The Ginter Park Historic District, one of Richmond’s first Streetcar Suburbs, was conceived and planned by Major Lewis Ginter, a prominent Richmond industrialist and philanthropist of the late 19th century. Ginter Park encompasses a wide, eclectic variety of homes built from the early 1890’s through the 1930’s. The overall cohesiveness of the district was assured by Ginter’s original community development plan which allocated spacious one-half acre lots for each single-family dwelling site. Elaborate examples of American Foursquare, modified Queen Anne, Bungalow, Spanish Colonial, Tudor revival, Shingle Style, and even Egyptian revival/Vernacular can be found throughout Ginter Park, though the predominant style is best described as Colonial revival/Builder’s Vernacular.
Union Theological Seminary, Watts Hall (1896)
3401 Brook Road
Union Theological Seminary was the first major development in Ginter Park. The Seminary, founded in 1812, was originally part of Hampden-Sydney College in Farmville, Virginia. It was decided to move the school to Richmond to take advantage of a larger population base and greater patronage. Major Ginter gifted the land and Watts Hall was the first building constructed. This structure is an example of High Victorian Gothic. Its twelve acre academic campus also contains fine examples of Queen Anne and Late Gothic Revival architecture. Recently, Union Theological Seminary merged with the Presbyterian School of Christian Education located across Brook Road to become Union-PSCE.
{Photo Credits: Post Card, HRF archives; Exterior shots, Richard Cheek for Historic Richmond Foundation}