Crenshaw House.
Located at 919 West Franklin Street, in Richmond, and now owned by Virginia Commonwealth University (and situated within the heart of VCU's Monroe Park Campus), the Crenshaw House was part of an upscale residential street and district in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The neighborhood's architecture reflects the growing power and sophisticated tastes of Richmond’s business community at the turn of the 20th century.
While the distinguished Italianate-style house and its 1891 date of construction make it a contributing building in today's West Franklin Street Historic District, the Crenshaw House is singularly important for its connection to events that transpired within its fashionble walls during one year in its existence, 1909. That's when it hosted the organizational meeting of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. A foundational organization in securing women's voting rights in Virginia and furthering their political clout throughout the 20th century and into the present day.
Located at 919 West Franklin Street, in Richmond, and now owned by Virginia Commonwealth University (and situated within the heart of VCU's Monroe Park Campus), the Crenshaw House was part of an upscale residential street and district in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The neighborhood's architecture reflects the growing power and sophisticated tastes of Richmond’s business community at the turn of the 20th century.
While the distinguished Italianate-style house and its 1891 date of construction make it a contributing building in today's West Franklin Street Historic District, the Crenshaw House is singularly important for its connection to events that transpired within its fashionble walls during one year in its existence, 1909. That's when it hosted the organizational meeting of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. A foundational organization in securing women's voting rights in Virginia and furthering their political clout throughout the 20th century and into the present day.
Map by Dominic Bascone, DHR