{"nrhp_refnum":"92001030","name":"Cary, John B., School","other_names":["DHR File No. 127-824","West End School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2100 Idlewood Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.54707975300005,"lon":-77.46925702699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-08-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half story, granite-faced public school with a raised basement at 2100 Idlewood Avenue in the West End of Richmond, Virginia, built in 1912-1913 and designed in the Gothic Revival style.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it represents an important period of public school construction in Richmond under Superintendent J.A.C. Chandler and architect Charles M. Robinson (Criterion A). It also qualifies for its Gothic Revival design, its rare use of granite in Richmond, and its embodiment of a standard school building type (Criterion C).","narrative":"Built in 1912-1913 at 2100 Idlewood Avenue in Richmond's West End, the John B. Cary School is a two-and-one-half story building with a raised basement, reinforced concrete structure and granite exterior. It was named for Colonel John B. Cary, superintendent of Richmond schools from 1886 to 1889, and replaced the Sidney School. It was renamed West End School in 1954 when it became a school for black students. Architect Charles M. Robinson designed it in a Gothic Revival style, with a Tudor-arched entrance, flanking towers and crenelated parapets. Wise Granite Company of Richmond built it from locally quarried stone, an uncommon choice in a city where brick dominates; it is one of only two extant Richmond schools extensively faced with granite. The school reflects the school construction program begun under Superintendent J.A.C. Chandler after 1909. It is vacant but little altered, and conversion to apartments was planned.","period_of_significance":"1912-1930","architect_builder":"Robinson, Charles M.; Architect; Wise Granite Company; Builder","architectural_style":"Late Gothic Revival (Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently vacant and in fair condition, largely unaltered since construction; plans were under way to adapt it as an apartment building.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.902461-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/22/6789/41678922/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/92001030.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001030/0af9f0f9d8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001030/0af9f0f9d8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Morgan Riley","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JohnBCarySchoolRichmondVa.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Morgan Riley</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JohnBCarySchoolRichmondVa.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000982","name":"James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/james-river-and-kanawha-canal-historic-district-71000982/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678922","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Cary_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6219875"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/cary-john-b-school-92001030/"}