Brick-paved Madison Street between 1st and 5th streets is the main thorough-fare of this hill neighborhood. Like the others, Garland Hill had an initial antebellum surge of development, followed by a second wave in the 1890s. Antebellum houses on the southwest side of the street were built to face an unobstructed view of the mountains across Blackwater Creek and the James River Valley. The turn-of-the-twentieth-century houses that now block their view were designed to impress, not to enjoy the vista. Their elaborate Queen Anne facades face the street, while their posteriors perch precipitously above a precipice.
Writing Credits
If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.
SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.