{"nrhp_refnum":"91001973","name":"Danville Branch, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers Historic District","other_names":["Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Center","Danville Area Commu"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"1900 and 2000 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Danville","county":"Vermilion County","state":"IL","lat":40.12434196450005,"lon":-87.59128246791124,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-01-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Health/Medicine","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about 300 acres on the eastern edge of Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois, containing the Danville Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, built from 1898. It includes 70 buildings, a national cemetery, a golf course, gardens and farmland.","why_significant":"The district preserves the campus of a federal veterans' home authorized in 1897 through the influence of Congressman Joseph Cannon. It shows the planned-community model of the National Home branches, with wards, a mess hall, a library, staff quarters and therapeutic gardens. Most buildings date from 1898 to 1941 and retain good integrity.","narrative":"Located on the eastern edge of Danville, Illinois, this roughly 300-acre campus began as the Danville Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Congress authorized it in 1897 after lobbying by local Congressman Joseph Cannon, construction started in 1898, and the first veteran was admitted that October. The district holds 70 buildings, of which 47 contribute, along with a thirty-acre national cemetery. Most buildings are red brick with simple sandstone details and Georgian Revival influence, including ten similar two-and-a-half-story wards, a mess hall with a clock cupola, and staff quarters. The 1905 Carnegie Library is the most ornate building, in Classical Revival style. Winding roads lead past a golf course, gardens, a pond and farm fields that once served therapeutic purposes. The Home was designed as a planned community offering shelter, education, training and employment. Today the Veterans Affairs medical center and a community college share the grounds, and alterations to historic buildings have been minimal.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, Late Gothic Revival (Georgian Revival influence)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still largely used as a Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, with the northern and northeastern portions occupied by Danville Area Community College; former wards serve as classrooms.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.250331-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/8942/28894233/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/91001973.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91001973/75e8e00e5f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91001973/75e8e00e5f-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"The Rotograph Company, New York City","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Postcard_showing_Old_Soldier%27s_Home_in_Danville,_Illinois,_USA_circa_1907.png\" rel=\"noopener\">The Rotograph Company, New York City</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Postcard_showing_Old_Soldier%27s_Home_in_Danville,_Illinois,_USA_circa_1907.png"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894233","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danville_Branch,_National_Home_for_Disabled_Volunteer_Soldiers_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16828873"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/vermilion-county/danville-branch-national-home-for-disabled-volunteer-soldiers-historic-district-91001973/"}