Washington Avenue Historic District

Washington Avenue in Fredericksburg, Virginia, is a four-block-long, 150-foot-wide boulevard with grassy medians and mature trees, lined with substantial houses built around the turn of the 20th century. The district counts 36 contributing houses and other buildings, four monuments and a cemetery site. Its land was once part of the large plantation around Kenmore, the 1770s Georgian mansion built for Fielding Lewis and Betty Washington, which anchors the southern end and is now a museum. The avenue was developed after 1890 by the Fredericksburg Development Company, partly to give a ceremonial approach to Mary Washington's grave and monument. Houses display Italianate, Queen Anne, Shingle, Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles, several designed by architect Philip N. Stern or built by local contractors such as Frank Stearns and E.G. Heflin. Monuments include the Hugh Mercer statue by sculptor Edward V. Valentine. The area keeps most of its early character, with few late-20th-century intrusions.