{"nrhp_refnum":"71001056","name":"Allmand-Archer House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"327 Duke St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Norfolk (Independent City)","county":"Norfolk","state":"VA","lat":36.85122816900008,"lon":-76.29282451299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-09-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, three-bay brick town house of about thirty feet square at 327 Duke Street in Norfolk, Virginia, believed to have been built in the 1790s by merchant Matthew Hervey.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of the oldest dwellings in Norfolk and a well-preserved example of a medium-size Norfolk townhouse with a side-hall plan, gable roof and paired interior end chimneys. It and the Willoughby-Baylor House are described as about the only remaining examples of this once-common type.","narrative":"Located at 327 Duke Street in Norfolk, this two-story, three-bay brick town house measures roughly thirty feet square and is covered by a gable roof with a modillion cornice. It is believed to have been built in the 1790s by Matthew Hervey, a merchant with warehouses on Southgate and Dixon's Wharf. Harrison Allmand bought it in 1802, and during the War of 1812 it housed American officers stationed in the city. It then passed through the Allmand family and, by inheritance, to the Archer family. Several decades after construction the facade was remodelled in Classical Revival style, with stucco, quoins, heavy lintels and a recessed entrance framed by fluted Roman Doric columns. Inside, a side-hall plan serves two equal reception rooms. The house is valued as one of the city's oldest dwellings and as a well-preserved medium-size Norfolk townhouse, a type once common but now rare.","period_of_significance":"18th Century","architect_builder":"Matthew Hervey (believed builder, merchant)","architectural_style":"Side-hall plan Norfolk townhouse, with a later Classical Revival facade remodelling","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and altered, on its original site. At nomination it was a private residence and occupied; a later note records a change of ownership to Historic Norfolk Foundation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.503962-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/11/6821/41682111/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/71001056.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71001056/a5d26d561d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71001056/a5d26d561d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cathy1763","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allmand-Archer_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:Allmand-Archer_House.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"72001512","name":"West Freemason Street Area Historic District (Additional Documentation)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/west-freemason-street-area-historic-district-additional-documentation-72001512/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682111","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allmand%E2%80%93Archer_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16159606"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/norfolk/allmand-archer-house-71001056/"}