Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/12/1989
NRHP Listing Date 12/06/1990
NRHP Reference Number 90001830
Overlooking Poplar Lawn Park, the William McKenney House is Petersburg’s most extravagant example of the Queen Anne style. Designed by Maj. Harrison Waite, the city’s leading architect of the time, the twenty-three-room mansion was completed in 1890. The finely articulated façade is dominated by a three-story circular tower with a conical roof. Inside is a rich display of Victorian artistry: elaborately carved woodwork in oak, cherry, and mahogany; a built-in china press and sideboard; and ten fireplaces, six of which are decorated with Italian tiles. Many of the original plumbing fixtures and combination gas-electric light fixtures remain. Commissioned by William McKenney, a prosperous Petersburg attorney, the house was later owned by David Dunlop, III, a tobacco manufacturer. William Totty, a luggage manufacturer, also once lived here. A recent restoration has returned the dwelling’s former splendor.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: July 1, 2021
