The Scott's Addition Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Portions of the content on this web page were adapted from a copy of the original nomination document. [1]
Summary Description:
The Scott's Addition Historic District, located to the west of the Boulevard, is one of the larger industrial and commercial districts in the City of Richmond. The area remained largely undeveloped until the early 1900s when modest dwellings and businesses were constructed. From the 1930s to the 1950s, a second phase of development occurred with large industrial plants, commercial buildings, and warehouses being built amongst the existing dwellings or replacing them. Large industrial plants and commercial structures are the dominant building type in the area today. The district contains brick and frame buildings that represent a variety of architectural styles including Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, Mission, International Style, and Art Deco. There are also several skillfully crafted buildings in the Moderne style, a style rarely seen in Richmond. The proposed district abuts the West of the Boulevard Historic District, to the south, the tracks of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad define the northern and western boundaries, and The Boulevard demarcates the eastern edge. The Scott's Addition Historic District contains a total of 374 buildings, structures, and objects. There are 284 contributing buildings, 1 contributing structure, and 2 contributing objects; and 83 non-contributing buildings and 4 non-contributing structures. There are no resources located in the proposed district which have been previously listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Detailed Description:
Scott's Addition is predominantly an industrial district with a few smaller commercial buildings and dwellings scattered throughout. The area is currently zoned as mixed use allowing light industrial, office, residential, and service industries. In the 1890s, the streets were laid out in a regular grid pattern seen elsewhere in the City of Richmond. Most of the streets that run east to west are one way. Unlike modern industrial parks with large parking lots surrounding the buildings, the buildings in Scott's Addition are generally set to the street and have sidewalks in front. Rail spurs that once served the transportation demands of the early businesses are still visible in the streets and next to the loading docks on many of the warehouses. As early as 1909, the Broad Street trolley line was extended to Sheppard Street, at the eastern edge of the district, providing residents and workers with an affordable means of transportation.
The oldest structures in the neighborhood are single-family houses and large warehouses dating from the first quarter of the twentieth century. Several rows of two-story, Colonial Revival brick houses were home to working-class Richmonders. There are also a few one-story, frame single-dwellings, which have survived in the district. Between the 1930s and early 1950s, large brick commercial buildings were constructed in the Art Deco and Moderne styles including possibly the largest concentration of Moderne buildings in the city. It is these buildings that give the area its unique character. In addition, the district contains a number of Modern Movement-style commercial buildings and warehouses constructed in the late 1950s and 1960s. The frame and brick buildings constructed throughout the historic district are examples of early and mid-twentieth century architecture. It is these varied styles that together create a visually interesting historic fabric.
One of the earliest architectural styles in the historic district is Art Deco. Between the late 1920s and 1930s, several buildings were constructed in this style along West Broad Street, Cutshaw, Summit, and Altamont avenues. Two of the earliest Art Deco buildings in the district were designed by Henry T. Barnham (1885-1937) and constructed for the Jones Motor Car Company. The first to be built, in 1926, is a two-story, five-bay, brick, automobile service building at 3001 Cutshaw Avenue. Although most of the facade's characteristics have been altered, the eastern elevation retains much of its original character. The bays on the eastern elevation have multi-light steel casement windows that are separated by decorative brick pilasters with concrete capitals. The capitals are decorated with stylized leaves and fleurs-de-lis on a pedestal. The other building designed by Barnham is the former Cadillac and La Sallie dealership at 2923 West Broad Street. Built in 1928 as the car showroom for Cadillac & La Sallie vehicles, this two-story, seven-bay, yellow brick building has been slightly altered on the first story of the facade and the second story has been covered with a metal screen. However, much of the original Art Deco decoration is visible behind the metal screen and on the western elevation. The first story bays on the west elevation are defined by molded concrete frames with clipped corners and piers with molded capitals that separate the fenestration within each larger bay. There are also geometric molded concrete panels between the stories and concrete stringcourses.
There are two other notable Art Deco-style buildings in Scott's Addition, one of which is a warehouse and the other a communications facility. The first of these two buildings to be constructed is the office/warehouse at 1700-04 Altamont Avenue. Built in 1929 for H. L. Carpel of Richmond Inc. Food Specialties, this one-story, six-bay, brick building was designed by Leon Otis Spiers (active 1919-1953), a Richmond architect associated with Davis Brothers Inc., a large architectural and construction firm with offices in Scott's Addition. The defining features of the building are the brick pilasters with triangular capitals at the roofline that delineate the bays and decorative concrete bands that frame each window. The other Art Deco building is the Richmond Broadcasting Company communications facility at 3301 West Broad Street. It was constructed in 1938 for the Havens & Martins Inc. Radio/WMBG Broadcasting Station. It is a one-story, four-bay, limestone faced building with rounded corners. It has a stepped parapet with a concrete frieze decorated with a stylized chevron pattern. One and two-story additions have been made to the western side of the building that reflect the Art Deco features of the original building.
The only Classical Revival-style building and earliest religious building in Scott's Addition is the Boulevard Baptist Church at 2942 West Marshall Street. Built ca. 1916, this one-story, four-bay, stuccoed church has a cruciform plan. There is a centered two-bay projection with a broken pediment on the facade. The complex roof has a central dome with a metal spire. To the rear of the church is a concrete block fellowship hall with both Colonial Revival and Craftsman-style decorative elements. Behind the fellowship hall is a one-story concrete block Sunday School building. The Sunday School building has a recessed central entrance with two flanking windows on either side. The only decorative element is the tile coping at the roof line.
Over one third of the primary resources in the Scott's Addition Historic District are simple structures with an eclectic mixture of decorative elements and do not clearly represent a single style. The oldest industrial building in Scott's Addition of this type is the China-American Tobacco & Trading Company Warehouse at 3412 West Moore Street. Constructed in 1920 and designed by Marcellus E. Wright, this one-story, two-bay, brick, tobacco warehouse has three segmental arches over the bays and a stepped parapet roof. Around 1934, the building was sold to the Morgan Brothers Bag Manufacturing Company, converted into a factory, and a one-story, seven-bay, brick office which blends Colonial Revival and Art Deco elements was added to the facade. Another good example of a factory built in this blending of style is the National Biscuit Factory (Nabisco) at 1320 North Boulevard. Erected in 1923 by Davis Brothers Inc., this one-story, seven-bay, brick building has corbelled brick quoins that divide each bay, a metal stringcourse, a metal box cornice, and a flat roof with a decorative convex parapet. This building displays both Colonial Revival and Mission influences. A unique example of this blending of late 19th and 20th Century Revival styles is the Richmond City Stables, built around 1920 at 3101 West Clay Street (alternate 1326 Summit Avenue). Constructed for the Bureau of Parks and Recreation's Department of Public Works, the property contains an office, a stable with a hay loft, and two garages. All of the buildings were constructed of randomly laid stone with a grapevine joint. The 1 1/2-story, four-bay, stone office has a slate shingle gable roof with an overhanging wooden cornice with corner brackets. The stable and garages are simple rectangular buildings with tile coping at the roof line and completely devoid of decorative elements except for the pattern of the stone work and the rhythm of the wall penetrations.
