{"nrhp_refnum":"88000601","name":"Kenmure","other_names":["Lamb, William, House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"420 W. Bute St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Norfolk (Independent City)","county":"Norfolk","state":"VA","lat":36.85280888800003,"lon":-76.29666483899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-06-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Kenmure, also called the William Lamb House, is a Greek Revival brick town house of about 9,000 square feet at 420 West Bute Street in Norfolk, Virginia. It was built in 1845 as a two-story house and expanded to three stories around 1855.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the most distinguished Greek Revival town house in Norfolk and a rare surviving antebellum mansion in the city. It is tied to the Lamb family, leading Norfolk merchants, bankers and mayors. William Wilson Lamb, mayor during the Civil War, is said to have hidden the city's mace there, and his son William Lamb was a Confederate officer, mayor, state Republican chairman and promoter of Norfolk's trade.","narrative":"Kenmure is a large brick town house at 420 West Bute Street in Norfolk, built in 1845 for banker and merchant William Wilson Lamb and raised from two stories to three around 1855. Its three-bay front has a small portico with two fluted Ionic columns, a dentil cornice, and a cupola that looks out toward the Elizabeth River. Inside, wide battered door and window trim, two open-string staircases and marble mantels carry the Greek Revival character. The nomination calls it the most distinguished Greek Revival town house in Norfolk. Lamb served as mayor during the Civil War, and local tradition says he hid the city's mace beneath a second-floor hearth. His son William Lamb, defender of Fort Fisher, later lived there, served as mayor, led the state Republican Party and promoted cotton trade with England. After years as apartments, the house was restored in 1977 and now combines offices with a residence.","period_of_significance":"1845-1909","architect_builder":"Unknown (built for William Wilson Lamb)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Restored in 1977; the basement and first floor serve as professional offices and the upper two floors as a residence. The form describes it as maintained in first-class condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.423079-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/6821/41682135/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/88000601.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000601/ffe41e67bf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000601/ffe41e67bf-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cathy1763","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kenmure.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:Kenmure.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/41682135","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenmure_(Norfolk,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16893255"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/norfolk/kenmure-88000601/"}