The expansive neighborhood that we know today as the Museum District has had several names since its beginnings more than a century ago. Among them: Benedictine, the Upper Fan and West of the Boulevard. It got its latest name in 2001, in recognition of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Virginia Historical Society, which anchor the district’s eastern edge. (The neighborhood runs south from West Broad Street to Cary Street and east from North Thompson Street to both sides of the Boulevard.) Most of its houses were built between 1911 and 1930, and they reflect the era’s eclectic mix of styles, including Colonial, Gothic, Tudor and Mediterranean revivals, as well as Arts and Crafts. The district is distinguished by its relaxed lifestyle and its proximity to some of the city’s best in art, dining and shopping.
