Nomination Form
The City of Franklin built the Franklin High School Gymnasium and Agricultural & Shop Building (the Charles Street Gym) in 1935-36 with funds from a Public Works Administration (PWA) grant, which covered 45 percent of the construction costs, and a loan for the remaining costs from the Literary Fund of Virginia. An important component of the city’s public education history, the building provided Franklin high school students gym space for physical education, an industrial shop and an agricultural classroom in the rear. The PWA and state architect Raymond V. Long recommended the building’s Classical Revival design from plans drafted in 1935. An integral part of the city’s high school complex, the building was used by the city from 1936 to 1966, after which the gymnasium space became a secondary recreational venue for community basketball, and when listed in 2019 served the high school’s wrestling program and robotics team.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia
