Bloomfield Street Historic District
Also known as: See Also:Parr, Calvin W., House
Why it's listed
Bloomfield Street Historic District is a roughly 30-acre residential neighborhood in Athens, Georgia, next to the University of Georgia campus. Its small lots hold modest wood-framed houses built from the 1890s to the 1930s, in Victorian Eclectic, American Foursquare, Bungalow and Craftsman styles, with some Tudor Revival detailing. Fred Orr, a local architect, designed several Craftsman houses on Mell Street. The Calvin Parr House, an elaborately detailed Victorian cottage, is also individually listed. Development began in the late 1880s, when industrialist Robert L. Bloomfield subdivided land along the east side of Bloomfield Street. Other sections were laid out in 1890 and 1912, and the area grew piecemeal, helped by the nearby Milledge Avenue streetcar line. Merchants, tradesmen and university professors lived here. Informal front-yard landscaping, shade trees and a small triangular green give the district a park-like setting. It was listed for its architecture, landscape design, planning history and the Bloomfield connection.
Significance in brief: The district is significant for architecture, landscape architecture, community planning and local history. It shows piecemeal middle-class neighborhood development in a small Georgia town, is associated with industrialist Robert L. Bloomfield, who subdivided part of it, and contains typical Victorian Eclectic, Foursquare and Bungalow/Craftsman houses with naturalistic landscaping.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 85000850, listed April 18, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Bloomfield and Peabody Sts., U of G campus, Rutherford St and Milledge Ave., Athens |
|---|---|
| County | Clarke County |
| Listed | April 18, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85000850 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1885-1935 (revised in 1990 supplementary information; the original form gave 1880s-1930s) |
| Architect / builder | Multiple; Fred Orr, local architect, designed houses on Mell Street |
| Architectural style | Victorian Eclectic, American Foursquare, Bungalow/Craftsman, with Tudor Revival and Neoclassical detailing |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied, predominantly private residences; two small historic stores have been converted to residences; a few 1950s apartment buildings are the only intrusions. |
| Acreage | 30 |
| Coordinates | 33.94507, -83.38479 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 85000850.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q34851708
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.