Aberdeen Gardens

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.