Manchester Industrial Historic District (Boundary Increase)

This boundary increase extends the Manchester Industrial Historic District in south Richmond by five blocks and one bridge. The blocks had been surveyed for the original 1999 district but were omitted after owner objection. The added resources include a ca. 1915 brick warehouse at 320 Hull Street that grew from the A. S. Kratz Folding Paper Box plant, later renamed the Virginia Folding Box Company. Also included are a ca. 1945 brick warehouse built for Blue and Gray Transportation, an early Richmond trucking firm, and the Philip Morris plant at 700 Stockton Street, begun in 1937 with a concrete frame. Its ca. 1945 wing used masonry walls and heavy timber because steel was scarce during World War II. The 1911 Hull Street Bridge carries traffic over the Manchester Canal. Two buildings from about 1959 are noncontributing. The additions were found significant locally for their role in commerce, industry and transportation, and as little-altered industrial architecture from 1911 to 1949.