The Chesterfield

Muhlenburg Bros. with Noland & Baskervill
1903
900 West Franklin

The Chesterfield Apartments opened in November 1903 as Richmond’s first high-rise apartment building. It was also the first building of its scale on the prosperous blocks of West Franklin Street near Monroe Park. The building holds a cherished place in Richmond’s collective memory as the home of the Chesterfield Tea Room. At the time of it’s closing in 1988 it was the city’s oldest continuously operating dining establishment.

The building’s seven stories sit atop an english basement that now contains a book store. The former tea room still houses a restaurant. Following the building up from the ground, a traditional classical order is observed. The lightly rusticated stone base transitions into dark brick and culminates in a arcing stucco cornice. Bands of wrought iron balconies and bay windows emphasize verticality, already pronounced when compared to the 3 story structures surrounding it.

The Chesterfield is an indispensable element in the West Franklin Street historic district, an area characterized by luxurious town-homes, most of which have now been converted into offices or apartment buildings. The tower’s juxtaposition in scale and introduction of a retail element bring vitality and intrigue to the pedestrian’s experience of Franklin Street. The building is also a contributing structure in what is colloquially known as the “Monroe Park Skyline,” an assemblage of mid and high-rise buildings surrounding Richmond’s Monroe Park.

D.OK.