The finely-articulated Greek Revival style St. Paul’s Church was designed by Philadelphia architect Thomas S. Stewart. Completed in 1845, the temple-form building, located near Capitol Square in Richmond, is fronted by a portico in the Greek Corinthian order, employing capitals of cast iron. The spacious interior of St. Paul’s Church is dominated by a richly ornamented Greek Revival ceiling. Except for the removal of a spire, the deepening of the apse, and the installation of stained-glass windows, several from the Tiffany studios, the church remains little changed. Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and many Virginia governors have regularly worshiped here. It was at St. Paul’s, on April 2, 1865, that President Davis received word that General Lee no longer could hold the lines at Petersburg and thus defend the capital, a message that resulted in the immediate evacuation of the Confederate government from Richmond. St. Paul’s continues as one the state’s leading Episcopal parishes.
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