Azurest South Explained

Azurest South
Designated Other1:Virginia Landmarks Register
Designated Other1 Date:October 20, 1993[1]
Designated Other1 Number:020-5583
Designated Other1 Num Position:bottom
Location:2900 Boisseau St. Ettrick, VA 23803
Coordinates:37.2405°N -77.4171°W
Built:1938
Architect:Meredith, Amaza Lee; Holmes, Russell
Architecture:International Style
Added:December 30, 1993
Refnum:93001464

Azurest South is 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.[2] 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.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Azurest South displays "a fascination with modernity, a familiarity with new materials and construction details, and a love of nature."[3] The building is located in a dell on the eastern edge of campus.[4] 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.[5]

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Virginia Landmarks Register. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 5 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053819/http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/register_counties_cities.htm. 2013-09-21. dead.
  2. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Azurest South. Calder Loth. Mary Harding Sadler. September 1993. Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130813155926/http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Chesterfield/020-5583_Azurest_South_1993_Final_NRHP_nomination.pdf. 2013-08-13. 2013-06-16. James Hill. and Accompanying four photos
  3. Book: Virginia Landmarks of Black History: Sites on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. University Press of Virginia. 1995. 0813916003. Charlottesville, Virginia. 17–19. Loth. Calder.
  4. Book: Sadler, Mary Harding. African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary 1865-1945. Routledge. 2004. 0415929598. New York. 280–282. Amaza Lee Meredith. Wilson. Dreck Spurlock.
  5. Web site: Som . Nicholas . The Colorful Past and Bright Future of Azurest South, Home of a Pioneering Black Architect . Saving Places . National Trust for Historic Preservation . April 5, 2024.