{"nrhp_refnum":"11000550","name":"West Broad Street Industrial and Commercial Historic District","other_names":["Dhr# 127-6570"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"1800-2100 blks. of Broad & Marshall Sts., bounded by Allison & Allen Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.55979667500006,"lon":-77.4605566928899,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-08-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce","Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 40-acre historic district of industrial and commercial buildings along the 1800-2200 blocks of West Broad and West Marshall Streets in central Richmond, Virginia, with buildings dating mainly from 1902 to the 1930s.","why_significant":"The district's surviving buildings show how Richmond's industrial core relocated here from Manchester to use rail lines and open land, and how commercial buildings followed with the rise of the automobile. It includes large factories such as the Putney Shoe Factory and C.F. Sauer headquarters, along with auto dealerships, storefronts and a Modern department store.","narrative":"Located in central Richmond, this district covers about 40 acres of factories, warehouses and storefronts along West Broad and West Marshall Streets. Most buildings were put up between 1902 and the 1930s, when Richmond's industrial activity shifted here from Manchester south of the James River to take advantage of rail lines and undeveloped land. Large plants such as the Putney Shoe Factory, the Virginia School Supply Building and the C.F. Sauer headquarters, home to the well-known bulb-lit Sauer's Vanilla sign, were served by rail spurs. As Broad Street became the main east-west artery, auto dealerships such as the Atlantic Motor Company and rows of plate-glass storefronts followed, and a Modern Sears department store arrived around 1946. Architecture is mostly restrained, with simplified Colonial Revival and Art Deco or Moderne touches in durable masonry. Ground-floor storefronts have often been remodeled, yet upper stories and overall massing keep the area's historic commercial and industrial character.","period_of_significance":"1902-1960","architect_builder":"Scarborough & Howell, Inc. (C.F. Sauer headquarters); Marcellus E. Wright (Virginia School Supply Building); Ballinger (Sears store)","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival, Commercial, Moderne, International Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Many early storefronts have been altered, but upper floors largely retain original character; the C.F. Sauer Company still operates in its headquarters. Current functions include manufacturing, stores and some vacant buildings.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.183748-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/6829/41682977/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/11000550.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000550/8af9d2c73b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000550/8af9d2c73b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Morgan Riley","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:C.F._Sauer_Company_Headquarters,_Richmond,_Virginia.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Morgan Riley</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:C.F._Sauer_Company_Headquarters,_Richmond,_Virginia.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000982","name":"James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/james-river-and-kanawha-canal-historic-district-71000982/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682977","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Broad_Street_Industrial_and_Commercial_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16903105"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/west-broad-street-industrial-and-commercial-historic-district-11000550/"}