{"nrhp_refnum":"98001070","name":"Handley, John, High School","other_names":["138-5001"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"425 Handley Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Winchester (Independent City)","county":"Winchester","state":"VA","lat":39.177388861000054,"lon":-78.17438349112005,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-08-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education","Landscape Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"John Handley High School is a Neoclassical Revival brick public school at 425 Handley Boulevard in Winchester, Virginia, built 1921-1923 to designs by Cleveland architect Walter R. McCornack, on grounds laid out by Olmsted Brothers.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is an outstanding example of Neoclassical Revival design, with grounds planned by the Olmsted Brothers firm beginning in 1916. It is also significant in Virginia education as the believed first and only privately endowed public school in the Commonwealth, built with a trust bequeathed by Judge John Handley.","narrative":"Perched on a hill southwest of downtown Winchester, John Handley High School is a large brick building with a hexastyle Corinthian portico, long Ionic-columned loggias and a three-stage wooden cupola. Cleveland architect Walter R. McCornack designed it, and it opened in September 1923 at a cost of $800,000. The surrounding campus, planned by the Olmsted Brothers firm from 1916, includes an athletic field set in a natural bowl and a lawn framed by double rows of oak trees. Later additions, including a 1962 classroom wing and a 1967 gymnasium, were placed at the rear. The school matters for its architecture and landscape design, and for its funding. It was built with a trust left to the city by Judge John Handley of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and is believed to be the only privately endowed public school in Virginia. Trust money continued to support the school's operation for decades.","period_of_significance":"1916 - 1923","architect_builder":"McCornack, W.R. Architect; Olmsted Brothers - Landscape Architects","architectural_style":"Neoclassical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as well preserved and well maintained, still in use as a school with modern rear additions and interior changes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.155041-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/46/6841/41684146/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/98001070.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001070/e2e3f75a47-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001070/e2e3f75a47-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jimgowdy","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Handley01.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Jimgowdy</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Handley01.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41684146","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Handley_High_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6237586"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/winchester/handley-john-high-school-98001070/"}