These buildings being converted to the Ridge Top II apartment complex, are on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the historic district named, “Western Branch, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.”  The District qualified for historic listing because of its architectural and historical significance, but also included some emphasis on the District’s landscape design.  In 2011 this Western Branch was awarded historic Landmark status.  
 
The National Asylum (later renamed “Home”) for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on March 3, 1865, (the month before his April 15 assassination). Its purpose was to provide care for volunteer soldiers who had been disabled through loss of limb, wounds, disease, or injury during service in the Union forces in the American Civil War. The president had recognized that the “professional soldiers” had benefits to help in those times, but many “volunteer” soldiers had little or no help, so he worked with Congress to establish care for these additional soldiers.