{"nrhp_refnum":"95000928","name":"Barcroft Community House","other_names":["St. Paul's Episcopal Church","Barcroft School House","VDHR No. 0"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"800 S. Buchanan St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Arlington","county":"Arlington County","state":"VA","lat":38.841865496000025,"lon":-77.09785167099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-07-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Religion","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A modest one-and-a-half-story wood frame building at 800 South Buchanan Street in the Barcroft neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, built in 1908 with a rear addition in 1913. It has served as a school, church and community center.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant for its role in the 20th-century development of Barcroft, one of Arlington County's early suburban subdivisions, where it was the most important structure in community affairs. It is also believed to be the only one-room wooden frame school building remaining in Arlington, and it embodies Gothic Revival features such as the steep front gable and lancet windows.","narrative":"Built in 1908 on South Buchanan Street in Arlington's Barcroft neighborhood, this small wood frame building began as a church and community hall built through local fund-raising. That fall the county School Board leased it as a schoolhouse, and a second room was added at the rear in 1913. Clad in German weatherboard, it has a steep front gable, lancet windows and a stone foundation. A pedimented portico was added in 1926, and 1930s work brought a stage, a furnace and basement restrooms. The school moved to a new brick building in 1925, but the house stayed at the center of neighborhood life, hosting scout troops, clubs, civic meetings and several congregations. The Barcroft School and Civic League has owned it since 1914. It is believed to be the only one-room wooden school building left in Arlington, and it reflects the area's shift from farmland to suburb.","period_of_significance":"1908-1925","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late 19th/Early 20th Century American Movement/Craftsman (described in the text as Gothic Revival in character)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a community meeting hall and church; leased since 1982 to a Bulgarian Orthodox church for weekend services, with community groups meeting during the week. Some modernizations were made in the 1930s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.156295-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/28/6796/41679628/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/95000928.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000928/1f9d19ae79-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000928/1f9d19ae79-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Silvrbullt","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barcroft_commhouse.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Silvrbullt</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:Barcroft_commhouse.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"99000368","name":"Fairlington Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/fairlington-historic-district-99000368/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679628","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcroft_Community_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14711997"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/arlington-county/barcroft-community-house-95000928/"}