Nomination Form
This weighty, urban mansion, built in 1876-79 with boldly carved brownstone details, is among the city of Richmond’s most extravagant expressions of the High Victorian Italianate style. The Franklin Street landmark was designed by a yet-unidentified architect for James B. Pace, a tobacconist and banker whose fortune was one of the largest in the South. The pair of three-part bays is the dominant element of the design. The richly carved staircase is a testament to the skill of Richmond woodworker B.B. Van Buren. In 1908, a local contractor, Wirt S. Chesterman, from whom the building takes its present name, purchased the property and converted it into a luxury apartment house, adding a large wing onto the rear designed by Aubrey Chesterman.
[VLR Listed Only; Federal Determination of Eligibility: 10/27/1987]
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
Nomination Form
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
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
