{"nrhp_refnum":"98001559","name":"Rock Gym","other_names":["Auditorium","Armory"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"45 Forest Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elberton","county":"Elbert County","state":"GA","lat":34.11083358600007,"lon":-82.87179774899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-12-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government","Art"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, T-shaped granite building at 45 Forest Avenue, Elberton, Georgia, built in 1941 as an armory, auditorium and gymnasium on the Elbert County Middle School campus. The nominated property also includes two sculptural objects, a Phoenix sculpture and a Franklin D. Roosevelt bust.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an excellent example of a WPA-era community landmark building and a rare large load-bearing stone structure in Georgia. It is tied to New Deal work programs (NYA and CCC) that supplied labor. Its two granite sculptures by Richard Cecchini are presented as notable WPA-era art.","narrative":"Built in 1941 from local Elberton granite, the Rock Gym at 45 Forest Avenue served as a National Guard armory, a school gymnasium and auditorium, and a venue for proms and theater. The T-shaped building has a two-story front block and a rear ell that held the auditorium above a ground-floor motor pool. Architect Hunter J. Price, Sr. designed it in a Stripped Classical style, and workers from the National Youth Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps carried out the construction after Elberton voters approved a bond issue in 1940. Two granite sculptures by Richard Cecchini belong to the property: an Art Moderne Phoenix above the entrance and a bust of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The building was listed for its architecture, its link to New Deal work programs, and its art. Load-bearing stone construction of this scale is uncommon in Georgia. The form reports that the building was abandoned after 1992.","period_of_significance":"1940-1948","architect_builder":"Hunter J. Price, Sr./architect; National Youth Administration (NYA)/builder; Civilian Conservation Corporation (CCC)/builder; Newton Brothers/masons; Richard Cecchini/sculptor","architectural_style":"Stripped Classical; Art Moderne","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The form states the Rock Gym was vacated in December 1992 and is currently abandoned; current function is listed as work in progress.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:42.530609-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/98001559.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001559/a4b86ece78-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001559/a4b86ece78-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Upstateherd","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rock_Gym_-_Elberton,_GA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Upstateherd</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:Rock_Gym_-_Elberton,_GA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93207941","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Gym_(Elberton,_Georgia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7354443"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/elbert-county/rock-gym-98001559/"}