Court House Hill-Downtown Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: DHR File No. 118-5163
Why it's listed
This addition to Lynchburg's Court House Hill/Downtown district takes in the blocks along Madison and Harrison Streets between 5th and 7th Streets. It holds 44 contributing resources: 38 dwellings and six outbuildings, including garages and sheds. Most houses date from the late nineteenth century and are mainly frame Queen Anne dwellings with porches, sawn brackets, bargeboards and bay windows. They sit close to the street on small lots, reflecting the move from large estates to denser urban housing. Three buildings are older: a brick house of 1790-1815 at 622 Harrison Street, an 1810 stone-and-frame house at 604 Harrison, and an 1850 central-passage house at 610 Harrison. Brick multiple dwellings include a triple house and two double houses. One of them, the Glass Double House of 1908, is attributed to architect Aubrey Chesterman and was built for Carter Glass. Brick and patterned sidewalks and stone retaining walls add to the streetscape. The area was listed for its architecture, with a significance period of 1786 to 1952.
Significance in brief: The nomination marks the area as significant under Criterion C for architecture, with a period of significance of 1786-1952. Its dwellings, mostly in the Queen Anne style, show the shift from large-lot houses to denser urban housing. The area also includes three earlier houses and the Glass Double House, attributed to architect Aubrey Chesterman.
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 02001361, listed November 22, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly along Madison St., Harrison St., 7th St., 6th St.,, Lynchburg (Independent City) |
|---|---|
| County | Lynchburg |
| Listed | November 22, 2002 |
| Reference number | 02001361 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1786-1952 |
| Architect / builder | Aubrey Chesterman (attributed architect of the Glass Double House, 600-602 Madison Street) |
| Architectural style | Early Republic: Federal; Late Victorian: Second Empire, Queen Anne; Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Colonial Revival; also American Foursquare |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Historic and current functions are listed as domestic (single and multiple dwellings), with some work in progress. |
| Acreage | 7.5 |
| Coordinates | 37.41391, -79.14761 (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 02001361.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5178242
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.