Solar Hill Historic District

Solar Hill is a hillside residential neighborhood in Bristol, Virginia, just north of the downtown commercial center. It takes its name from its use as an official observation point for the 1869 solar eclipse. Lots were sold after 1871, and the first houses went up that year. Most of the land was built out between 1890 and 1910, when it became the city's most prestigious address. The district holds 117 primary buildings, including 115 dwellings, a school and a church, along with outbuildings such as servants' quarters and carriage houses. Queen Anne houses dominate, joined by Colonial Revival, Neo-classical, Italian Renaissance, Bungalow, Spanish Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival examples. Small frame houses for working-class residents fill some side lots. Wide tree-lined streets, sidewalks and stone or concrete retaining walls give the area a consistent character. It is considered Bristol's most significant collection of late 19th and early 20th century homes, and a 1994-listed house, the King-Lancaster-McCoy-Mitchell House, lies within it.