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Richmond Esthetic and Historic Building Survey

Over 1500 digitized survey reports and photographs from a 1965 survey of central Richmond

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Richmond Esthetic Survey/Historic Building Survey

Overview

This collection digitizes over 1500 photographs and survey reports associated with the Richmond Esthetic Survey and Historic Building Survey. This survey dates to 1965 and inventories buildings and locations in the central part of Richmond, from Boulevard (now Arthur Ashe Boulevard) east to Chimborazo Park, and from the James River north to Shockoe Hill Cemetery.

Most entries link to pages that group photographs and reports by neighborhood or building. (Note About Maps)

Search Tips

  • Each photograph is searchable by title (if available), description, subject, and the image number assigned by the cataloger. Subject headings may include street or place name, type of structure, and objects prominently featured in the photograph.
  • Each neighborhood or building report is searchable by address, subject, file number, and the text of the survey report. Subject headings may include corporate names associated with the structures (such as the name of a business), topical headings (such as the type of building), and geographic subjects (street names or locations).
    • Each report has an alphanumeric file number. The alphabetical portion (A–D) refers to the division of the map used in the survey. The numerical segment indicates a historic or visual resource within that section.
    • The text of a report may include original owner(s), block number, date of construction, physical conditions of structure and grounds, building material, and number of stories.
  • Using quotes around phrases may return fewer, more relevant results.
  • Boolean operators OR, NOT and AND written in ALL CAPS may be used.  By default, all search terms will be combined with the AND operator. To exclude terms, use the NOT operator before a term.
  • Wildcards can be used to find variant spellings or words. The question mark (?) will match any one character. For instance, "Ols?n" will match "Olsen" or "Olson". The asterisk (*) will match any number of characters (including zero). "Ch*ter" will match "Charter", "Character", and "Chapter", and "Temp*" will match "Temptation", "Temple", and "Temporary".

Related Resources

  • Dulaney, Paul Summers. The Architecture of Historic Richmond. 2nd Ed. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1976. NA735 .R5 D8
  • Scott, Mary Wingfield. Houses of Old Richmond. New York: Bonanza Books, 1972. F233.37 .S28
  • Scott, Mary Wingfield. Old Richmond Neighborhoods. Richmond: William Byrd Press, 1984.  F233.37 .S3

Revised February 2021