Downtown Norfolk Historic District
Also known as: See Also:Monticello Arcade; Wells Theatre; U.S. Customs House
Why it's listed
Downtown Norfolk's historic district covers 18.3 acres centered on Granby Street, with Main, Plume, City Hall Avenue and Bank Streets also included. It holds 52 contributing buildings, most of them erected between 1900 and 1920 in a Classical Revival manner. Many have glazed terra cotta ornament, shipped to the city by water. Variations include Beaux Arts, Italianate and Second Empire designs. The oldest building is the 1858 granite Customs House by Ammi B. Young. The oldest tall building is the eight-story Citizen's Bank Building of 1897-1899 on East Main Street. Other notable structures include the Post Office and Courts building, the 1903 Virginia Club and a row of narrow storefronts on Granby Street's 100 block. Tall buildings required many driven piles because of the low-lying ground. The district reflects the prosperity Norfolk gained from port and naval activity, coal shipped by rail to Hampton Roads and the 1907 Jamestown Exposition. Five buildings in it are individually listed.
Significance in brief: The district is significant for its concentration of turn-of-the-century commercial architecture, mostly Classical Revival and richly ornamented with terra cotta, stone and brick. The buildings reflect Norfolk's prosperity from the 1890s to the 1920s, which came from port and naval activity, the rail link to the coalfields, and the Jamestown Exposition. Five buildings in the district are also individually listed.
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 87000475, listed March 20, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Granby, Main, and Plume Sts., City Hall Ave., and Bank St., Norfolk (Independent City) |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk |
| Listed | March 20, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87000475 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Ammi B. Young (Customs House); Charles E. Cassell with builder Frank R. May (Citizen's Bank Building); Wyatt and Nolting with James Knox Taylor (Post Office and Courts); Kenneth M. Murchison, Jr. with contractor E. Tatterson (Virginia Club) |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival, with Beaux Arts, Italianate and Second Empire examples and vernacular adaptations |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Transportation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is marked excellent, good and fair, and the district includes both occupied and unoccupied buildings. Some buildings have altered storefronts or missing cornices. |
| Acreage | 18.3 |
| Coordinates | 36.85066, -76.29001 (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 87000475.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14712250
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.