American Heritage Apartments is proof positive that you should always look up. At street level, my only interest was visiting the 7/11. From the State Capitol grounds, I found this view of the building, over the roof of the U.S. Court of Appeals on Bank Street. Marvelous cornice, terra cotta, balconies – not to mention an epic history of transformations!
The original building in 1904 was half as wide, and two stories shorter. Five years later a second architect not only doubled the width and added floors, he added the curved cornice, colorful terra cotta details and balconies. A little over a half century later, a third architect came along and stripped away all of the ornamentation, the cornice, and the balconies – and covered the brick with dark metal. Finally, in 2003, a fourth set of architects restored the building to the spirit of 1909.
Look up!
- Name: American Heritage Apartments, American Heritage Place, Heritage Bank Building, American National Bank Building
- Location: 1001 East Main Street
- Year Completed: 1904, 1909, 1960, 2003
- Architect: Wyatt & Noting, Charles K. Bryant, Armstrong & Solomansky
- Style: Renaissance Revival
- The Shockoe Examiner: What a Long, Strange Trip It Has Been: the Journey of 1001 East Main Street [Richmond’s first skycraper – the First National Bank Building]
- Google Map
Gallery: Hover over photos for captions; click to view images in lightbox
All images copyright © Kenneth Grant / photos taken October 2019 with Canon 5D Mark iv