Lafayette Residence Park Historic District was originally platted in 1902 with small parks, a system of curving roads complementing the irregular shorelines of the Lafayette River, and the grand, tree-lined Lafayette Boulevard. Slow development in the area was spurred by the decreased lot sizes in a revised plat, the streetcar line along Lafayette Boulevard, and Norfolk’s population growth approaching World War I. Larger homes dominate the shoreline and Lafayette Boulevard and most of the earlier homes are Queen Anne, but Colonial Revival and Craftsman-style homes predominate overall. The district is largely residential with three churches: Church of the Epiphany, designed by Benjamin Mitchell; First United Methodist Church; Lafayette Presbyterian Church; and the Lafayette Grammar School, designed by Vance Hebbard, which has been converted to apartments.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia