Western State Hospital (Boundary Increase II)
Also known as: Western State Hospital Steam Generating Plant; VDHR File No. 132-0009-0021
Why it's listed
This boundary increase adds the steam plant site to the Western State Hospital Historic District in Staunton. The main building, a one-story brick boiler house built around 1949, replaced an 1895-era plant on the same ground. Designed in an Art Deco style by the state's institutional engineering office rather than a named architect, it has stepped-back facades, brick pilasters and large banks of metal casement windows. Four earlier resources remain: a coal trestle from about 1899, a secondary smokestack, a storage building under the trestle, and an ash silo. The plant heated the hospital from 1896 until the site closed in 2002, and it also served the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind. A 1929 fire left the hospital's roughly 2,000 patients without heat in zero-degree weather until emergency steam arrived. The site was listed for its role in health and medicine and as a physical link between two major state institutions. It is now vacant.
Significance in brief: The plant supplied steam heat to Western State Hospital from 1896 until the site closed in 2002, and to the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind from 1914. The hospital could not have operated without it. The nomination also notes its Art Deco design and its reuse of earlier elements such as the coal trestle and smokestack.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 07000766, listed July 24, 2007. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 301 Greenville Ave., adjacent to NE corner of VA 11 and VA 250, Staunton (Independent City) |
|---|---|
| County | Staunton |
| Listed | July 24, 2007 |
| Reference number | 07000766 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1800 - 1957 (entire district period of significance) |
| Architect / builder | Commonwealth of Virginia |
| Architectural style | Modern Movement: Art Deco |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Health/Medicine |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as vacant/not in use; the form says the hospital site was vacated in 2002 and the building remains remarkably unmodified. A private owner plans a certified rehabilitation. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 38.14631, -79.06621 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 07000766.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.