{"nrhp_refnum":"70000874","name":"Myers, Moses, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW corner of E. Freemason and N. Bank Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Norfolk (Independent City)","county":"Norfolk","state":"VA","lat":36.85020265800006,"lon":-76.28764771099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national","state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick Federal-style townhouse at the southwest corner of Freemason and Bank Streets in Norfolk, Virginia, built between about 1791 and 1797 for merchant Moses Myers and now operated as a house museum.","why_significant":"The 1970 listing stressed the house as a nearly unaltered example of Federal architecture and one of the first brick houses built in Norfolk after the 1776 burning. The 2009 documentation adds that it is the most intact and best documented surviving residence of a Jewish family in the United States from the late 1700s and early 1800s, with a large collection of original furnishings, documents, books and music.","narrative":"Built between about 1791 and 1797 at what was then the edge of Norfolk, this brick Federal townhouse was the home of merchant Moses Myers, who became a prominent figure in the city's commerce and government. It has Flemish bond brickwork, limestone lintels and a belt course, decorative porticos, and richly detailed plaster ceilings and mantels. Additions made around 1800 and 1802 provided a kitchen wing and a large dining room with built-in niches for custom sideboards. The house stayed with the Myers family for five generations until 1931, when it became a museum. It is considered one of the first brick houses erected after the British burned the city in 1776. Its significance also rests on the Myers family, the first documented Jewish residents of Norfolk, and on the survival of much of their furniture, art, library, sheet music and business papers, which together document the life of a wealthy Jewish family from the Revolution onward.","period_of_significance":"1792-1931","architect_builder":"Moses Myers (2009 form); the 1970 form says architect and builders are unknown, with the dining room addition attributed to Benjamin H. Latrobe","architectural_style":"Early Republic: Federal","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Operated as a house museum open to the public since 1931; described as in excellent condition and well maintained.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.752733-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/63/6821/41682163/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/70000874.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000874/6b225b8f8e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000874/6b225b8f8e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cathy1763","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moses_Myers_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Cathy1763</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moses_Myers_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682163","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q88843173"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/norfolk/myers-moses-house-70000874/"}