Petersburg is one of the oldest cities in Virginia, dating back to 1750. The City of Petersburg has designated seven (7) local historic districts encompassing over 6,500 acres of land and including over 700 buildings.
OLD TOWNE HISTORIC DISTRICT
The Old Towne Historic District encompasses three distinct areas. The original town – laid out as half acre lots along the Appomattox River – was originally centered around what was called “River”, “Main”, and “Old” Street throughout its life, until changed to “Grove Avenue” early in the 20th century. It contains the largest number of 18th century buildings of any neighborhood in the city. Many of Petersburg’s famed craftsmen, including wheelwrights, cabinet makers, chair makers, and house painters, built their homes on this street. These early houses have survived in record numbers. The adjoining streets of Cross, Hurt, Canal and Plum contain a number of one-story frame workers’ cottages.
In 1762, the town expanded up the hill to include a second development known as “New Town” or “High Street”. Located on the high ground overlooking “Old Town” (Grove Avenue) and the Appomattox River basin, the street was originally laid out in 28 one-acre lots. Here many of Petersburg’s most notable houses were built during the 18th and 19th centuries. The city’s oldest structure known as the Young Ladies Boarding House was under construction in 1763, merely a year following the inception of New Town. Over the next 150 years, the other remaining lots were developed with Georgian and Palladian dwellings, federal townhouses, Greek Revival mansions, and an array of Italianate and Second Empire houses. A walk along this street is to step into a textbook of colonial, antebellum and Victorian architecture.
On the eastern edge of the district is the commercial development constructed largely following a disastrous fire of 1815. It features many three-story brick row buildings including the Appomattox Iron Works complex and the former Maclin-McGill Zimmer Tobacco Factory, now elderly and handicapped housing. Today, this is the heart of Petersburg’s commercial district. The broad range of building types in this district – from the modest 18th century houses of Grove Avenue, to the mansions of High Street and the federal townhouses and stores of downtown – makes this area one of the most varied and exciting historic neighborhoods in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
POPLAR LAWN HISTORIC DISTRICT
In 1784, Robert Bolling’s land which lay between the towns of Petersburg and Blandford was subdivided into lots and became the neighborhood of choice for many of the city’s most prosperous merchants. The area was soon extended to the south, and a large plot was given over to be a park. This park, a two-block green located between South Sycamore and South Jefferson Streets, follows a baroque plan consisting of a circle with irregularly spaced paths radiating from it. Early in the 19th century, a dining hall, banquet and bath houses, and ballroom all were located here. Volunteers in both the War of 1812 and the Mexican – American War drilled and camped here. The city purchased the park in 1846 for $15,000, improving it with graveled walks, fountains and new plants. In 1881, its name was changed to Central Park.
Some of the town’s grandest Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival mansions were built surrounding the park. This residential neighborhood is comprised of two to two and a half story, middle class to upper middle class mid to late 19th century structures. The lots along Sycamore Street are landscaped with twenty-five foot setbacks and front yards enclosed in cast-iron fences. The adjoining streets are lined with exquisite rowhouses and detached dwellings, some constructed as early as the 1820’s. The area was built up so extensively during the second half of the 19th century, that it became one of the premiere Victorian communities of post – bellum Virginia.
FOLLY CASTLE HISTORIC DISTRICT
The Folly Castle Historic District is centered around the 18th century residence Folly Castle. The main thoroughfares of this neighborhood are West Washington and Hinton Streets with portions of Lafayette, Guarantee, Hazel, Davis and Perry Streets.
Folly Castle was built in 1763 by Peter Jones, V, a wealthy unmarried resident. Because of the enormous size of the house for a single person, this structure became known as a “folly”, thus Folly castle, from which the neighborhood takes its name. The neighborhood developed between 1763 and 1928, and features a variety of residential styles including Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne. The district is primarily residential. Formerly it included numerous tobacco-related structures. Folly Castle’s industrial component had an important effect on the area’s development and settlement patterns, especially during the pre-Civil War years. Tobacco factories were built within walking distance of the owner’s prominent high-style homes creating a residential enclave surrounded by handsome brick factories. Later, the land between the two was developed for middle class and factory worker’s housing. Most of these factories do not survive.
