{"nrhp_refnum":"97000159","name":"Virginia High School","other_names":["Virginia Middle School","VDHR Site No. 102-30"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"501 Piedmont Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bristol (Independent City)","county":"Bristol","state":"VA","lat":36.604879726000036,"lon":-82.18346240999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-02-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Virginia High School (now Virginia Middle School) is a two-story Classical Revival brick school building at 501 Piedmont Avenue in Bristol, Virginia, built in 1914-15 to a design by local architect Clarence B. Kearfott.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building was the principal educational facility for the white children of Bristol until a new high school replaced it in 1954. It also served the community's social life, hosting club and civic gatherings and, during World War II, defense preparedness activities. It is significant at the local level under Criterion A in education and social history.","narrative":"Virginia High School, at 501 Piedmont Avenue in Bristol, Virginia, is a two-story brick school completed in 1915 and now used as Virginia Middle School. Architect Clarence B. Kearfott designed it in the Classical Revival style, with a long tripartite front, a monumental Ionic portico, diapered brickwork in the end pavilions, and a balconied auditorium inside. T. G. Martin & Co. built it, laying the first brick in June 1914. The school grew out of a push by the school board and Superintendent F. B. Fitzpatrick for a combined high and grammar school with an auditorium, gymnasium and vocational rooms. Until a new high school opened in 1954, it was the main school for Bristol's white children. It also hosted club and civic events and wartime defense activities. Additions from 1947-48 and 1996 sit at the rear, and the interior and windows were altered in the 1980s and 1990s. The building keeps most of its original exterior masonry, plan, corridors, stairs and auditorium, and it stands on a landscaped lot among early twentieth-century homes.","period_of_significance":"1914-1947","architect_builder":"Kearfott, Charles Baker (architect, named in the text as Clarence Baker Kearfott); T. G. Martin & Co. of Bristol, general contractor","architectural_style":"Classical Revival; Modern Movement","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Currently in use as Virginia Middle School; remodeled in the 1980s and 1990s, with additions from the 1940s and 1996, and described as having good to fair integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:01.074199-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/62/6798/41679862/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/97000159.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000159/c1d5f85ded-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000159/c1d5f85ded-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Virginia_Middle_School.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Virginia_Middle_School.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"06000369","name":"Euclid Avenue Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/euclid-avenue-historic-district-06000369/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679862","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Middle_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28126078"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/bristol/virginia-high-school-97000159/"}