Historic District Survey

Survey Status:

The surveyors will not be in town this coming week.

They last worked on the west side of North and South Cameron Streets and along the east side of North and South Loudoun Streets.

About the Survey

Architectural Survey workers employed by EHT Traceries, the company contracted by the City of Winchester in partnership with Preservation of Historic Winchester (PHW) and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR), will be conducting surveys throughout the Winchester National Historic District. The purpose of these surveys is to document the architecture and history of each structure in photographs and historical descriptions in order to update the existing designation on the National Register of Historic Places, a designation that was awarded in 1976. The surveys will help fill significant gaps in the DHR’s information about Winchester’s unique buildings.

The survey will be conducted over a three-year period. The district has been divided into thirds with the first third roughly being those properties east of Loudoun Street. A Traceries researcher will stop by homes, explain the purpose of the exterior survey, answer questions, ask about the history of the properties, and ask permission to enter onto the grounds of the properties for the purpose of taking photographs. The researcher will have City-issued identification.

An architectural inventory of structures within the Historic District of Winchester was last conducted in 1976.  Many changes have occurred since then, as well as more buildings becoming eligible as a contributing structure.

The City of Winchester and PHW applied for a cost-share grant with the DHR to conduct exterior architectural surveys of each structure within the National Historic District of Winchester. The boundaries of this National District vary somewhat from the boundaries of the Historic Winchester, HW District within which exterior changes to structures require Board of Architectural Review approval.

Please contact  the City Planning Department at 540-667-1815, or PHW at 540-931-7739 for additional information.