Azurest South

Last updated

Azurest South
AzurestSouthView2.JPG
USA Virginia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location2900 Boisseau St. Ettrick, VA 23803
Coordinates 37°14′26″N77°25′02″W / 37.24046°N 77.41711°W / 37.24046; -77.41711
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built1938
ArchitectMeredith, Amaza Lee; Holmes, Russell
Architectural styleInternational Style
NRHP reference No. 93001464 (NRHP nomination)
100011351 (NHL designation) [1]
VLR No.020-5583
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 30, 1993
Designated NHLDecember 13, 2024
Designated VLROctober 20, 1993 [2]

Azurest South was 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] and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2024. [5]

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. [6] 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. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  3. ↑ 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 August 13, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013. and Accompanying four photos Archived 2012-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 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.
  5. ↑ "WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 12/16/2024 THROUGH 12/18/2024". National Park Service. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ 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.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Azurest South at Wikimedia Commons


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.