{"nrhp_refnum":"71001059","name":"Taylor-Whittle House","other_names":["Whittle House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"225 W. Freemason St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Norfolk (Independent City)","county":"Norfolk","state":"VA","lat":36.85159476600006,"lon":-76.29226986399993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-09-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Federal style town house at 225 W. Freemason Street, at the corner of Freemason and Duke Streets in Norfolk, Virginia, thought to have been built by merchant George Purdie about 1791.","why_significant":"The nomination ranks it among the finest late-eighteenth century Federal style town houses in Virginia and one of few surviving examples of its type in Tidewater. Its design and workmanship reflect the prosperity of Norfolk's post-Revolutionary era. It was also home to Captain Richard Lucien Page, a Confederate naval officer, and later to the Whittle family.","narrative":"Standing on the corner of Freemason and Duke Streets, this two-story brick town house is the focal point of the only early neighborhood remaining in Norfolk. Built about 1791, probably by merchant George Purdie, it has Flemish bond brickwork, stone lintels and keystones, a stone belt course, a pedimented gable roof and a small Doric porch. The original block is about forty feet square, with the drawing room on the second floor and much Adam style interior trim surviving. Later owners included Richard Taylor, then Captain Richard Lucien Page, a naval officer who served the Confederacy, and the family of his son-in-law William Conway Whittle. The house is considered among the finest late-eighteenth century Federal style town houses in Virginia and one of few of its type left in Tidewater. Its close resemblance to the nearby Moses Myers House suggests a common designer, though neither architect nor builder is known.","period_of_significance":"18th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal style, with Adam style interior trim in the drawing room","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as good condition, largely unaltered on the exterior, in private ownership by the Norfolk Historic Foundation; later grant records describe restoration phases.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.11809-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/6821/41682113/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/71001059.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71001059/06d1063040-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71001059/06d1063040-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cathy1763","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taylor-Whittle_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:Taylor-Whittle_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/41682113","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor%E2%80%93Whittle_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16901363"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/norfolk/taylor-whittle-house-71001059/"}