Downtown Salem Historic District

Downtown Salem is a roughly twenty-five-acre commercial district in the historic center of Salem, Virginia, stretched along Main Street and U.S. Route 460. It includes the original sixteen-acre town plat laid out in 1802 along the Great Wagon Road, and the gridded pattern of blocks, cross streets and alleys, largely set before 1830, survives. The district holds about 47 resources, most of them contributing, from the early nineteenth century to the late twentieth. Mixed-use commercial blocks dominate, alongside churches, a courthouse, a post office, a library, a park and a farmer's market. Notable buildings include the 1852 Greek Revival Salem Presbyterian Church, the 1910 Classical Revival Old Roanoke County Courthouse, the 1911 St. Paul's Episcopal Church and the 1930 Salem Theatre. Many storefronts have been altered, yet upper floors and pressed-metal interiors often remain. The district was recognized for its role in the town's commercial development and for its concentrated range of architectural styles.