Once a little railroad junction connecting Richmond, Washington, D.C., and the Shenandoah Valley, Manassas is now a real cultural, historic hub of NoVa. Its legacy comes to life at the Manassas Museum.
In 2024, GWWO Architects completed a $6.2 million transformation of the museum, 50 years after its founding. Terry Squyres, senior principal at GWWO, says the goal was to respect the building’s history while envisioning its future.
The result: a 4,628-square-foot addition with office space and a new exhibit hall, renovated galleries, and an open, welcoming connection to Baldwin Park after removing the old brick wall surrounding the facility. Since reopening, attendance has surged 85 percent, and tour requests have increased eightfold. “Seeing people flow from the park to the museum and back is exactly what we hoped for,” Squyres says. ManassasVa.gov
This article originally appeared in the Best of Virginia 2025 issue.
