Another Manassas site is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The National Park Service recently added Annaburg, according to a release from the City of Manassas.
Cannon Branch Fort, Liberia, the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth, the Manassas Water Tower, Mayfield Fort, and the historic district are also on the list.
Annaburg is the former summer retreat of Robert Portner, a brewer and entrepreneur.
Containing 35 rooms, it may have been the first home in the United States to use mechanical air conditioning.
Gustav Friebus, an architect from Washington, D.C., designed the home. Annaburg was constructed with brownstone from a Manassas quarry owned by Portner, and it features traits that were found in European mansions the brewer favored.
The site, at one point, spread from Manassas’ Main Street to Bull Run’s shores, spanning more than 2,100 acres.
The City of Manassas bought Annaburg Manor and 3.65 acres around it a few years ago.
It has had various purposes since Portner and his wife, Anna, died. Currently, the historic site serves as a park.
For a year, officials have been completing the nomination process in an effort to have the home’s historic significance recognized.
In December, Annaburg was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
More information about the home can be found on the City of Manassas website.
