Azurest South

Azurest South
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Virginia Landmarks Register
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Location	2900 Boisseau St. Ettrick, VA 23803
Coordinates	37°14′26″N 77°25′02″W
Area	2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built	1938
Architect	Meredith, Amaza Lee; Holmes, Russell
Architectural style	International Style
NRHP reference No.	93001464 (NRHP nomination) 100011351 (NHL designation)[1]
VLR No.	020-5583
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 30, 1993
Designated NHL	December 13, 2024
Designated VLR	October 20, 1993[2]

Azurest South was the home and workplace of Amaza Lee Meredith, one of the nation's first black female architects. Located on the campus of Virginia State University, the home is one of the few examples of the Post World War I German style: International Style in Virginia. She shared the home with her partner, Dr. Edna Meade Colson, who served as dean of the Virginia State University School of Education.[3] Meredith founded Virginia State University's fine arts department in 1930. When Meredith died, she left half of the property's interest to the Virginia State University National Alumni Association, and after Colson's death, the association purchased the other half of the estate.[4]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993,[1] and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2024.[5]

Azurest South displays "a fascination with modernity, a familiarity with new materials and construction details, and a love of nature."[4] The building is located in a dell on the eastern edge of campus.[6] The exterior consists of white stucco concrete blocks, while the interior incorporates reds and blues, creating a sense of "playfulness." The kitchen used to feature colored mosaic tiles. They were removed at some point after 1984, but the Virginia State University Alumni Association hopes to restore them.[7]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
3. Calder Loth; Mary Harding Sadler; James Hill (September 1993). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Azurest South" (PDF). Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2013-06-16. and Accompanying four photos Archived 2012-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
4. Loth, Calder, ed. (1995). Virginia Landmarks of Black History: Sites on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia. pp. 17–19. ISBN 0813916003.
5. "WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 12/16/2024 THROUGH 12/18/2024". National Park Service. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
6. Sadler, Mary Harding (2004). "Amaza Lee Meredith". In Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (ed.). African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary 1865-1945. New York: Routledge. pp. 280–282. ISBN 0415929598.
7. Som, Nicholas. "The Colorful Past and Bright Future of Azurest South, Home of a Pioneering Black Architect". Saving Places. National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved April 5, 2024.

• Virginia African Heritage Program

External links

Media related to Azurest South at Wikimedia Commons

• Azurest South registration form for the National Register of Historic Places (listed in the National Archives)
• National Park Service Article on Azurest South (scroll down to see article)
• Virginia State Alumni Association article on Azurest South
• Cinnamon Traveler article (feat. many views of Azurest South)