Chamberlayne Gardens

Chamberlayne Gardens is a garden apartment complex in north Richmond, built in 1945-1946 and designed by Norfolk architect Bernard Betzig Spigel. Its 52 attached brick buildings, grouped around four landscaped courtyards on two city blocks, hold 216 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The Colonial Revival buildings are two and three stories tall and vary their appearance through red or buff brick, slate gabled or flat tile-capped roofs, and three recurring entry porch designs. Inside, most units keep original hardwood floors, wood trim and tiled bathrooms, though kitchens were updated in the 1980s. The complex was built under the Federal Housing Administration, which promoted garden apartments for middle-income city dwellers. It is the oldest surviving FHA-funded apartment complex in Richmond and by far the largest of them, covering two full blocks. Few garden apartment complexes survive in the city, and this one retains much of its original design and landscaping, which supports its significance in social history and architecture.