Richmond’s Chamberlayne Gardens is an apartment complex constructed 1945-46 by Norfolk architect Bernard Betzig Spigel. It is the oldest apartment complex built in Richmond through the assistance of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in its drive to provide affordable housing after World War II for the rapidly expanding urban middle class. Chamberlayne Gardens is a particularly good example of garden apartment design, which became more popular in the late 1930s and 1940s. The complex showcases many distinctive characteristics of garden apartment design, including central courtyards and the use of abundant natural lighting indoors. Of the FHA-funded apartment complexes constructed in Richmond, Chamberlayne Gardens was the largest, covering two full city blocks, and it retains much of its late 1940s fixtures and character. Chamberlayne Gardens is now one of Richmond’s few remaining testaments to the important and influential demographic changes that occurred following World War II.