The G. F. O'Connell House, constructed in 1920 on West Clay Street, is a good example of a Late Victorian-style single dwelling. This one-story, four-bay, frame dwelling has a decorative wooden cornice with sawn brackets, dentils, and pierced vents in the frieze. The house also has a hip-roofed, wraparound porch with turned posts. Another single-dwelling built ca. 1920 in a simplified Classical Revival style is at 2930 West Leigh Street. This two-story, two-bay, single-pile, frame house has a shallow gable roof with a box cornice that returns in the gable ends. The building has been covered with tan brick veneer, and a 1 1/2-story, ca. 1930, frame addition has been constructed to the rear. On the facade, there is a one-story, two-bay, shed-roof porch with fluted Tuscan columns and a box cornice.
The historic district contains one of the few Exotic Revival-style buildings in the City of Richmond. Located at 2816-18 West Broad Street, this commercial building was built in 1928 for Herold R. Hoffheimer as a rug cleaning and storage facility. The building is a two-story, five-bay, stuccoed structure that has Islamic patterned glazed tiles that frame the three center bays and recessed, ogee arched openings. There are corner towers with a tile pent roof in between. The eastern tower has a copper clad onion dome and arched openings. The western tower has a hipped roof and square openings with brackets in the corners.
Between 1930 and 1948, Colonial Revival-style buildings were constructed in Scott's Addition. One of the earliest remaining buildings in this style is the one-story, three-bay, brick office at 3201 West Moore Street. Built in 1937 for A. L. Phillips & Sons, Contractors, it has a steep, slate-shingled, gable roof with a dentiled wood cornice and paired windows. A decorative feature of the building is the one-story, one-bay, front gable-roofed porch with a broken pediment, dentiled cornice, a barrel vaulted ceiling, and paired square posts. Another Colonial Revival-style building is the Bennett Funeral Home at 3215 Cutshaw Avenue. Built ca. 1940, this two-story, twelve-bay, brick funeral home has a slate-shingled, hipped roof with a wooden modillioned box cornice over the central two-story, three-bay section of the building. There are one-story, flat-roof wings on either side of the center three bays and most of the first-story windows have brick jack arches with concrete keystones. In 1948, State Planters Bank & Trust Company constructed a 1 1/2-story, six-bay, brick, Colonial Revival-style bank at 3022 West Broad Street. The building has a raised English bond brick foundation with Flemish bond brick coursing above. All of the windows have jack arches with concrete keystones and sixteen-over-sixteen, wood, double-hung sash. Surrounding the entrance is a Georgian Revival-style doorframe and above the entrance bay is a pedimented gable with modillions and a plain frieze supported by paired, fluted Ionic pilasters. The building has a hipped roof with slate shingles, two hipped-roof dormers, and a wooden box cornice with modillions on all four sides. There are two small brick teller buildings behind the bank that reflect the style of the bank.
There are sixteen Moderne-style buildings in historic district today. One of the earliest examples of this style is the Chevrolet Parts Depot (General Motors Corporation) warehouse and training center at 1620 Altamont Avenue. Designed by the industrial architect Albert Kahn in 1929, this two-story, eight-bay, warehouse built with wire cut brick has projecting brick pilasters with curved concrete capitals that delineate the bays, and a parapet roof. Two excellent examples of Moderne-style buildings built in the late 1930s on West Broad Street are the A & P Food Store at 3201 and the Curles Neck Dairy Sales & Distribution Building at 3302. The A & P Food Store, historically known as The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, was designed in 1938 by Fredrick Bishop as a one-story, eight-bay, stuccoed concrete block building with a curved corner entrance bay and narrow rectangular windows laid horizontally. Louis W. Ballou designed the Curles Neck Dairy Sales & Distribution Building in 1939, as a sales room and processing plant for the dairy. Ballou originally designed the building as a one-story, five-bay structure with projecting bays with rounded corners and a decorative brick cornice with a corbelled header row on the top and bottom and five rows of flush stretchers in between. A second story with curved corners has been added above the right bay.
Two other good examples of Moderne-style architecture in Scott's Addition from the 1940s are the Cavalier Arena Skating Rink and the Binswanger Glass Factory. Cavalier Arena Skating Rink opened in 1940 at 1302 MacTavish Avenue (currently 1300). This two-story, four-bay, brick skating arena is now used as an office building. There is a central projecting entrance tower with corbelled brick decoration and lower wings on either side. The outside corners of the wings step back from the front plane. In 1946, Binswanger & Company erected a glass factory at 3300 West Leigh Street (1501 Roseneath Road). The building fills an entire block and was originally broken into three parts -- an office, glass processing facility, and glass polishing-crane runway. The portion of the building which contains the offices is a four-story, ten-bay, concrete block building with projections above the second and third story windows. These projections curve around the corner on the facade and terminate at entrance towers on the Leigh Street and Roseneath Road elevations. The second and third stories have nine undivided steel windows that form a continuous ribbon of glass. Above the second and third story windows is a continuous band of three rows of glass blocks with a vent centered over each window. There is a projecting three-story entrance bay on the right with stainless steel divisions and glass block lights. The fourth story is recessed from the facade and the two other portions of the building are concrete block warehouses.
Nearly half of the buildings in Scott's Addition are Modern in style with a flat roof and minimal decoration. One of the earliest warehouses constructed in this style is the Mercer Rug Cleaning and Storage building at 3116 West Moore Street. Originally built in 1936 as a one-story, three-bay, brick warehouse with a raised two-story tower (drying room) behind the facade, the building has corbelled brick decoration and brick pilasters that delineate each bay. In 1948, a one-story, four-bay, brick addition was attached to the western side with decoration similar to the original building. A second story was added to the entire building around 1955. Another notable building that was erected in the Modern style is the Carter Brothers Inc. Hauling Company office building at 2916 West Marshall Street. The ca. 1938, two-story, three-bay, brick office building has geometric corbelled brickwork on the facade and a one-story garage with a barrel-vaulted roof attached to the rear that was designed in 1934. In 1940, East Coast Freight Lines commissioned the architectural firm of Carneal, Johnston & Wright to design a Modern-style warehouse and office at 3005 West Marshall Street. The warehouse and office currently is a three-story, ten-bay, brick building that is divided into three sections. The three-story, four-bay, flat roof portion of the building on the right contains the offices and was originally constructed as two stories. A one-story, six-bay, brick truck repair hanger (warehouse) is located on the left side of the facade and has a gable roof with parapet ends. The third section of the building is attached to the rear and is a one-story warehouse with loading docks.
Three car showrooms surveyed in Scott's Addition were built in the Modern style. The most distinguished of these is the R. McGuire Steinruck Used Car Showroom at 3321 West Broad Street. Built in 1951 by Jason W. Kendler & Son (contractor), this one-story, five-bay, variegated brick building has a stainless steel storefront with thick stainless steel posts separating each bay. Above the storefront is a stainless steel projection that wraps around the faade and the side elevations.
