An architectural anomaly for the Roanoke region, Monterey is a low dwelling with a verandah is more akin to the spacious mid-19th-century cottages of the Gulf Coast than the standard two-story houses of Virginia. Like many Greek Revival works throughout the state, the house has details derived from Asher Benjamin’s widely popular pattern book The Practical House Carpenter (1830). Monterey was built in 1846 for Yelverton Oliver, a landowner. Family tradition holds that Oliver got the idea for the form while on a trip to New Orleans to race horses. Monterey is an exceptionally well-crafted building, employing precise Flemish-bond brickwork and boldly molded woodwork. Distinctive features are the triple-hung sashes in the front rooms and the exterior Doric cornice. A rear wing was added around 1870. Although within the city limits, Monterey retains a rural setting.