Holbrook-Ross Street Historic District

Holbrook Street and Ross Street in Danville, Virginia, with the cross streets Maury, Roberts, John, Doe and Gay, form a neighborhood that grew in the late 19th century into the city's first African-American professional district. Most of the 107 contributing buildings are single-family houses built between 1880 and 1910, many vernacular in form with Italianate or Queen Anne detailing. A second building phase in the 1920s and 1930s added Craftsman bungalows and Foursquare houses. Three revival-style churches line Holbrook Street, including Calvary Baptist Church, designed in 1896 by J.R. Pleasants. The Westmoreland School complex anchors the northern end, and a former colored branch library and small storefronts with living space above reflect the area's Black-owned businesses. Laborers' housing for the nearby tobacco and textile industries appears in shotgun and central-passage houses. Sidewalks, retaining walls and early hexagonal paving blocks add to the setting. The district keeps its original scale, density and uses despite siding changes and additions.