Two of the most prominent and historically significant buildings constructed in Scott's Addition in the Modern style are the Mid-Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company Inc. and the Seaboard Building. The Mid-Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company processing plant at 1310 Roseneath Road is a two-story, four-bay brick building that was designed by Joseph J. Schlesser in 1953. The building has one large bay on the first story that has six windows that are paired with single white terrazzo panels between each window and double terrazzo panels between each pair. The white terrazzo panels extend half way up the sides of the windows. The entire band of windows is unified by a continuous corbelled concrete sill and a concrete frame that extends half way up the sides of the outer most windows. The second story contains ten bays with steel casement windows and corbelled concrete sills. There is a three-story, one-bay, ca. 1960 addition to the left side of the facade with a continuous, recessed bay on the first story and an elongated aluminum window with nine lights on the second and third stories. One-inch tiles, in various shades of green, surround the windows on the second and third stories and there are white terrazzo panels covering the corner tower with an aluminum Coke bottle-shaped sign on top of the tower. There is a ca. 1970 one-story, seven-bay, brick loading dock addition to the left of the tower that is set back from the main block of the building. The earliest section of the Coca-Cola bottling facility is a garage and warehouse built in 1940 at 3501 West Clay Street that was designed by C. W. Huff, a Richmond architect. This building has been surrounded by other additions to the bottling plant over the years and its facade has been altered. The boiler house, with a tall, round brick chimney stack was built in 1950 to the east of the original warehouse and garage. About the time that the 1953 plant was constructed on Roseneath, a one-story, fourteen-bay, brick addition incorporated the boiler house and the original plant.
Like the Coca-Cola bottling plant, the Seaboard Building at 3410-36100 West Broad Street takes up half of the block between West Broad and West Clay Streets. Erected in 1956 for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company as their headquarters, the eight-story, twenty-one-bay, office building was designed by the noted Richmond architectural firm of Baskervill & Son. Hankins & Anderson were the engineers and Doyle & Russell were the contractors. The building has a steel frame with a five-course American bond patterned grey brick veneer, a flat roof, and an aluminum projection with a flared end above the first story window lintels that runs the width of the facade and wraps around the corners. All of the first story windows are large three-light storefronts with bronze coated metal frames, black marble bases, and horizontal metal strips painted an aqua color above the windows. In between each bay on the first story are aluminum covered posts and lintels, and all of the bays on the first story are recessed. From the second to eighth story, there are two sets of paired windows in each bay. There is only a seventh and eighth story in the three center bays with a half bay extension on each side.
Today the Scott's Addition Historic District remains one of the larger industrial and commercial districts of the City of Richmond. The City's first industrial district along the James River has been significantly eroded over the years by fires, floods, and new development. The industrial districts in Carver and Manchester contain excellent examples of late-nineteenth and early twentieth century industrial buildings. But they are much smaller districts than Scott's Addition, containing fifteen and forty-three buildings, respectively. The architectural integrity of Scott's Addition is intact even with the introduction of a few Post-Modern commercial buildings. The Scott's Addition Business Association is actively promoting the area as an ideal business location because of its central location and convenient access to major roads and highways. The variety of building sizes and types in Scott's Addition also makes them very flexible for attracting new and diverse businesses to the area. There are numerous Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit projects proposed for the Scott's Addition Historic District pending the approval of this nomination.
Statement of Significance
The Scott's Addition Historic District is significant because of its industrial and commercial past. The district illustrates commercial and industrial development in the City of Richmond during the early twentieth century. At the close of the nineteenth century, the area was envisioned as a residential neighborhood, but it soon included a number of warehouses due to the proximity of the Acca freight yard and the Acca Locomotive Terminal to the north. With the 1919 construction of the Broad Street Station to the east, the undeveloped land in Scott's Addition became an ideal location for commercial and industrial development. The trend at this time was to locate industrial concerns outside the city and away from the riverfront, because of the threat of fires. Further, the river was no longer the only source of industrial power and the railroad was eclipsing the river as a transportation system. The industrialization of Scott's Addition was codified in 1927, when the city's first zoning ordinance was adopted. The buildings in the district represent a wide variety of manufacturing concerns -- bottling companies, dairies, glass, bag and candy factories, and gravel and brickyards. Other businesses in the area represent a wide variety of commercial enterprises -- carpet sales, car dealerships, auto repair facilities, freight companies, warehouses, machine shops, and restaurants. The buildings in the district include examples of early twentieth century commercial and industrial architecture. Architectural styles found in Scott's Addition include Colonial Revival, Mission Revival, Classical Revival, Late 19th and 20th Century Revival, Art Deco, Moderne, and Modern Movement. While the businesses have changed over the years, the architectural integrity of the district is high. One of challenges in analyzing the buildings and business in Scott's Addition has been the multiple address changes and the merging of tax parcels over the years. Scott's Addition continues to be a commercial center in the City of Richmond today and with its central location and easy access, it is experiencing renewed interest and growth.
Historic Background
Scott's Addition, named for General Winfield Scott (1786-1866), was a part of the vast, 600 acre, Hermitage estate that Scott inherited from his father-in law, Colonel John Mayo. The Hermitage estate included lots number 805 to 809 and 826 of William Byrd's lottery that Colonel John Mayo inherited from his father in 1781. Colonel Mayo acquired additional lands in 1791. The property encompassed an area bounded by the meandering Westham Road (Park Avenue) on the south, Hermitage Road on the east, the Old Coal Pit Road (near the present Interstate 95) on the west, and encompassed what is now Bryan Park on the north. The Hermitage mansion, which burned in 1857, was located near the site of what later became the Broad Street Station (Union Station of Virginia).[a] In 1804, the owners of the Deep Run coal pits, David Ross and James Currie, petitioned the legislature to provide a new more direct way between the city and the Goochland County coal pits that would be good at all times. The new road, known as the Richmond Turnpike opened in 1804 and followed the course of present-day Broad Street and cut across the lower portion of Colonel Mayo's estate. In 1816, Colonel May subdivided the portion of his Hermitage tract south of the Richmond Turnpike. In that same year, finding his Hermitage Estate too remote, Mayo purchased Belleville, the former home of John Bell, and nineteen acres. Belleville, which was destroyed by fire in 1841, was situated on a tract bound by present day Ryland, Lombardy and West Broad streets and Park Avenue.[b]
It was at Belleville, on 11 March 1817, that Maria, the eldest daughter of Colonel John Mayo and his wife, Abigail DeHart Mayo, wed General Winfield Scott. According to local tradition, Maria was the "most celebrated Richmond belle of her time" and reputedly, she turned down scores of proposals before she accepted a national hero.[c] General Scott, a Virginia native, was first a lawyer and a hero of the War of 1812. Scott returned to active duty in 1832 during the Black Hawk War and was involved in numerous "Indian Wars." He served in the Mexican-American War (1846-48) and was General-in-Chief of the United States Army from 1841 until the start of the Civil War when he became a General in the Union Army. Upon Colonel John Mayo's death in May 1818, the Scotts inherited a portion of the Hermitage estate to the west of the mansion, which included the area now known as Scott's Addition.[d] Maria Mayo Scott predeceased her husband in 1862 and after General Scott's death in 1866, the land he and Maria received from the Hermitage estate was divided among their living decedents.[e] The portion west of North Tilden Street (now Roseneath Road) and a portion west of The Boulevard to Altamont Avenue were given to Goold Hoyt, the husband of the Scotts' daughter, Adeline Camilla Scott Hoyt. A large portion of the land west of Altamont Avenue to Highpoint Avenue and a portion referred to as lot 11, west of Tilden Street, were given to their grandson, Winfield Scott. Another section on the northwestern end and a portion between High Point Avenue and North Tilden Street (now Roseneath Road) was given to their daughter, Marcella Scott MacTavish. The land remained mostly undeveloped until it was annexed by the City of Richmond in 1914.
