Monroe Park occupies land acquired by the city of Richmond in 1851 to be a park for its developing western suburbs. After serving as an agricultural exposition site and a camp for Confederate troops, the property became a park in the 1870s. The layout is a pattern of walks radiating from an elaborate cast-iron fountain. Framing the Monroe Park Historic District’s north and west sides is a remarkable assemblage of buildings ranging from the 1895 Gothic Revival Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church to the 1906 Renaissance Revival Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. Most conspicuous is the Islamic-style 1927 city auditorium, originally known as The Mosque, now the Altria Theater. Several late-19th-century town houses and two Tudor-style apartment towers recall the Monroe Park Historic District’s earlier residential character. The buildings, and especially their amazing collective skyline, demonstrate the eclecticism of the period, while the park is a handsome example of late-Victorian urban landscaping.
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