The Alexander Black House is a historical house in the Queen Anne Victorian architectural style, located in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States.
History
editThe 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
editIn 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 for use as the Blacksburg Museum.[3]
In 2014 a thorough restoration of the house was completed.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Town of Blacksburg, VA: History of the Alexander Black House". Retrieved 2008-08-05.
- ^ Blacksburg pursues change to historic district; The expansion could jump-start efforts to establish a town museum at the Alexander Black House. Archived 2012-09-08 at archive.today, The Roanoke Times
- ^ Blacksburg Museum, Blacksburg website
- ^ Gangloff, Mike (6 August 2014). "Welcome back, Black House, Blacksburg says". Roanoke Times. Retrieved 14 April 2015.