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Broad
Street District
District Boundaries: Belvidere to 1st Street
Broad
Street is lined with excellent examples of late nineteenth and
early twentieth century commercial buildings. The street's buildings
reflect a wide variety of styles from Art Deco to Italianate.
The wide street accommodated a trolley line that ran down the
center of the street. Many of these large buildings are being
renovated as new apartments or business spaces, bringing vitality
back to this once striving street.
| 704
East Broad Street
National Theatre,
1922
Italian Renaissance Revival. This theater is located outside of the Broad Street Historic District. It features an Italianate exterior with Adamesque interior. C.K. Howell was the architect. The interior plaster work was done by Ferruccio Legnaioli. Vaudeville, silent movies and talkies have all been showcased at the National. The National was one of three theaters on this block. One was demolished and the facade of the other was incorporated into a modern office building. The National is current;y owned by Historic Richmond Foundation. HRF and the APVA purchased the building and saved it from demolition in 1989.
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101
West Broad Street
Masonic Temple, 1888
Romanesque Revival. Designed by Jackson Gott, the upper floors contained meeting rooms and a ballroom. The ground floor was occupied by the Woodward & Lothrop department store. When the store moved, the Masons nearly went bankrupt. The Masons hosted many dignitaries in this building, including Theodore Roosevelt. It has been converted into apartments and a conference center with businesses located on the ground floor. |
118
West Broad Street
Empire Theatre, 1910
Beaux Arts. This is Richmond's oldest surviving theatre.
Nothing is left of the original exterior ornamentation except
that on the inside of the arch. However, much of the interior
remains intact. The theatre was one of the pioneering restoration
efforts in the district. |
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Miller
& Rhoads building (above), views of Broad Street |
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Historic Richmond Foundation - The William Byrd Branch of APVA
Preservation Virginia
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