{"nrhp_refnum":"100011351","name":"Azurest South","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2900 Boisseau St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Petersburg","county":"Chesterfield County","state":"VA","lat":null,"lon":null,"geom_source":null},"listed_date":null,"is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"2024-12-13","areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":[],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, flat-roofed International Style house of white-stuccoed concrete block at 2900 Boisseau Street, beside the Virginia State University campus in Ettrick, Chesterfield County, near Petersburg. Amaza Lee Meredith designed it in 1938 as her own home, and it was completed in 1939.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is one of Virginia's few mature examples of the International Style and was among the most advanced residential designs in the state in its day. It is also a landmark of African-American material culture, designed by one of the nation's few black female architects. Its restrained exterior contrasts with a colorful, personalized interior.","narrative":"Azurest South is a compact International Style house beside the Virginia State University campus in Ettrick, Chesterfield County. Amaza Lee Meredith, an art teacher who founded the university's Fine Arts Department and one of the nation's few black female architects, designed it as her own residence in 1938. Contractor Russell Holmes completed it in 1939. Concrete block covered in white stucco forms its flat-roofed, asymmetrical massing, with curved corners marked by bands of glass block and no applied ornament. Turquoise trim, known locally as Azurest blue, sets off the exterior and sits in a landscaped grassy dell. Inside, Meredith used vivid colors, patterned tile, carrara glass and inventive lighting. She lived there with her companion, Dr. Edna Meade Colson, and used the house as a design studio, adding a studio and carport in the 1950s. The house is valued as a rare Virginia example of the style and as a work of African-American design.","period_of_significance":"1938-1943","architect_builder":"Meredith, Amaza Lee; Holmes, Russell (contractor)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: International Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as unoccupied for nearly a decade but in good condition without significant alteration; historic function was a single dwelling and current function is listed as a clubhouse.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.27685-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/46/6801/41680146/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/93001464.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":null,"wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/chesterfield-county/azurest-south-100011351/"}