The Monroe Ward Historic District is a historic, mixed-use neighborhood located in downtown Richmond. Its architectural fabric presents a variety of periods, styles, building types, and uses that illustrate the evolution of the city of Richmond from 1814, when the Federal-style Crozet House was built, to the late 1940s when commercial and business uses began to dominate the historic district. The area is a sector that has long played a role in the life of the city. In the first half of the 19th century, it was a neighborhood of varied scattered dwellings. An elegant residential quarter developed from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. Finally, beginning in the second quarter of the 20th century, commercial establishments became common. The neighborhood began to regain popularity for office and residential use as the century drew to a close. The Monroe Ward Historic District contains two buildings already listed individually in the national and state registers, including the National Historic Landmark Ellen Glasgow House. It also partially intersects with one registered district, the 0-100 Block East Franklin Street Historic District, and it abuts another registered historic district, the Fifth and Main Downtown Historic District.

In 2025, additional documentation for the Monroe Ward Historic District was approved by the National Register of Historic Places that extended the period of significance for building within the district to end in 1967.  The updated nomination included an updated inventory to reflect a full resurvey of its contributing and noncontributing buildings and more precise mapped boundaries for the district.  The Monroe Ward Historic District’s boundaries were not changed as a result of this update.
[NRHP Approved: 3/27/2025]