{"nrhp_refnum":"85003529","name":"Oteen Veterans Administration Hospital Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"N side of US 70","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ashville","county":"Buncombe County","state":"NC","lat":35.59168596900005,"lon":-82.48424338000316,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-11-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Health/Medicine","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of Georgian Revival and Colonial Revival buildings forming the former Veterans Administration Hospital complex at the intersection of US 70 and the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina. The buildings were constructed between 1924 and 1940 on the site of U.S. Army General Hospital No. 19.","why_significant":"The district is significant for its role as a major VA tuberculosis and respiratory treatment facility and for its collection of substantial Georgian and Colonial Revival buildings, which the nomination regards as the finest in western North Carolina. The complex is also presented as one of the largest and best equipped tuberculosis hospitals in the nation during its early decades.","narrative":"Built between 1924 and 1940 on a grassy knoll beside the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville, this group of white frame Colonial Revival and yellow stucco Georgian Revival buildings replaced a complex of World War I-era wooden wards. The main administration building, completed in 1928 at a cost of $750,000, is a horseshoe-shaped four-story structure with incised quoining, classical cornices and a central entrance court. The site grew out of U.S. Army General Hospital No. 19, opened in 1918, and became a Veterans Bureau tuberculosis facility in the 1920s. Its wards used long screened porches and clerestory windows to admit sunshine and fresh mountain air, the treatment methods of the period. By 1944 the hospital held 1,269 beds, and it was regarded as the largest and best equipped tuberculosis plant in the VA system. Its architecture and its role in respiratory medicine give it its importance.","period_of_significance":"1924-1940","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian Revival; Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The VA continues to own many of the older buildings, which are primarily used as dormitories; other buildings are owned by private organizations and are being converted to apartments.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:42.518367-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/7192/47719236/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/85003529.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003529/981d4e9414-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003529/981d4e9414-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bill Fitzpatrick","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oteen_VA_Hospital.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bill Fitzpatrick</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oteen_VA_Hospital.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719236","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oteen_Veterans_Administration_Hospital_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18155517"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/buncombe-county/oteen-veterans-administration-hospital-historic-district-85003529/"}