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Oregon Hill
Built largely during the industrial expansion that developed during the era of Reconstruction, Oregon Hill looks down from a dramatic site above the falls of the James River. The twenty blocks that make up this neighborhood, located literally within sight of downtown Richmond, remain a unique island of architectural styles.
Built as a working-class neighborhood, Oregon Hill was home to laborers who were employed in nearby industries such as the Tredegar Iron Works and Albemarle Paper Company. The physical barriers of the State Penitentiary to the east and Hollywood Cemetery to the west, Cary Street to the north and the James River to the south intensified Oregon Hill’s isolation from the rest of Richmond and helped preserve the architecture. The razing of the penitentiary (which had occupied the site since the late 1700s) has revealed a dramatic view of downtown in the distance and newly constructed VCU buildings in the foreground. Although examples of Greek Revival, Queen Anne, and other styles from the Victorian period abound, the majority of the houses in Oregon Hill are attached two-story Italianate frame houses. Characteristics of this style are shed roofs and bracketed cornices, and decorative spindlework and sawn work. Many survive with their elaborate porch balustrades and decoration intact.
Frame Victorian homes are interspersed with small neighborhood commercial buildings. The Oregon Hill streetscape has a strong sense of architectural coherence and community.
In 1904, Richmond social reformer Grace Arents commissioned the construction of 200-202 S. Linden Street and 912-924 Cumberland Street as housing for low-income residents of Oregon Hill. Often cited for their quality of construction, these were Richmond’s first subsidized housing and but one Arents’ philanthropic building projects in the neighborhood. Another is St. Andrew’s Church (1899), with its complex of library, parish house and other buildings.
Oregon Hill has suffered some serious losses to new construction. In 1968, the Richmond Downtown Expressway razed almost one hundred structures. Virginia Commonwealth University, to the north, has demolished entire blocks of residences. Houses have been demolished on other sides as well. Despite this, Oregon Hill tenaciously retains its characteristic unassuming Victorian homes, picket fences, and its tree-shaded streets. Architecturally and socially, Oregon Hill remains one of Richmond’s most cohesive neighborhoods.
The neighborhood retains its working-class feel, supplemented by the energy of the VCU students, artists, and young professionals who live in the area.