Alexander Black House

The Alexander Black House is a historical house of Queen Anne Victorian architectural style located in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.

History

The house was built around 1897. The owner, Alexander Black, was a great-great-grandson of Samuel Black, who bought the land on which Blacksburg is now located. Alexander Black was a prominent businessman in the town, and his first house reflected the typical design of homes in Blacksburg at the time. When that house burned down, he chose to build a new house in the Queen Anne style. The house features elements such as steep cross-gabled roofs, gingerbread trim, towers, and vertical windows.[1]

The Black family lived in the house until 1935, when Alexander Black died. The house was then used as a funeral home until 2002. To accommodate its use as a funeral home, the wraparound porch was enclosed, and some interior walls were removed to provide gathering areas. The second-floor balcony and some of the bay windows were enclosed as well, and the house was given vinyl siding.[1]

Museum

In 2002, the town proposed a retail development named Kent Square for the downtown area. The site of the Alexander Black House was planned to be occupied by a 400-stall parking garage. The town council allocated $2 million toward development of the parking garage, and they also purchased the house and made plans for its preservation. The town council then had the house moved to a new location on Draper Road and began the restoration process.[1]

In 2008, Blacksburg officials began considering an expansion of the National Register of Historic Places District in the town, likely including the Alexander Black House.[2] Plans began to restore the Alexander Black House use as the Blacksburg Museum.[3]

In 2014 a thorough restoration of the house was completed.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Town of Blacksburg, VA: History of the Alexander Black House". Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  2. ↑ Blacksburg pursues change to historic district; The expansion could jump-start efforts to establish a town museum at the Alexander Black House., The Roanoke Times
  3. ↑ Blacksburg Museum, Blacksburg website
  4. ↑ Gangloff, Mike (6 August 2014). "Welcome back, Black House, Blacksburg says". Roanoke Times. Retrieved 14 April 2015.

Coordinates: 37°13′39.6″N 80°24′50.4″W / 37.227667°N 80.414000°W / 37.227667; -80.414000

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