Highland Park (Richmond)

View north on 3rd Avenue near Cypress Street

Highland Park is a neighborhood comprising several historic districts north of downtown Richmond, Virginia. Over time, various boundaries have served to split the neighborhood into sections traditionally labeled East Highland Park, North Highland Park, and South Highland Park (Chestnut Hill/Plateau). The southern Highland Park boundaries are roughly First Avenue to the west, Fifth Avenue to the east, the Shockoe Valley to the south, and E. Brooklnd Park boulevard to the north. The Highland Park Southern Tip neighborhood is also known as the Chestnut Hill-Plateau Historic District district. The northern Highland Park boundaries are roughly defined by Pensacola ave and the railroad tracks to the north, Fifth avenue to the east, E. Brookland Park boulevard to the south, and the Richmond-Henrico Turnpike to the west. The zip code is 23222.

House in Chestnut Hill-Plateau historic district

Largely residential in character, the area is notable for having Richmond's largest remaining stock of Queen Anne style homes. Originally developed as a streetcar suburb starting in 1891, the community quickly became a magnet for the city's burgeoning southern & eastern European immigrant population, particularly Italians, Germans, and Poles.[1]

The Highland Park Plaza Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.[2]

The area declined after World War II, when white flight and other economic factors encouraged wealthy and middle-class residents to depart for newer neighborhoods in the city's West End. Southern Highland Park is currently seeing a resurgence of activity thanks to its location convenient to downtown and the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park.[3] The city's "Neighborhoods in Bloom"[4] program, a public-private partnership focused on encouraging investment activity in targeted areas, has also contributed to this resurgence.

References

  1. ↑ Dabney, Virginius (1976). Richmond: The Story of a City. New York: Doubleday. pp. 223–225. ISBN 0-8139-1274-1.
  2. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. ↑ Virginia BioTechnology Research Park
  4. ↑ Neighborhoods In Bloom - Richmond (VA) website

External links
Brookland Park Shockoe Valley
   Highland Park  
Barton Heights Chestnut Hill (Highland Park Southern Tip)
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.