Alexander Black House
Encyclopedia
The Alexander Black House is a historical house of Queen Anne Victorian architectural style located in Blacksburg, Virginia
, USA. 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.
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.
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.
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. There are also plans to restore the Alexander Black House so it can house the Blacksburg Museum
.
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
, USA. 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.
The Black family lived in the house until 1935, when Alexander Black died. The house was then used as a funeral home
Funeral home
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include aprepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral....
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.
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.
In 2008, Blacksburg officials began considering an expansion of the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
District in the town, likely including the Alexander Black House. There are also plans to restore the Alexander Black House so it can house the Blacksburg Museum
Blacksburg Museum
The Blacksburg Museum is a museum in the sense that the Town of Blacksburg pursues exhibits and a historic lecture series under the name, but there is currently no official headquarters for the museum. Plans are to headquarter the museum in the Alexander Black House, which is currently undergoing a...
.