THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 25, 1996 TAG: 9601230123
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
An architectural team is conducting a survey to assess the historic value of more than 300 buildings throughout Norfolk.
For the next several months, staff from Hanbury Evans Newill & Vlattas will photograph and document each structure, some of which eventually may be listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
The project is part of a joint city and state effort to evaluate Norfolk's heritage.
Earlier this month, the team and personnel from the city's planning department held a public input meeting at City Hall. More than two dozen possible site suggestions were offered, including the Do-Nut Dinette on Colley Avenue, the Shafer home in Larchmont, and former movie theater buildings along Newport Avenue and 35th Street.
``The goal of this survey is to provide the city with a complete list of historic properties,'' team member Greg Rutledge said. ``We're asking for public help to identify sites. ... The most important part of this study is to plan for the wise use of the city's resources.''
A neighborhood, building, site or object all can be eligible for a historic listing. The basic qualifications are that the property must be at least 50 years old and represent an architecturally or historically significant trait.
This will be the second part of the survey. The first phase, which documented 475 sites in the fall of 1994, focused primarily on residential structures. Fifteen individual properties and seven districts - Ballentine Place, Berkley, Colonial Place, Riverview, Lafayette, Winona and North Ghent - were found to be potentially eligible as historic resources.
The present survey concentrates on commercial buildings and structures, such as banks, churches, bridges and statues, and is being made possible by a partnership between the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the city at a joint cost of $40,000.
The First Virginia Bank building on Colley Avenue, the former Hofheimer's shoe store at Wards Corner and the old fire station on 44th Street were among other site suggestions made at the meeting.
Norfolk already has 25 individual properties and three districts on the National Register. Among these are the Moses Myers House and the West Freemason Historic District.
Surveys have been conducted by the state, city, consultants and individuals. As a project, a class of Old Dominion University students is documenting 150 to 200 structures in Berkley.
``This part of the state has been overlooked in terms of architectural heritage,'' explained Robert Wojtowicz, an assistant professor of art history at ODU. ``We've lost a lot through redevelopment. This is a good positive move toward preserving what's left. For the kids, this will be a very useful skill in developing an architectural vocabulary and getting out on foot and analyzing what they see.''
The architectural team hopes to complete its survey by the end of May, bringing the total number of documented sites to approximately 1,000. In late summer, properties deemed eligible will be recommended to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in Richmond.
Meanwhile, the team is seeking more site suggestions from citizens.
``We may schedule another public meeting,'' Rutledge said, ``but if people see us on the street they can call us down or call us on the phone.'' MEMO: For more information, call Hanbury Evans Newill & Vlattas at 627-5775.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by RICHARD L. DUNSTON
The Do-Nut Dinette on Colley Avenue was among the sites suggested.
by CNB