{"nrhp_refnum":"02001446","name":"Forest Hill Park","other_names":["127-6027","Holden Rhodes House","Boscobel"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Bet. Riverside Dr., Forest Hill Ave., and 42nd St., and 34th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.51997555300005,"lon":-77.47306378047375,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-11-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Entertainment/Recreation","Landscape Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 105-acre urban park district on the south side of the James River in Richmond, Virginia, centered on the granite Greek Revival Holden Rhodes House (Boscobel, or the Stone House), built 1836-1843, with quarries, a lake and 1930s park structures.","why_significant":"The nomination cites Criterion A for the park's link to the Woodland Heights streetcar suburb and to the City of Richmond's park system. Criterion B applies through Holden Rhodes, and Criterion C through the architecture and designed landscape. The 1934 city acquisition and Emergency Relief Administration work shaped the park's present form.","narrative":"Forest Hill Park is a 105-acre public park on the south side of the James River in Richmond, Virginia, with steep wooded terrain, former granite quarries, a three-acre lake and Reedy Creek. Its centerpiece is a one-and-a-half-story Greek Revival house of locally quarried granite, built between 1836 and 1843 by Holden Rhodes, a businessman and lawyer. In 1889 a land company bought the property and promoted it alongside a new streetcar line to the Woodland Heights suburb. The grounds later became an amusement park at the trolley terminus, and the house held a penny arcade. The City of Richmond acquired the land in 1934. With federal relief funds, architect Ernest R. Gilbert restored the house, and workers built picnic shelters, granite hearths, walkways, a gazebo and a warming hut. The park was listed for its ties to neighborhood development, city parks, Rhodes, and its architecture and landscape.","period_of_significance":"1836-1843, 1934-present","architect_builder":"Ernest R. Gilbert (1934 restoration architect)","architectural_style":"Mid 19th Century: Greek Revival; Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: Craftsman","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Current function is landscape/park; the Stone House serves as a focal point for community activities.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:59.607267-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/69/6830/41683069/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/02001446.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001446/70233e3bc0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001446/70233e3bc0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Eli Pousson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holden_Rhodes_House,_Forest_Hill_Park.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Eli Pousson</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holden_Rhodes_House,_Forest_Hill_Park.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"12000851","name":"Forest Hill Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/forest-hill-historic-district-12000851/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683069","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Hill_Park_(Richmond,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5468937"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/forest-hill-park-02001446/"}