Woodlawn, Garage and Maintenance Shed, 9000 Richmond Highway, Mount Vernon, Fairfax County, Virginia

2016 Leicester B. Holland Prize, Entry
Significance: Woodlawn, a National Trust for Historic Preservation property located in Alexandria, Virginia, is a National Historic Landmark significant for its architecture and its role in the historic preservation movement. It was built between 1800 and 1805 by William Thornton, as a wedding gift to George Washington's adoptive granddaughter and nephew, Eleanor (Nelly) Custis and Lawrence Lewis. In 1905, the estate was purchased by Elizabeth Sharpe, a coal heiress originally from Pennsylvania. Sharpe worked on an extensive restoration of the house and improvement of the grounds during her residency. Woodlawn remained the property of Sharpe until 1925 when it was purchased by Oscar Underwood of Alabama, before being acquired in 1951 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as its first museum property and historic site.

Development of the automobile in the late nineteenth century and the mass production of the Ford Model T beginning in 1908 necessitated the creation of a new building typology, the garage. The Garage & Maintenance Shed at Woodlawn was constructed around 1915. It displays many characteristics of early garage development. Built as a large, detached structure, the garage incorporated a maintenance shed, greenhouse, and dovecote. It was likely used to house horses and carriages in addition to providing the specific storage and service requirements for the automobile. The one-and-one-half-story, shiplap-clad block of the garage is flanked by a large single-story, four-bay shed that extends from the main block. Surmounting the main block of the garage is the dovecote, a square projection above the main hipped roof form. The greenhouse, a single-story gable structure constructed of steel and glass, was demolished in the 1990s.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2257
Survey number: HABS VA-337-C
Building/structure dates: ca. 1915 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1990 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 70000792