Downtown Hopewell Historic District (Boundary Increase and Decrease)

Downtown Hopewell is the commercial and governmental center of the Virginia city, and most of it was built after a 1915 fire destroyed the earlier frame buildings. Rebuilding between 1916 and 1930 favored brick and sandstone masonry, and most buildings stand one to four stories tall, with two stories most common. East Broadway holds the largest group of commercial buildings, many with decorative brickwork, brackets and iron balconies. Larger landmarks include the three-story Larkin Hotel of 1916, the Randolph Hotel of 1927, the D. L. Elder Bank of 1929, and the Art Deco Beacon Theatre. The Classical Revival Municipal Building of 1925, designed by Fred A. Bishop, and a Colonial Revival post office anchor the government buildings along Main Street. Patrick Copeland Elementary School, an Art Deco building of 1939, lies a block north. Storefronts have been altered and some blocks were lost to urban renewal, but the district still conveys its commercial and governmental past. It qualifies for its role in commerce and government and for its architecture, for the period 1915 to 1951.