{"nrhp_refnum":"80004216","name":"Block 0-100 East Franklin Street Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by 1st, Main, Foushee and Grace Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.543291502000045,"lon":-77.44344140899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-02-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small urban historic district of about 1½ blocks west of downtown Richmond, Virginia, bounded by First, Main, Foushee and Grace streets, with 28 mostly brick town houses built from the 1830s to about 1920.","why_significant":"It is described as the only remaining cohesive residential block on East Franklin Street. It holds a varied collection of mid- to late 19th-century town houses in Greek Revival, Italianate, Renaissance Revival, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles. The buildings have been converted to commercial use while keeping their historic character.","narrative":"This 1½-block district west of downtown Richmond contains 28 buildings, mostly two- and three-story brick town houses. Built between the 1830s and about 1920, they show Greek Revival, Italianate, Renaissance Revival, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles. The oldest include the William C. Allen double house at 4-6 E. Main Street (about 1836) and the Hillyard and Wortham houses on East Franklin Street. The grandest is the Kent-Valentine House at 12 E. Franklin Street, designed by Boston architect Isaiah Rogers and built in 1845-46, with a two-story Ionic portico added in 1904. The land was once part of Thomas Rutherfoord's western addition to Richmond, and its lots were sold after 1820 and developed by various owners. Brick herringbone sidewalks, cast-iron fences and a consistent two- to three-story scale unify the area. Originally residential, most buildings now serve as offices or businesses. The district was listed as the only remaining cohesive residential block on East Franklin Street and as a good example of preserving historic fabric downtown.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Isaiah Rogers, architect (Kent-Valentine House, 12 E. Franklin Street); John Hillyard (built 13 E. Franklin Street for speculation)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival, Italianate, Renaissance Revival, Queen Anne, Georgian/Colonial Revival, and Romanesque Revival town houses","criteria":[],"status_note":"Land use is residential and small business; many houses have been converted to offices or commercial use. Several vacant lots and parking lots break up the streetscape.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.860131-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/94/6828/41682894/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/80004216.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004216/6adc271fcd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004216/6adc271fcd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Morgan Riley","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_00_Block_E_Main_Richmond_VA.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:North_00_Block_E_Main_Richmond_VA.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/41682894","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_0-100_East_Franklin_Street_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16823584"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/block-0-100-east-franklin-street-historic-district-80004216/"}