Buena Vista Downtown Historic District

Downtown Buena Vista, Virginia, is a compact commercial district of about ten acres along Sycamore and Magnolia avenues, part of 21st Street, and short stretches of 20th Street and Forest Avenue. It sits on level river-bottom land east of the Maury River, with the Blue Ridge Mountains rising to the east. The district holds 53 resources, 39 of them contributing. Most are one- or two-story masonry buildings, with a few taller ones, among them a three-story 1890 hardware store that keeps its cast-iron storefront surround and faded painted advertising. Six surviving buildings date from the 1889-1890 boom, and others were built between 1900 and 1920 and between 1940 and 1959. Uses include banks, department and specialty stores, a post office, a war memorial building, and a former city hall. Details such as corbelled brickwork, pressed-metal cornices and large display windows are typical of the period. The district was listed for its architecture, commerce and government history from 1889 to 1959.