Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 02/15/1977
NRHP Listing Date 11/07/1977
NRHP Reference Number 77001537
Completed in 1921 as the headquarters of the Virginia Trust Company, this bank building is a salient example of the Neoclassical Revival, an architectural style of the early 20th century directly inspired by the grandiose works of ancient Rome. The white granite facade is reminiscent of a Roman triumphal arch, and the banking room is dominated by a gilded coffered ceiling heavily encrusted with classical ornamentation. The bank was designed by Alfred Charles Bossom, an Englishman who maintained a New York practice from 1903 to 1926 and then returned to Britain for a political career which culminated in 1960 by his being made a life peer. This work is perhaps the most elegant of the some half-dozen buildings Bossom designed for Richmond, and is among the best-preserved bank buildings of its style and period in the state.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: August 10, 2021