The earliest subdivision plan for Scott's Addition was made in November of 1890. Referred to as Scott's Plan, the subdivision is listed as lot number 8 of the division of the Hermitage tract, which is the property of Winfield Scott (1850-1921).[f] Scott's Plan was for residential development between West Broad Street on the south, the R. F. & P. Railroad tracks on the north, Altamont Avenue on the east, and Highpoint Avenue on the west. The lot sizes ranged from thirty to forty feet in width and 140 to 153 feet in length. All of the streets were to be sixty feet wide and the alleys behind the parcels were to be twenty feet wide. The next subdivision which is referred to as Hoyt's Plan was in August of 1900. Hoyt's Plan was a subdivision of lot number 7 of the Winfield Scott division and called for residential development between West Broad Street on the south, Brookland Street (now Rockbridge) on the north, Altamont Avenue on the west, and North Boulevard on the east.[g] Like Scott's Plan of 1890, the lot sizes averaged thirty feet in width and 140 feet in length. One year after Hoyt's Plan was devised, a new plan for the subdivision of lot number 9 was provided by Mrs. Marcella Scott MacTavish the MacTavish Plan.[h] This plan called for residential development on the land deeded to her between West Broad Street on the south, the Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad tracks on the north, Hoyt Avenue (now Roseneath Road) on the west, and High Point Avenue on the east. The proposed lot sizes were similar to the parcels in the Scott and Hoyt plans. In 1909, plans for a proposed extension of North Sheppard Street were drawn up for the right of way of a sewer line from Broad Street to Clay Street and from Clay Street to the Boulevard.[i] This proposal required the width of two parcels from each of the cross streets (Marshall, Clay & Broad) to be converted into a road. Because there were no buildings standing on these parcels, the plan was approved and North Sheppard Street was added. The MacTavish Plan was revised in January of 1912 and the parcels between Marshall Street and Railroad Avenue, which was located at the north side of the district abutting the railroad tracks, were reoriented so they faced North Tilden Street (now Roseneath Road). This revision increased the number of residential lots in the neighborhood.[j] The last subdivision plat for Scott's Addition was done in 1912 for the lots located west of North Tilden Street, owned at the time by A. L. McClellan. The plan called for residential development between West Clay Street and the north side of Brookland Street (Rockbridge) in Scott's Addition and an area to the west of the Belt Line of the James River Division of the Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad tracks (western boundary).[k] Two years later in 1914, Scott's Addition was annexed by the City of Richmond. In September 1915, Clay Street was extended west of North Tilden Street to Belleville Street where it terminated at two factory sites.[l]
In 1836, the first twenty-seven miles of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad (RF & P) were completed between Richmond and the North Anna River where steamboats completed the journey to Washington D.C. The tracks left the terminal at 8th and H (Broad) streets and followed H Street to the City's western boundary at Henry Street where the tracks continued along the Richmond Turnpike (Broad Street) to what is now Harrison Street, where they turned north. In 1888, the RF&P connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad going north to New York City and the Atlantic Coast Line running south to Florida.[m] At the same time, the James River Branch or the Beltline was created to connect the RF&P with the Richmond and Petersburg line to handle north-south freight traffic. In 1900, RF&P made another important rail connection with Seaboard Air Line Railway at the Hermitage estate.[n] By 1916, both passenger and freight traffic had dramatically increased to the point that the city wanted to abandon the tracks that ran on Belvidere and Broad, depress the tracks on the James River Branch, and to build a new passenger station on the Hermitage site.[o] The proposal also called for the RF&P Railroad and the Atlantic Coast Line to run through the new station. The Broad Street Station opened on 6 January 1919, which coincided with the completion of the depression of the James River Branch that eliminated a number of at-grade crossings in the city. Because of the location of the tracks along the north and west sides of Scott's Addition and the nearby Acca freight yard, the undeveloped land in Scott's Addition became ideal for industrial development and spur lines were extended into the area.
The advent of the federal highway system in the 1950s further reinforced the continued growth of Scott's Addition as an industrial and commercial district. In July 1958, the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike was opened. It consisted of nearly thirty miles of highway connecting two sections of US 301 between Petersburg and Henrico County. The Turnpike passed just north of Scott's Addition with an interchange at the Boulevard. In 1973, the Powhite Parkway, a north-south expressway was completed. In 1975, the Beltline Expressway was completed. The Beltline was thus named because it ran on either side of the James River Branch or Beltline of the R F & P railroad, which forms the western boundary of Scott's Addition. The Beltline Expressway (195) is a connector route from the junction of Interstates 95 and 64 to the Powhite Parkway and the Downtown Expressway that was completed in 1976. The deregulation of interstate trucking in 1980 led to tremendous growth in the trucking and warehouse industries. Trucking became an integral part of the intermodal transportation of goods across the country. Scott's Addition was in an ideal situation to take advantage of the expansion of the industry with its large number of existing warehouses, and easy access to the railroads and the recently completed highways.
In 1908, the City of Richmond implemented its first rudimentary zoning ordinance that regulated building height and location. This ordinance was created in the absence of any prior study or plan. The City did not adopt its first comprehensive Master Plan until 1946. Between 1906 and 1914, the City annexed over eighteen square miles from Henrico Chesterfield counties and merged with the Town of Manchester. The largest annexation in 1914, fourteen square miles, included Scott's Addition. The rapid expansion of the City during this period led to the creation of a more comprehensive zoning ordinance in 1922 that tied the expansion of the City's infrastructure street, sewer, and bridge construction to the newly annexed areas. It was not until 1927, that the City enacted a comprehensive set of land-use restraints that reflected concerns over the effect of unregulated urban growth on the quality of neighborhoods and the protection of property values. Originally platted as a residential neighborhood with businesses located along the edges, fronting Boulevard and West Broad Street, Scott's Addition was zoned for industrial uses in 1927.[p] Other areas, including small sections of Carver and Manchester were also zoned for industrial use, but, Scott's Addition was by far the largest and most concentrated area to be zoned as such. The West Richmond Business Men's Association encouraged the area's industrial development. Much of early zoning was a not-so-veiled attempt to segregate housing by race and class. One tool used was the expansion of commercial and industrial areas into African American and lower-rent neighborhoods.
