National Register of Historic Places

Virginia Recreation Building

Virginia, St. Louis County, Minnesota
Listed
February 4, 1982
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
82004711

About this property

The Virginia Recreation Building is a former community center in Virginia, Minnesota, United States, that was later converted into a factory. It was designed by architect Frederick German and built in 1923 as an ice hockey and curling rink to provide a public venue for physical development to the working-class men largely employed in Iron Range mines. A generation later, as the gender balance of the city's population evened out, the building was converted into a shirt factory in 1947 to create jobs for women. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its state-level significance in the themes of industry and social history. It was nominated for encapsulating the social welfare of the Progressive Era and the robust public spending funded by the mining boom, and the transition to a more gender-balanced population and need to diversify the economy. The St. Louis County government acquired the building in 2003 and repurposed it as the Northland Office Center. In 2019, they demolished the former Virginia Recreation Center to build the new Northland Office Center.

Location

305 S. 1st St.
Virginia, St. Louis County, Minnesota
47.52255, -92.53541

Categories

INDUSTRYSOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Virginia Commercial Historic District
Industrial
0.1 mi
Lincoln School Building
Industrial
0.1 mi
Church of St. John the Baptist (Catholic)
Industrial
0.2 mi
St.Louis County District Courthouse
Industrial
0.2 mi
Finnish Sauna
Industrial
0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Virginia Recreation Building listed on the National Register?

Virginia Recreation Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 4, 1982.

What type of historic resource is Virginia Recreation Building?

Virginia Recreation Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Virginia Recreation Building?

The period of significance for Virginia Recreation Building is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Virginia Recreation Building?

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