Azurest South
Azurest South | |
 | |
   | |
| Location | 2900 Boisseau St. Ettrick, VA 23803 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°14′26″N 77°25′02″W / 37.24046°N 77.41711°W |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1938 |
| Architect | Meredith, Amaza Lee; Holmes, Russell |
| Architectural style | International Style |
| NRHP reference No. | 93001464[1] |
| VLR No. | 020-5583 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 30, 1993 |
| Designated VLR | October 20, 1993[2] |
Azurest South is the home and workplace of Amaza Lee Meredith, one of the nation's first black female architects. Located on the campus of Virginia State University, the home is one of the few examples of the Post World War I German style: International Style in Virginia. She shared the home with her partner, Dr. Edna Meade Colson, who served as dean of the Virginia State University School of Education.[3] Meredith founded Virginia State University's fine arts department in 1930. When Meredith died, she left half of the property's interest to the Virginia State University National Alumni Association, and after Colson's death, the association purchased the other half of the estate.[4]
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.[1]
Azurest South displays "a fascination with modernity, a familiarity with new materials and construction details, and a love of nature."[4] The building is located in a dell on the eastern edge of campus.[5] The exterior consists of white stucco concrete blocks, while the interior incorporates reds and blues, creating a sense of "playfulness." The kitchen used to feature colored mosaic tiles. They were removed at some point after 1984, but the Virginia State University Alumni Association hopes to restore them.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ^ Calder Loth; Mary Harding Sadler; James Hill (September 1993). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Azurest South" (PDF). Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2013-06-16. and Accompanying four photos Archived 2012-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Loth, Calder, ed. (1995). Virginia Landmarks of Black History: Sites on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia. pp. 17–19. ISBN 0813916003.
- ^ Sadler, Mary Harding (2004). "Amaza Lee Meredith". In Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (ed.). African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary 1865-1945. New York: Routledge. pp. 280–282. ISBN 0415929598.
- ^ Som, Nicholas. "The Colorful Past and Bright Future of Azurest South, Home of a Pioneering Black Architect". Saving Places. National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Azurest South at Wikimedia Commons
- Azurest South registration form for the National Register of Historic Places (listed in the National Archives)
- National Park Service Article on Azurest South (scroll down to see article)
- Virginia State Alumni Association article on Azurest South
- Cinnamon Traveler article (feat. many views of Azurest South)
- Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
- International style architecture in Virginia
- Houses completed in 1938
- Houses in Chesterfield County, Virginia
- National Register of Historic Places in Chesterfield County, Virginia
- Virginia State University
- Central Virginia Registered Historic Place stubs