Mid-century communities in Richmond?
I recently received an e-mail from Retro Richmond reader Toby asking about mid-century communities in the area. Here’s what he had to say:
My wife and I are real big fans of Retro Richmond.
I’m interviewing for a job up there — in Raleigh now — and I’ve got a question for ya.
Are there any mid-century neighborhoods in town (or the outlying towns) that would be a good place to start looking? Nothing too fancy and nothing bombed out — just a cool old neighborhood with REAL people living in it?
A time capsule would be great, but I’m not gonna get my hopes up.
Thanks for your time — and for a great web site.
Toby
I’ve suggested Highland Hills, Chamberlayne Hills, Monument Avenue (a shot in the dark, I know) and the area near Bellevue off Brook. There are a few in there. But where else?
I’m turning to my Richmond readers once again! Let’s help Toby find a cool mid-century home! If you know of some happening mid-century neighborhoods in and around town, please post a comment and let everyone know.
It will also give me an idea of places to take photos!
Let’s see - I’d suggest they try Beverly Hills (Henrico), Stratford Hills or Cherokee Hills (south of the River), the Near West End (between the Downtown Expressway and Horsepen Road), Sherwood Forest (in Richmond’s Northside), and Lakeside (also in Henrico). These are all great older neighborhoods and have a mix of traditional and mid-century ranch-style houses. I live in Bellevue on the Northside, so I’m partial to that area, but there are only a handful of mid-century structures in my ‘hood - mostly 1920’s and 1930’s bungalows and foursquares.
If they look in HIghland Hills, they should also poke around the Bon Air area in general. There are some pretty interesting mid-century homes around, both in Chesterfield and on the City side of the line. There are even some special ones, like the late 1950’s house on Cedar Grove Road that is made with all aluminum structural materials instead of lumber, it was a special Reynolds Metals prototype/house of the future/dream house.
If they want to go high dollar there are some very nice mid-century homes tucked away in Traylor Estates.
Stratford Hills is real good. There are some houses in that area that still have fallout shelters as well as original kitchens.
You can find an abundance of regular homes in these areas, but there are some ones with some very funky style as well. Even A-frames, if that’s your thing.
The trick is finding a good one for sale. Ranch houses seem to do real well. The 1955 Stratford Hills rancher I had before this house has appreciated at a very fast clip.
I come across some great mid century gems on my saturday morning estate sale travels. We recently saw one in the Strafford Hills area that was beauiful….we even got a tour. I’ve also seen some great ones in Roslyn Hills (off River Rd) and probably very expensive. There is also a little cluster of amazing “Brady Bunch” looking ranches behind the U of R stadium, off Douglasdale, near the 195 overpass…..very hidden, but a neat little adventure back there.
Off Monument in the Near West End (before Willow Lawn) has some nice and more affordable ones also.
And if you like a little earlier, Woodland Heights has a nice eclectic version of Craftsman bungalows!
Good luck in your search!
Someone from Highland Hills here! There is currently one house for sale in our neighborhood it needs some TLC but the bathrooms are original! I also think that there will be another house coming on the market soon on Ben Nevis Drive. We trolled the neighborhood for about a year before our house went up for sale but I was in love when I saw the original kitchen appliances and steel cabinets not to mention all the windows.
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