In 1877 the Bon Air Land and Improvement Company began developing a summer resort here in what was then a rural area. Richmond residents suffering from the city's torrid heat could conveniently take the railroad about ten miles to salubrious Bon Air, where there were 178 lots laid out in a modified grid plan of 12 streets. The principal street, Buford Road, is still dotted with Victorian-era cottages as well as the two-and-a-half-story frame Bon Air Hotel Annex. Built to complement the hotel that burned in 1889, the annex has a complex double-cross plan with two-story porches. With its multiple porches to catch the breezes, clipped-gable roofs, and dormers, the annex is a picturesque reminder of bygone times. Although financial difficulties in the 1910s ended the life of the resort, easy road access has made Bon Air a thriving suburb of Richmond. The annex is now divided into apartments.