In the 1930s and 1950s, Scott's Addition was a white, lower-rent, working class neighborhood. According to Kenneth Woodcock, a former resident who grew up in the neighborhood in the 1940s and 1950s, roughly 800 people lived in the neighborhood, which was comprised of the following streets: Marshall, Clay, Leigh, Moore, Norfolk, Sheppard, Altamont, Summit, Highpoint, MacTavish, and Roseneath. And of these 800 or so residents, the majority of them "earned barely enough to get by."[q] Scott's Addition "evolved into an independent community with its own leaders, own rules and own social system."[r] Woodcock recalled when a group of men who "wore black hoods and normally carried baseball bats" would patrol the neighborhood nightly to protect its citizens."[s] In 1964, the area was designated as light industrial with a small residential area remaining.[t] By 1984, the City of Richmond's Master Plan recommended that industrial uses be encouraged in the area in hopes that the residential area would disappear.[u]
The earliest buildings in the district were residences, churches and neighborhood oriented businesses. Although subdivision plans for residential development in Scott's Addition were first made in 1890, the development of domestic structures in the area began at a slow pace. By 1910, a small number of single dwellings were located on West Broad, Marshall, or Clay Streets and a few on North Boulevard. It was not until after the 1914 annexation of the area by the city that development took off. In the 1920s, frame single dwellings were sporadically built on West Moore, Clay, Leigh, and Norfolk Streets. In 1923, a series of four-unit, brick apartment buildings were constructed on the 3000 block of West Marshall Street and the 1300 block of Summit Avenue. In the mid 1920s, a series of brick row houses were built on the 2900 and 3000 blocks of West Leigh Street. Two-story apartment buildings were constructed on a two-block area of Sheppard Street around 1929 and were noted for having indoor plumbing. This two-block area was also known for its prostitutes and bootleggers during Prohibition.[v] Following the adoption of the City's zoning ordinance in 1927 that allowed for industrial development in Scott's Addition, the residential development in the area came to a halt. Over the years many of the early residences were demolished and replaced with commercial buildings or parking lots or were converted to commercial uses.
Shortly following the 1914 annexation, two church congregations were established for residents in the neighborhood. The first congregation was the Boulevard Baptist Church in 1916. Around that time, the worship hall was erected on the northeast corner of Altamont Avenue and West Marshall Street. By 1929 the church was given a street address of 2942 West Marshall Street. The church is still located at that address today and many of its original members still worship there. The second congregation to form in Scott's Addition was the Roseneath Presbyterian Church around 1920. Also referred to as the Roseneath Presbyterian Chapel, the one-story church was located on the southeast corner of West Clay Street and Highpoint Avenue in 1920. According to the city directory of that year, the church was listed at 3217 West Clay Street. In 1929, all of the addresses were renumbered on West Clay, Marshall, Leigh, and Moore Streets and the church was renumbered to 3119 West Clay Street. According to city building permit records, the church was constructed in 1925; however, it was demolished in the late 1950s to make way for a modern office building. One of the former members of the church, Ken Woodcock, remembers attending services there with an average attendance of eighty people a week.[w] Today there are two other religious organizations located in Scott's Addition -- Laborers for Christ Ministries at 1407 Summit Avenue (alternate 3022 West Clay Street) and Unity Baptist Church at 1301 Roseneath Road. Both of these congregations are in buildings that were not originally built for religious purposes.
Some of the leaders in the community were the grocery store owners. One family that operated grocery stores in the neighborhood was the Hendersons. The first Henderson grocery store was located at 1403 Altamont Avenue in 1935 and operated by Mahlon C. Henderson. Mahlon passed on his store to his two sons, Jimmy and Ed Henderson, in the late 1940s, but Jimmy decided to open his own store one block from the original store.[x] The second Henderson Grocery store was built in 1945 at 3000 West Leigh Street. According to a former resident, "people shopped the Henderson's because they could get credit, something that wasn't as easy to come by in the forties."[y] There were other large grocery stores in the area in addition to the Hendersons, including Safeway (formerly Sanitary Grocery) and other small markets. The Sanitary Grocery store opened around 1940 at 3123 West Broad Street (currently numbered 3125) in a one-story brick Art Deco-style building. The grocery store was designed in 1938 by Richmond architect, Henry Carl Messerschmidt (ca. 1891-1994), for the estimated cost of $15,000.[z] Messerschmidt designed several other buildings in Scott's Addition and maintained his office in Richmond from 1918 to 1958.[aa] In 1944, Sanitary Grocery chain was bought by Safeway.[bb] The Safeway grocery chain was the first in the nation to offer free adjacent parking and self-service shopping.[cc] The parking lot remains to the west of the building; however, the building is currently used as a showroom for electrical appliances. Another large grocery store on West Broad Street was the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company store, also known as A & P Food Store, at 3201. This Moderne-style concrete building was designed in 1938 by Frederick A. Bishop (active 1918-1940), a Richmond and Petersburg architect, for the cost of $20,000.[dd] Bishop has been identified as both an architect and a contractor and is known to have designed several school and theater buildings in central Virginia.[ee] The building is now the American Classic Motorcycle dealership.
There were two popular ice cream parlors in Scott's Addition in the 1940s. The first of these parlors to open was Arnette's Ice Cream Company at 3121 West Broad Street in 1940. This Art Deco-style building was designed by Frederick A. Bishop in 1938, with an estimated cost of $15,000 for a factory and sales room.[ff] Arnette's Ice Cream was known throughout the city for its banana splits.[gg] It catered largely to teenagers in the 1940s and 1950s and was known to have a juke box on site. The building is currently occupied by a company that restores and sells refurbished Victorian fireplaces. The second popular ice cream parlor was Berrier Brothers, located at 1304 North Boulevard. This ice cream manufacturer was first listed in the city directory in 1940. However, the building has since been demolished.
In addition to the two popular ice cream parlors, there were two other dairies and ice cream manufacturers in the district. The Pet Dairy Ice Cream Manufactory was located in the former Jones Motor Car auto dealership building at 3001 Cutshaw Avenue in 1940. The dairy remained in that location until the late 1940s. The other dairy and ice cream manufacturer was Curles Neck Dairy. Curles Neck Dairy came to Scott's Addition in 1940 when it opened its processing plant and sales room at 3300 (3302) West Broad Street. This Moderne-style building was designed in 1939 by the Virginia architect, Louis Watkins Ballou (1904-1979), and constructed for the cost of $8,400.[hh] Ballou was a native Virginian who received his architecture degree from the University of Virginia in 1926 and was associated with the architectural firm of Lee, Smith & Van der Voort. He was also a partner in the firm of Lee, Ballou & Van der Voort from 1933-1936 and opened his practice in Richmond by 1943.[ii] Curles Neck Dairy later moved its facility to 1600 Roseneath Road around 1945. According to several building permits associated with the property, the earliest permit is for a boiler house and garage in 1946. Another permit from 1948 called for a one-story, brick building designed by Ballou's architectural firm, Ballou and Justice, for an estimated cost of $32,151.[jj] The new plant also had a store and restaurant located in the main building at 1600 Roseneath Road. The company's restaurant, the Dairy Bar, still located in the Roseneath building, is known for their milkshakes and ice cream.
Auto dealerships and auto related businesses were among some of the earliest commercial establishments in the community. A number of car dealerships opened in Scott's Addition between the 1921 and 1954 and all of them were located on West Broad Street or North Boulevard. In the 1920s, two car showrooms were built on West Broad Street. The first to be constructed was for the AUTOCAR Sales & Service Company at 2804 in 1921. The automobile sales and service building was designed by a Philadelphia architect named Horace W. Castor (1870-1966) at the cost of $30,000.[kk] Castor was a leading architect in Philadelphia and designed many religious buildings in Pennsylvania. In the late 1940s, this building was used by the Lawrence Motor Company and later was demolished to make way for a Seven-11. The other car showroom located on Broad Street in the 1920s was the Jones Motor Car Company at 2923. Designed in 1928 by Henry Thomas Barnham (1885-1937), a Richmond architect, this building served as the car showroom for Cadillac & La Salle vehicles and cost an estimated $54,000 to construct.[11] Barnham worked in New York, Pennsylvania, and Cuba before he came to Richmond to open an architectural practice in 1914.[mm] He also designed department stores, warehouses, and offices in Richmond and was associated with Charles L. Hofmann. The Jones Motor Car Company building is used today as a restaurant-equipment store.
