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Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont » Portsmouth » Downtown Portsmouth » Seaboard Building

Seaboard Building

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c. 1894, Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad architecture staff. 1908, renovation, Edward Overman. 1914–1915, addition. c. 1985, renovation. 1 High St.
  • (Photograph by Matthew Aungst)
  • Seaboard Building (Jason R. Waicunas)
  • Seaboard Building (Richard Guy Wilson)

Originally constructed as the passenger terminal and offices of the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad, this building was prominently situated on the waterfront to ensure easy connections to Norfolk and Berkley via ferryboat as well as to offer convenient proximity to the railroad's warehouses. The Renaissance Revival design is distinguished by a semicircular bay supported by a ground-level arcade facing High Street. A two-story addition to the top of the building was constructed in 1914–1915. Following the removal of the Seaboard headquarters to Richmond in the late 1950s, the building was converted for use as Portsmouth City Hall (1958–1980). Subsequently it was renovated as a mixed-use residential and office building.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Richard Guy Wilson et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

Portsmouth Civic Center
Pass House
Benthall Brooks Row
Portsmouth Public Library (U.S. Post Office)
Nivison-Ball House

Citation

Richard Guy Wilson et al., "Seaboard Building", [Portsmouth, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-01-PO1.

Print Source

Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont, Richard Guy Wilson and contributors. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, 442-442.

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