George Washington on the bicentennial of his birth. The Bureau of Public Roads designed it with consultants from the Westchester County Park Authority in New York, and it shares features with their parkways: stone-faced arch bridges over concrete construction, beveled curbs and rustic wooden guardrails. The road follows the route nearest the river, giving views of Fort Washington and, for northbound traffic, of the Washington Monument. It is considered the first parkway built and maintained by the federal government and the first with a commemorative purpose in its name and alignment. The southern section in Fairfax County is the least altered. Washington Street in Alexandria is included through a federal easement, and the Navy-Marine Memorial on Columbia Island is also part of the listing.","period_of_significance":"1929-32","architect_builder":"U.S. Bureau of Public Roads","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Remains under National Park Service administration and in use as a parkway; the Fairfax County section is the least altered, while the northern section has been repaved, realigned and widened in places.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:58.203019-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/62/6794/41679462/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/81000079.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000079/ef3a309d46-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000079/ef3a309d46-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Yoichi Okamoto","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GEORGE_WASHINGTON_MEMORIAL_PARKWAY_ON_VIRGINIA,_LOOKING_NORTH_TO_KEY_BRIDGE_-_NARA_-_546588.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Yoichi Okamoto</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GEORGE_WASHINGTON_MEMORIAL_PARKWAY_ON_VIRGINIA,_LOOKING_NORTH_TO_KEY_BRIDGE_-_NARA_-_546588.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679462","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Memorial_Parkway","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q717925"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/alexandria/mount-vernon-memorial-highway-81000079/"}