In 1929 there were five auto dealerships on North Boulevard -- Broad Central Motors Inc. (916-918, currently 918), Forbes Motor Sales Corporation (1010, currently 1008), Auburn Sales and Service Inc. (1012-1014, currently 1012), Mooers Motor Car Company (1114-1118, currently 1120), and Mack International Motor Truck Corporation (1200-1206). Broad Central Motors was located on Boulevard until around 1935 when the building became the home of the Virginia Tractor Company and later the Dixie Wheel Auto accessories store. Today the building is home to Comcast Cable Company. The Forbes Motor Sales Corporation and the Auburn Sales and Service companies were in buildings designed by the Davis Brothers in 1923 and 1924. The Davis Brothers (active 1902-1932) were responsible for designing and building many warehouses and commercial buildings in Scott's Addition and throughout the City of Richmond. J. Lee Davis and C. W. Davis incorporated as the Davis Land Company Inc. in 1908 and the company was listed as the owner of several parcels on the subdivision plans for Scott's Addition as early as 1912. Their firm was located at 1716 Summit Avenue in 1929. L. Otis Spiers, an architect, is listed on several building permits in Scott's Addition for which Davis Brothers was listed as the contractors. In 1930, the Forbes Motor Sales Corporation was no longer at 1010 and the Simmons Bynum Motor Company was listed at that location until the late 1940s. The Auburn Sales and Service building at 1012-1014 was occupied by the Dixie Wheel Company Inc. in 1935 and by 1940, it was part of the Wells-Richie Motor Company Inc. Both of the car showrooms on the 1000 block of Boulevard have been converted into commercial buildings. The fourth car dealership on North Boulevard was the Mooers Motor Car Company at 1114-1118. The company was founded in 1922 by Eddie Mooer, the world heavy weight champion from 1919 to 1926.[nn] The showroom opened on Boulevard in 1929 and by 1950, the company had a used car lot at 1100 North Boulevard. The Mooers Motor Car Company is still run today by his family at a different location further west on Broad Street. The former Mooers Car dealership building is currently a flower shop. Mack International Motor Truck Corporation opened a car showroom at 1200-1206 North Boulevard around 1929. Originally known as the Mack Brothers Company, Mack Trucks Inc. was founded in 1900 by John M. "Jack" and Gus Mack in Brooklyn, New York. Although the brothers had begun manufacturing vehicles in 1893, they did not produce their first successful motorized vehicle until 1900.[oo] From 1900 to 1960, the company produced buses, heavy-duty trucks, rail cars, and locomotives, and was one of the first manufacturers to mount a cab directly over an engine in order to increase driver visibility and maneuverability in 1905.[pp] Currently headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the company continues to produce hauling vehicles today. The Company's showroom on North Boulevard remained in business well into the 1950s before it relocated. Today the building is a motorcycle dealership.
In 1950, many new and used auto dealerships lined both West Broad Street and North Boulevard. Five used car dealerships were located on West Broad Street between the 2800 and 3600 blocks -- Capitol City Motors (2931), General Auto Sales (2908), Wonder Motor Sales (2912), Robertson Chevrolet Co Inc (3507), and West End Motor Sales (2807). Only two car dealerships that sold new vehicles were located on West Broad Street in 1950 -- Bourne-Jones Motor Company Inc. (2930) and Meyer Motor Sales Corp. (3318). On North Boulevard, there were four dealerships, and one of the dealerships sold used cars as well (Mooers Motor Car Company at 1100-1112). The four dealerships, all of which no longer operate out of that facility and/or no longer exist, include Tran-Sport Sales & Service (1010), Carl Motor Company (1224), Mooers Motor Car Company Inc Autos (1114-1118), and Mack International Motor Truck Corporation (1200-1206).
After an additional used car sales room was added to Scott's Addition in 1951 at 3321 West Broad Street, the demand for car dealerships in the district diminished. In response to the city's annexation of land further west and north of Scott's Addition after 1942, several auto businesses relocated to newly developing areas and their former buildings in Scott's Addition were converted to a different use or demolished. Today there are only two used car dealerships in the district -- Kar World (1300 North Boulevard) and Motty's Auto Broker Inc. (2905 West Broad Street).
Factories began to appear in Scott's Addition around 1923 with the majority of them being erected between 1936 and 1948. Despite excellent rail service to Scott's Addition, it was slow to develop as an industrial area because of the residential nature of the original plats. It was not until the adoption of the 1927 Zoning Ordinance that industrial development was encouraged along with the existing residential and commercial uses. Before the ordinance, there was only one factory in the district, the National Biscuit Company at 1320 North Boulevard. The National Biscuit Company, also known as NABISCO, was located at that address from 1923 until the 1950s. One of the largest factories to be built in Scott's Addition in the 1940s was for the General Baking Company at 3200-3230 West Clay Street (alternate 1400 Highpoint Avenue). Headquartered in New York City, The General Baking Company was the largest baking corporation in American at the turn of the twentieth century[qq] and manufactured breads and baked goods. A Philadelphia architect, Paul Monagham (1885-1968), designed the factory on West Clay Street, which cost an estimated $85,000 to build. It was constructed by a New York City contracting firm, Irons & Reynolds, Inc.[rr] Monagham established his own firm in Philadelphia in 1912 and developed a specialty for designing Catholic churches and educational institutions.[ss] In 1942, he joined the AIA and registered to practice in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. He was also an architectural instructor at the University of Pennsylvania before he opened his own firm. Prior to the construction of the General Baking Company factory in 1941, the company had been located at two different addresses in Scott's Addition. They were first located in a warehouse at 1601 Summit Avenue in 1935, and by 1940, they were in a former trucking warehouse at 1600-1606 Altamont Avenue. Today the factory is occupied by the Restaurant People and the Richmond Fixture Company and used for storage and commercial space.
In 1940, the Seaboard Bag Corporation, a paper bag manufacturer, built a factory at 3408 West Moore Street. The factory was designed by Eugene Tucker Carlton (1900-ca. 1975), a Richmond architect who was registered to practice from 1940 to 1953.[tt] Little of Carlton's work has been identified. Next door to the Seaboard Bag factory is the China-American Tobacco & Trading Company Tobacco Warehouse at 3412 West Moore Street, which was built in 1920 and designed by Richmond architect, Marcellus Eugene Wright, Sr. (1881-1962). Wright worked for Noland and Baskervill (Virginia), and Cope and Stewardson (Philadelphia) architectural firms before receiving his formal education.[uu] He founded his own architectural firm in Richmond in 1912 and that firm continues today under the name of Marcellus Wright, Cox & Smith. This tobacco warehouse is the earliest surviving industrial building in Scott's Addition today. Around 1934, the Morgan Brothers Bag Company purchased the warehouse and converted it into a factory that manufactured burlap and cotton bags. The Morgan Brothers later merged with the Seaboard Bag Company and the company still operates out of both factories today.
