West Haven Historic District

West Haven is a triangular residential neighborhood of roughly 211 acres about a mile west of downtown Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Laid out as one of the city's first suburbs to move away from a strict grid, it has broad, partly curving streets lined with pines, live oaks and magnolias, and 22 acres set aside for parks. Its houses, mostly one and two stories in brick or frame, include Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Renaissance Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival designs, along with Cape Cods, minimal traditional houses and ranches. Local professionals, executives and merchants built here, and many homes were designed by Thomas Herman of Wilson, including the Gorham house overlooking Wildwood Park. The district counts 181 contributing buildings, along with garages, sheds and two parks. Buildings dating after 1952 or heavily altered are considered noncontributing. The neighborhood is significant as a well-preserved example of suburban growth in Rocky Mount through the mid-twentieth century.