CENTER HILL HISTORIC DISTRICT
In 1818, Robert Bolling started construction on Petersburg’s most stately home – Centre Hill. Sitting on a five-acre tract in the heart of the city and overlooking the Appomattox River, it was initially built as a lavish federal townhouse. Bolling’s son, Robert Buckner Bolling, enlarged and improved the house to its Greek Revival style in 1850. At the turn of the 20th century, Charles Hall Davis acquired the house and began a major restoration of the house and grounds. The house was the site of three United States presidential visits. John Tyler called on the Bollings here, Abraham Lincoln visited during the period of strife between the states, and William Howard Taft was entertained at the house and on the grounds in 1909. Following Taft’s visit, Davis fell on hard times and was forced to abandon some of his renovation plans. The grounds were divided into lots for speculative housing. The area features a unique collection of bungalows, colonial revival houses and foursquares that are not usually found in Petersburg. Most of the houses are one to two story frame structures.
Today, Centre Hill Mansion, a city museum site, stands at the center of this wonderful 1910’s neighborhood with the remnants of a brick wall and wrought-iron fencing on its perimeter. The neighborhood includes portions of Henry, North Adams, North Jefferson, Franklin, and East Washington Streets, Centre Hill Court and Centre Hill Avenue.
SOUTH MARKET STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT
The South Market Street Historic District is comprised of portions of South Market, Wythe, Brown and Halifax Streets. Similar to South Sycamore Street in the Poplar Lawn Historic District, South Market Street was a fashionable address to have in Petersburg between 1840 and 1918. As such, this district has a significant collection of houses built by many of Petersburg’s most prominent citizens in the mid-to-late 19th century. The dwellings and church are primarily two stories and were built in the Greek Revival, Gothic Revival and Italianate style. Many of these grand houses retain their original outbuildings – carriage houses, kitchens and servant/slave dwellings.
The Wallace-Seward House was the site of an important moment in Civil War history. It served as the site of the last meeting between President Lincoln and General U.S. Grant, the day after Petersburg’s fall and just before the surrender of the Confederacy.
COURTHOUSE HISTORIC DISTRICT
Petersburg’s commercial and governmental centers are preserved in this district. As a result of Petersburg’s devastating fire in 1815, the city’s contractors and brickmasons began building in brick and stucco. The district contains many of Petersburg’s noteworthy structures, including the 1838 Petersburg Courthouse, designed by New York architect, Calvin Pollard; the 1843 Tabb Street Presbyterian Church, built by Dabney Cosby and designed by Thomas U. Walter; Ammi Young’s 1856 Customs House; and the 1855 St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Many other significant buildings were constructed between 1815 and the mid 20th century. Some of the architectural styles that are evident are Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Renaissance Revival, Neo-Classical, Classical Revival and Chicago School.
BATTERSEA/WEST HIGH STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT
The working class neighborhood of Prides Field and Battersea encompasses one community. There is a locally defined historic district along West High Street to Battersea Mansion. The 1820’s to 1840’s appear to have been a boom period for this area with the completion of the canal and following the 1815 fire. Most of the surviving houses are simple late 19th century, two-story, detached frame dwellings adorned with Italianate brackets and turned posts on the porches. These houses are vernacular in character, and through use of mass produced millwork, display the architectural fashion of the time and portray middle class values. The houses are set close together on shallow lots giving the neighborhood an urban quality. Several 18th century structures appear to be extant, including an outbuilding of Pride’s Tavern. The Upper Appomattox River Canal and turning basin are situated on the eastern edge of this district.
HISTORIC ZONING ORDINANCE
In 1973, the City of Petersburg adopted a Historic Zoning Ordinance to protect the architectural and cultural heritage of the city. The ordinance ensures that Petersburg’s heritage and unique identity will continue to be preserved for the benefit of future generations.
The Historic Zoning Ordinance requires that a Certificate of Appropriateness be issued before the erection, construction, alteration or restoration of the exterior of any building or other man made structure, including, but not limited to signs and fences, located in any of the historic districts.
The Historic Zoning Ordinance is administered by the Architectural Review Board, which is composed of seven persons with a knowledge of and interest in the preservation of the historic character of Petersburg. The members are appointed by City Council for three (3) year terms. The Architectural Review Board meets twice a month.
The Architectural Review Board has adopted both the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings and local Design Review Guidelines, developed specifically for Petersburg’s historic buildings and neighborhoods.
Contact the Petersburg Planning Department at 804-733-2308, for copies of the guidelines, applications or any questions you may have about the Architectural Review Board.
