A new digital collection at VCU Libraries captures architectural details and photographs of more than 600 structures in Jackson Ward and Oregon Hill, many of which no longer exist.
The Richmond Architectural Survey contains data sheets and informat
ion compiled by the City of Richmond's Department of Planning and Community Development in the mid-1970s. The evaluations were intended to be used in preservation plans and for city planning as a whole. These data sheets predate the standard survey forms used in Virginia used since the 1980s.
This collection is expected to be useful to people with interests in architecture and Richmond history and historic preservation. "The images taken for the survey combined with the data for these 18th and 19th century Richmond houses, many of them vastly altered or demolished in the last four decades, will give researchers a new perspective on Richmond's historic neighborhoods. It's a unique resource that can now be accessed
online," said Ray Bonis, archives coordinator at James Branch Cabell Library.
The 1970s survey form included a section identifying the building, its basic architecture and the construction date. A separate section evaluated the structure's architectural significance. Many of the forms included one or more photographs. Online, the data sheet is presented along with the photographs. Occasionally, assessors property cards are included, which offer more details on the buildings.
The data sheets reflect the bias of the times against so-called vernacular architecture--generally thought to be functional buildings designed to meet the needs of common people in their time and place. Vernacular structures were built by owners, builders or developers not schooled in formal architectural design. In some communities, these were sod houses, log cabins, barns and farm outbuildings. In urban centers, examples of vernacular architecture are homes, neighborhood businesses, storefronts, even churches--structures in the cityscape that served ordinary families living their everyday lives.
Historically, worldwide most buildings were built by people without plans by an architect. But, until recently, most historic preservation efforts focused on saving and restoring grand houses, such as those along Richmond's Monument Avenue, with little consideration given to typical neighborhoods and everyday structures, particularly those in non-white or non-wealthy sections of town. Structures like those in Jackson Ward and Oregon Hill--smaller and simply designed buildings--were considered less important architecturally, and less important to preserve.
These views began to change in the 1980s when city planners, preservationists and architectural historians began to consider vernacular architecture as important signatures of society and culture and thus as vital to understanding history as designed buildings. These changing views led preservation efforts to save entire blocks and not just key buildings.
Materials in this collection are in the public domain, and thus are free of any copyright restriction. To credit the collection: cite VCU Libraries Special Collections and Archives at James Branch Cabell Library.
The Richmond Architectural Survey contains data sheets and informat
ion compiled by the City of Richmond's Department of Planning and Community Development in the mid-1970s. The evaluations were intended to be used in preservation plans and for city planning as a whole. These data sheets predate the standard survey forms used in Virginia used since the 1980s.This collection is expected to be useful to people with interests in architecture and Richmond history and historic preservation. "The images taken for the survey combined with the data for these 18th and 19th century Richmond houses, many of them vastly altered or demolished in the last four decades, will give researchers a new perspective on Richmond's historic neighborhoods. It's a unique resource that can now be accessed
online," said Ray Bonis, archives coordinator at James Branch Cabell Library.
The 1970s survey form included a section identifying the building, its basic architecture and the construction date. A separate section evaluated the structure's architectural significance. Many of the forms included one or more photographs. Online, the data sheet is presented along with the photographs. Occasionally, assessors property cards are included, which offer more details on the buildings.
The data sheets reflect the bias of the times against so-called vernacular architecture--generally thought to be functional buildings designed to meet the needs of common people in their time and place. Vernacular structures were built by owners, builders or developers not schooled in formal architectural design. In some communities, these were sod houses, log cabins, barns and farm outbuildings. In urban centers, examples of vernacular architecture are homes, neighborhood businesses, storefronts, even churches--structures in the cityscape that served ordinary families living their everyday lives.
Historically, worldwide most buildings were built by people without plans by an architect. But, until recently, most historic preservation efforts focused on saving and restoring grand houses, such as those along Richmond's Monument Avenue, with little consideration given to typical neighborhoods and everyday structures, particularly those in non-white or non-wealthy sections of town. Structures like those in Jackson Ward and Oregon Hill--smaller and simply designed buildings--were considered less important architecturally, and less important to preserve.
These views began to change in the 1980s when city planners, preservationists and architectural historians began to consider vernacular architecture as important signatures of society and culture and thus as vital to understanding history as designed buildings. These changing views led preservation efforts to save entire blocks and not just key buildings.
Materials in this collection are in the public domain, and thus are free of any copyright restriction. To credit the collection: cite VCU Libraries Special Collections and Archives at James Branch Cabell Library.