{"nrhp_refnum":"94000456","name":"Aberdeen Gardens","other_names":["VDHR No. 114-146"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Langston and Mary Peake Blvds., and Russell, Davis, Lewis, Weaver and Walker Rds.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hampton (Independent City)","county":"Hampton","state":"VA","lat":37.033203387500066,"lon":-76.4057468896682,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-05-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Black","Politics/Government","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A planned New Deal resettlement community in Hampton, Virginia, built from 1934 to about 1937-1938 for African-American workers of the Newport News and Hampton area. It includes 158 single-family Colonial Revival houses, a school site and a commercial building, and was designed by architect Hilyard R. Robinson.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as the first New Deal homestead community built for black residents, and the only one designed by a black architect and built by black workers under a black construction superintendent. Its plan drew on Garden City and Stein and Wright superblock ideas, with large lots for gardens and livestock and a surrounding greenbelt. It is significant in architecture, community planning, ethnic heritage, politics and government, and social history.","narrative":"Aberdeen Gardens is a planned residential community in Hampton, Virginia, begun in 1934 and largely finished by 1937 as a federal resettlement project for African-American workers living in substandard housing around Newport News and Hampton. Hilyard R. Robinson, a Howard University architect and planner, laid it out with 158 Colonial Revival houses on large lots of roughly 75 by 220 to 290 feet, wide grassy medians, and large interior blocks used for gardens, chicken coops and small livestock. A greenbelt of farmland and woods surrounded the settlement. Plans also called for a school, community center and church; the school and a small commercial building were built. The project drew on Garden City and superblock planning ideas. It is noted as the first New Deal homestead community for black residents and as one designed by a black architect and built by black workers. Most of the original street plan survives, and the district holds 157 contributing and 67 noncontributing buildings.","period_of_significance":"C. 1934-1946","architect_builder":"Hilyard R. Robinson (Architect), Lewis B. Walton (Architect)","architectural_style":"Queen Anne (vernacular); Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still largely intact in its original street plan, with houses, a school and a commercial building in current use; the original school was heavily remodeled and replaced, so it is noncontributing.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.178407-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/7/6811/41681107/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/94000456.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000456/57f40c7d97-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000456/57f40c7d97-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"JERRYE &amp; ROY KLOTZ, M.D.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ABERDEEN_GARDENS,_HAMPTON_VA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE &amp;amp; ROY KLOTZ, M.D.</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ABERDEEN_GARDENS,_HAMPTON_VA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681107","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberdeen_Gardens_(Hampton,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4666921"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/hampton/aberdeen-gardens-94000456/"}