Located about three miles from Washington, D.C., Penrose Historic District is a planned community in Arlington County associated with the historic, economic, and cultural contributions of African American families. During and after the Civil War, free blacks and former slaves lived in the government-established Freedman’s Village, but as residents became assimilated into the work force, many families relocated to nearby communities that began to cater to African Americans. Planned development in the area that became Penrose began in 1882 when former Village residents William Butler and Henry Louis Holmes established the Butler-Holmes Subdivision. The neighborhood also attracted middle- and working-class populations with the arrival of streetcar lines that allowed easy access to Washington, D.C. Today, Penrose is a firmly established multicultural and multiethnic neighborhood with domestic architecture representing vernacular forms and Italianate, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Craftsman styles.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia
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