Original | If approved, Manassas building would join about 30 historic city landmarks

The building that houses a popular used book store is one step closer to becoming a historic landmark.

The Manassas City Planning Commission on Feb. 5 voted unanimously to make the Hibbs and Giddings Building in Downtown Manassas on the city’s list of historic landmarks.

The building located at 2129 Center Street is 4,148 square feet in size and was built in 1923. It’s the home to Prospero’s Used Book Store.

“I really don’t have anything to add…other than to say I looked forward to the waiting commission’s favorable consideration,” building owner Gary Belt told members of the planning commission. “This proposal, I think everyone would agree, that the building is truly a historic landmark structure in Old Town Manassas.”

The City Council in January asked the Planning Commission to sign off on whether or not to designate the building a city historic landmark. Now the proposal heads back to the council for final approval.

The building will join about 30 other historic buildings in the city, to include the Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office at 9304 Peabody Street, the Manassas Cemetery and Confederate Cemetery at 9317 Center Street, and the Old All Saints Catholic Church at 8913 Center Street.

The building is valued at $718,100, according to city records.

While the city is considering the building for its list of historic places, the building is not currently registered on the national or state historic building registries. In order to get on the city’s list, the building must be “a structure more than 50 years old that represents the period in which it was built by material, design, or other physical features, or is a place of significance that preserves, protects, or enhances the character of the [historic downtown area].”

Albert Speiden, who was locally a significant architect who designed the original city hall (now used as the city’s voter registration office), designed the Hibbs and Giddings building, too.