{"nrhp_refnum":"96001454","name":"Byrd, William, Hotel","other_names":["Dhr 127-0466"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2501 W. Broad St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.56029128200004,"lon":-77.46663684099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-12-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An 11-story Neo-Classical Revival hotel building at 2501 West Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, built in 1925 at the corner of Broad Street and Davis Avenue. Marcellus E. Wright designed it, and it was developed by Hotel Richmond Realty Corporation.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a good example of an urban Neo-Classical Revival high-rise and of early steel-frame, fireproof construction. It was the first and only high-rise commercial building on Broad Street west of downtown, built to serve the new Broad Street Station area. For many travelers the hotel and the station were Richmond's gateway image.","narrative":"Rising eleven stories at Broad Street and Davis Avenue in Richmond, the William Byrd Hotel opened in October 1925 across from the new Broad Street Station. Richmond architect Marcellus E. Wright designed it as a three-part block with an Indiana limestone base, buff brick shaft and an ornate terra cotta capital. Its steel frame, with concrete, clay tile and gypsum block walls and floors, was promoted as fireproof and modern. The hotel offered 198 guest rooms, a mezzanine ballroom, a dining room, shops, a barbershop and a roof garden. It was the first and only high-rise commercial building on Broad Street west of downtown and served as a gateway image of the city for many travelers. Interiors were altered in 1948 and again in 1961, when it became a motor hotel. Marble floors, the grand stair and other lobby features survive, and a 1996 conversion to apartments aims to restore them.","period_of_significance":"1925-1946","architect_builder":"Wright, Marcellus E., Jr.","architectural_style":"Neo-Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Renovation into apartments began in 1996, with restoration of surviving first-floor finishes and exterior elements planned under rehabilitation standards.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.425927-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/6829/41682951/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/96001454.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001454/109a7816d7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001454/109a7816d7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Crazyale","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Byrd_Hotel.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Crazyale</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:William_Byrd_Hotel.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/41682951","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Byrd_Hotel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16967639"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/byrd-william-hotel-96001454/"}