Downtown Norfolk Historic District

Downtown Norfolk's historic district covers 18.3 acres centered on Granby Street, with Main, Plume, City Hall Avenue and Bank Streets also included. It holds 52 contributing buildings, most of them erected between 1900 and 1920 in a Classical Revival manner. Many have glazed terra cotta ornament, shipped to the city by water. Variations include Beaux Arts, Italianate and Second Empire designs. The oldest building is the 1858 granite Customs House by Ammi B. Young. The oldest tall building is the eight-story Citizen's Bank Building of 1897-1899 on East Main Street. Other notable structures include the Post Office and Courts building, the 1903 Virginia Club and a row of narrow storefronts on Granby Street's 100 block. Tall buildings required many driven piles because of the low-lying ground. The district reflects the prosperity Norfolk gained from port and naval activity, coal shipped by rail to Hampton Roads and the 1907 Jamestown Exposition. Five buildings in it are individually listed.