The Binswanger Glass Company factory at 3300 West Leigh Street (alternate 1501 Roseneath Road) is a good example of Moderne-style architecture in Richmond. Binswanger & Company was founded in Richmond in 1879 by Samuel J. Binswanger. The company began as a builders' and painters' supplier and also carried a large stock of window glass, of which they were the distributors for the largest manufacturer in the world (1893) called Chambers & McKee Glass Company[vv] After Samuel Binswanger's death in 1896, his sons took over the company. By World War II, the company was also operating in the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Texas.[ww] The factory was later sold to the Hand Craft Company and was used as their corporate headquarters and storage facility. Today the Binswanger Glass Company has over 150 stores in twenty-two states, is one of the leading installers of glass and glass-related products in the nation, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.[xx]
As early as 1929, bottling plants were located in Scott's Addition. The earliest plant to open was the Richmond Orange Crush Bottling Company at 2812-2814 West Broad Street. It was only in operation at that location for two years (1929-1930) before the building was turned into a dairy; it became an auto body shop in 1940. Another bottling plant that operated on West Broad Street was the Subely Beverage Company at 2906. This facility was constructed in 1937 and cost $12,500 to build.[yy] The company later moved to 3108 West Marshall Street in 1950. Their plant on Broad Street was then used for auto parts storage and later converted into a Bingo Hall. On Marshall Street, the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company was located at 3309 in 1950. The plant has since been closed and is currently a retail store. Another bottling company that no longer operates out of the same building is the Straus S & L Beverage Corporation at 1707-1713 Summit Avenue. The company was associated with Canada Dry Ginger Ale in 1940 and by 1950 it also was associated with Old Dominion Beverage Company (beer). The Seven-Up bottling plant was located at 1800 Summit Avenue in 1940 and by 1950 it had expanded to 1802 Summit Avenue. It later moved across the street to 1733-39 Summit Avenue. This plant has since closed, but the sign is still affixed to the building today. One of the largest bottling companies that remain in operation today in Scott's Addition is Richmond Coca-Cola Bottling Works, Inc. The bottling plant takes up almost an entire square block and is located at 1310 Roseneath Road. The plant was constructed in 1953 and designed by Joseph J. Schlesser, a designer from Washington, D. C. Scholars have not studied Schlesser's work and little is known about him. The company first constructed a garage and warehouse building at 3501 West Clay Street in 1940. This brick building was designed by Richmond architect Clarence Wright Huff, Jr. (1900-1986) in 1940 for the cost of $27,500.[zz] Huff, a noted Virginia church architect, established his office in Richmond in 1930 and worked on various projects across the state. The Coca-Cola Bottling Company originally began in Atlanta in 1886 and by the early 1900s it had expanded through the mid-Atlantic corridor. In 1980, the Richmond plant emerged as Mid-Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Inc. and was one of the largest plants in Coca-Cola's U. S. network of around 500 bottlers.[aaa] It was also a "leading distributor of Coca-Cola products to United States military and foreign service installations throughout Europe" by 1985.[bbb]
The Atlantic Bitulithic Company is located at 1400 Roseneath Avenue. The company specializes in road materials and is the gravel yard for Richmond road construction. The company has owned the land since 1914 and has several large mechanical structures on site. The size of the original lot the company purchased from the West Broad Land Company in 1914 was 140' x 320' (Roseneath/Clay).[ccc] The lot took up about one-forth of the square block. At a later date, the company purchased the land to its rear. By 1950, the company was listed in the city directories at 1400 Roseneath Road and had an office building, tar tank, boiler, dust house, mixer, coal pile, and storage building on site.[ddd] Today the lot still operates as a gravel yard.
In 1940, Carneal, Johnston & Wright, designed the depot for East Coast Freight Lines at 3005 West Marshall Street. The firm was responsible for devising many commercial and residential buildings in Richmond in the 1930s and 1940s. East Coast Freight Lines was originally located at 2916 West Marshall Street before the company built a new facility one block to the west. The company was one of the many trucking lines in Scott's Addition and the depot at 3005 West Marshall Street continues to be used today as a terminal for an industrial trucking company.
In 1938, the Richmond Broadcasting Company constructed a station at 3301 West Broad Street, at an estimated cost of $25,000.[eee] The building first housed a radio station called WMBG Broadcasting Station and later signed on as television station. In April 22, 1948, it became WTVR-TV and was the first television station granted a license south of Washington, D.C.[fff] The station's founder and original owner was Wilbur M. Havens, an electronics expert and broadcasting pioneer. The station's TV tower, constructed in 1953, is located behind the original building. In 1985, it was the tallest free standing tower in the country at 1,049 feet above sea level.[ggg] The station was later bought by Roy H. Park, another broadcasting pioneer, in 1965 and since then has been associated with the three national networks.[hhh]
According to the 1942-50 Sanborn Map of Richmond, there were two printing plants in Scott's Addition. Located at 1310 Altamont Avenue, Fontaine Press Printers was constructed around 1946 and was in operation before 1950. Today the former printing plant is used for storage and office space by a contracting company named SPDR Inc. The other printing plant was located at 3435 West Leigh Street and was in the process of being constructed when the 1942-50 Sanborn Map was printed. Currently the building is vacant and was recently used as an office/warehouse.
There were two large entertainment and recreation venues for families and sports fans in Scott's Addition in the 1940s. Mooers Field, named after the Richmond Colts' owner Eddie Mooers who bought the team in 1932, was located at the northeast corner of Roseneath Road and Norfolk Street. The ballpark was home to the Richmond Colts of the Class B Piedmont League from 1942 to 1953. The Colts' previous home was at Tate Field on Mayo Island (1931-1941). In 1953, Mooers moved the Colts to Colonial Heights-Petersburg and later sold the team to Sunbury, Pennsylvania investors in 1955.[iii] Shortly after the Colts left Mooers Field, the stadium was demolished. Mooers Field has been replaced with modern warehouses and office buildings, but the Richmond Braves' current stadium is two blocks north of the district's border on North Boulevard. The other recreational activity in Scott's Addition was roller skating. Around 1944, the Cavalier Arena Skating Rink opened at 1302 (now 1300) MacTavish Avenue. Today the building is used as a warehouse and offices.
The Scott's Addition Historic District is still a thriving light industrial and commercial district for the City of Richmond. One of Scott's Addition's greatest assets is its central location and convenient access. These assets and the size, variety, and affordability of buildings in the area make it as attractive today for new businesses as it was fifty years ago. Many of the original companies who built their buildings in Scott's Addition are still in operation there Curles Neck Dairy, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, WTVR, Atlantic Bitulithic Company, to name a few. The auto repair shops and showrooms that were a staple of Scott's Addition's early development are still present in the area. The names have changed but auto related businesses still play a vital role in the district. Where earlier businesses have moved on, new businesses have taken their place. Today, Scott's Addition is home to a diverse mix of businesses including film studios, graphics and marketing companies, advertising groups, and architectural firms. The Scott's Addition Business Association is actively promoting and advocating for this unique industrial/commercial neighborhood. The business association worked with Virginia Commonwealth University's Urban Studies and Planning program to produce a long-range master plan for the area. The association also sponsored the preparation of this National Register Nomination in cooperation with the City of Richmond's Office of Economic Development. They recognized the valuable development incentive represented by Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits.
