VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The Woodhurst neighborhood in Virginia Beach is now a historic district in the Virginia Landmarks Register.
The Virginia Board of Historic Resources voted to approve the nomination at its Dec. 8 meeting.
Woodhurst is a post-World War II suburban development designed by Norfolk architectural firm Oliver and Smith in the contemporary or mid-century modern style.
The historic district has 81 single-family homes and is located across from the Cape Henry Collegiate School on Mill Dam Road. It has internal streets of Indian Run Road, Strawberry Lane, Graham Road and Woodhurst Drive. It is the only neighborhood featuring 100% of its homes designed and constructed in a contemporary style.
Oliver and Smith designed four models in the neighborhood – 21 examples of models one, two and three, and 18 examples of model four – and were distributed to ensure no like models were built side-by-side.
Frank Whitehurst platted the neighborhood in 1955 and construction was completed by 1960.
The Woodhurst homes are built on concrete slabs and have wood-frame construction that was originally clad with brick veneer, weatherboard siding and/or vertical wooden siding. Many were sited at an angle to the street rather than facing it. The homes also had distinguishing characteristics that defined the style.
Old bricks salvaged from buildings demolished for the construction of the now-Downtown Tunnel were used in fireplaces and carport walls in some Woodhurst development homes.
Historic district nominations require architectural surveys of all district resources. The city paid for the project through the Historic Preservation Commission. The nomination will be forwarded to the National Park Service for consideration for listing the Woodhurst Neighborhood Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places.
