Shirley Hall was built in 1940 by William Graves Perry of the Boston firm of Perry, Shaw and Hepburn in the City of Virginia Beach for the Devereaux family. The Georgian Revival house is laid in Flemish-bond brickwork with random glazed headers and rubbed jack arches over the windows. A balustraded widow’s walk tops the slate hipped roof. The interior stair and flooring are salvaged from earlier dwellings. Perry became immersed in southern Colonial architecture while working on the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. He then brought his extensive knowledge of that architectural vocabulary to bear on Shirley Hall, his only residential commission in Virginia or the South, and the only house he designed after working in Williamsburg. Shirley Hall is a remarkable example of Perry’s style. He influenced a generation of architects in Virginia and the nation.
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
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