Bibliography
Brownell, Charles E., Calder Loth, William M. S. Rasmussen, Richard Guy Wilson. The Making of Virginia Architecture. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1992.
Christian, W. Asbury. Richmond: Her Past and Present. Richmond, Virginia: L. H. Jenkins, 1912.
Cutchins, John A. Memories of Old Richmond (1881-1944). Verona, Virginia: McClure Press, 1974.
Dabney, Virginius. Richmond: the Story of a City. Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia, 1992. (Originally Published 1976)
Golgosky, Nadine & Stacey Thurmond. "Section 1: Demography and History," Scott's Addition Data Package, USP761, Planning Studio 1, Fall 1996, Virginia Commonwealth University.
Griffin, William E. Jr. One Hundred Fifty Years of History: Along the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet & Sheppardson, 1984.
Long, W. Earl. Richmond 1888: Dawn of The Electric Street Railway Era. Richmond, Virginia: Lady Liberty Press, 1988.
Loth, Calder, ed. The Virginia Landmarks Register. 4th ed. Charlottesville, Virginia: The University Press of Virginia, 1999.
Master Plan of Land Use, Community Facilities, & Traffic ways, City of Richmond, Planning Commission, 1964.
Morrison, Andrew. Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James. Richmond, Virginia: George W. Engelhardt, 1893.
Richardson, Selden. The Library of Virginia. "Richmond City Building Permits and Drawings Finding Aid, 2001".
Richmond City Directory, 1915-1953. Valentine Museum.
Sanborn Map of Richmond, 1942-1950. Library of Virginia.
Sauder, Rick. "Scott's Addition is Ripe for Rediscovery," Richmond Times-Dispatch, 8 August 1991.
Scott, Mary Winfield. Houses of Old Richmond. Richmond, Virginia: Bonanza Books, 1941.
Silver, Christopher. Twentieth-Century Richmond: Planning, Politics and Race. Knoxville, Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Press, 1984.
Tyler-McGraw, Mary. At the Falls: Richmond, Virginia, and Its People. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1994.
Ward, Harry M. Richmond: An Illustrated History. Northridge, California: Windsor Publications, 1985.
Wells, John E. & Robert E. Dalton, ed. The Virginia Architects, 1835-1955: A Biographical Dictionary. Richmond, Virginia: New South Architectural Press, 1997.
Woodcock, Ken. Scott's Addition: Grandpa's Story. N. L.: Xlibris Corporation, 2000.
End Notes
a Dabney, 45.
b Dabney, 45.
c Virginius Dabney, Richmond: The Story of a City (Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia, 1992), 98.
d Rick Sauder, "Scott's Addition is Ripe for Rediscovery," Richmond Times-Dispatch, 8 August 1991.
e Subdivision plans for Scott's Addition from 1890 to 1923. City of Richmond engineering department.
f Subdivision plate of Scott's Plan, 8 November 1890. City of Richmond engineering department.
g Subdivision plate of Hoyt's Plan, 30 August 1900. City of Richmond engineering department.
h Subdivision plate of MacTavish's Plan, 1 October 1901. City of Richmond engineering department.
i Plat for proposed extension of Sheppard Street, 1909. City of Richmond engineering department.
j Plan showing a new arrangement of the lots in blocks 4,6,8,10,12,14, & 16 of MacTavish's subdivision on Broad & Tilden Streets, 10 January 1912. City of Richmond engineering department.
k Subdivision plat of property in Henrico County belonging to A. L. McCellan, 15 April 1912. City of Richmond engineering department. There is a note written on the plat stating that it was not recorded until 11 November 1915.
l Subdivision plat for lots 10 and 11, 15 October 1906. See also plat for parcel of land on North Tilden Street conveyed by Hoyt and others, 17 September 1915. City of Richmond engineering department.
m Andrew Morrison, Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James (Richmond, Virginia: George W. Engelhardt, 1893), 104.
n Griffin, 26.
o William E. Griffin, Jr., One Hundred Fifty Years of History: Along the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (Richmond, Virginia: Whittet & Sheppardson, 1984), 47.
p Nadine Golgosky and Stacey Thurmond, "Section 1: Demography and History," Scott's Addition Data Package, USP761, Planning Studio 1, Fall 1996, Virginia Commonwealth University.
q Woodcock, 31.
r Ken Woodcock, Scott's Addition: Grandpa's Story (NL: Xlibris Corporation, 2000), 31.
s Woodcock, 133.
t Master Plan of Land Use, Community Facilities, & Traffic ways, City of Richmond, Planning Commission, 1964.
u Nadine Golgosky and Stacey Thurmond, "Section 1: Demography and History," Scott's Addition Data Package, USP761, Planning Studio 1, Fall 1996, Virginia Commonwealth University.
v Woodcock, 31-32.
w Woodcock, 150.
x Woodcock, 32.
y Woodcock, 32.
z Richmond City Building Permit #24858, 1938.
aa John E. Wells & Robert E. Dalton, The Virginia Architects: 1835-1955, a Biographical Dictionary (Richmond, Virginia: New South Architectural Press, 1997), 293.
bb Richmond City Directory, 1944.
cc Harry M. Ward, Richmond: An Illustrated History (Northridge, California: Windsor Publications, 1985), 366.
dd Richmond City Building Permit #24663, 1938
ee Wells & Dalton, 31.
ff Richmond City Building Permit #24503, 1938.
gg Woodcock, 46.
hh Richmond City Building Permit #25265, 1939.
ii Wells & Dalton, 17.
jj Richmond City Building permit #29881, 1948.
kk Richmond City Building Permit #8531, 1921.
ll Richmond City Building Permit #19336, 1928.
mm Wells & Dalton, 20.
nn Ward, 251.
oo Bob Martin, "Mack Trucks Inc.: Company Overview," Corporate Overview 2004, Unpublished Report, 2004, 2. www.macktrucks.com
pp "Corporate History, 1900-1909", www.macktrucks.com
qq George Meissner, 1872-1960 papers at the Washington University in St. Louis Library. http://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/manuscripts/mlc/meisser/meisser.html
rr Richmond City Building Permit #26524, 1941.
ss Paul Monaghan (1885-1968), Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/21895
tt Wells & Dalton, 66. Also see Richmond City Building Permit #25690.
uu Wells & Dalton, 490.
vv Morrison, 249-258.
ww Ward, 190.
xx The Binswanger Glass Company History. www.binswangerglass.com
yy Richmond City Building Permit #24356, 1937.
zz Richmond City Building Permit #25795, 1940.
aaa Ward, 383.
bbb Ward, 383.
ccc Scott's Addition map of 1914, Richmond Engineering Department.
ddd Sanborn Map of Richmond, 1942-1950.
eee Richmond City Building Permit #24647, 1938.
fff Ward, 486.
ggg Ward, 486.
hhh Ward, 486.
iii Ward, 251.
Nearby Neighborhoods
Street Names
Altamont Avenue • Belleville Street • Clay Street West • Cutshaw Avenue • Highpoint Avenue • Leigh Street West • MacTavish Avenue • Marshall Street West • Norfolk Street • North Boulevard • Roseneath Road • Sheppard Street North • Summit Avenue • West Broad Street West • West Moore Street