The Monroe Ward Historic District is a historic, mixed-use neighborhood located in downtown Richmond. Its architectural fabric presents a variety of periods, styles, building types, and uses that illustrate the evolution of the city of Richmond from 1814, when the Federal-style Crozet House was built, to the late 1940s when commercial and business uses began to dominate the historic district. The area is a sector that has long played a role in the life of the city. In the first half of the 19th century, it was a neighborhood of varied scattered dwellings. An elegant residential quarter developed from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. Finally, beginning in the second quarter of the 20th century, commercial establishments became common. The neighborhood began to regain popularity for office and residential use as the century drew to a close. The Monroe Ward Historic District contains two buildings already listed individually in the national and state registers, including the National Historic Landmark Ellen Glasgow House. It also partially intersects with one registered district, the 0-100 Block East Franklin Street Historic District, and it abuts another registered district, the Fifth and Main Downtown Historic District.
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