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Norfolk: 1902 Annexation In 1902, a large area of land along the Lafayette River and north of Atlantic City was annexed to the City of Norfolk. The development of this land coincided with the development of plans for the 1907 Jamestown Exposition, the celebration to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the landing of the first permanent English settlers at Jamestown. A colonial theme was therefore chosen for street names in the new sub-division. Represented were the names of the original thirteen colonies, the names of the captains of the 1607 ships, Captains Newport and Gosnold, and the name of the Mayflower, the ship which brought the first English settlers to New England. Besides drawing thousands of people to the City of Norfolk for the first time, the Jamestown Exposition had several other lasting effects on the city. At least three new hotels, and two blocks of apartments were built to house the expected tourists. The Exposition also marked the beginning of the change of Norfolk from a walking to a riding city. Large annexations had increased the city's size threefold by 1906. The outermost suburbs still remained within three miles of downtown. With the building of a ten-mile road to Sewells Point and the growing popularity of the automobile, future development was shifted outward to the north and the west. In the following years, the neighborhoods along this road would see fairly rapid development. In 1903, the Sterling Place Corporation purchased the 166-acre farm of Peter March for $150,000. The neighborhood was originally named Sterling Place, but was renamed Colonial Place in honor of the Jamestown Exposition. The first home completed in 1906 was for George W. Dillard, the president of Sterling Place Corporation. Colonial Place was touted as "a high class residential section ...a suburb for middle-income whites," an ideal place for a home. It included all of the city's latest amenities, such as: streetcars running through the center of the property, city water, gas, electric lights, phones, granolithic sidewalks, granite curbing, and handsome shade trees. There were building restrictions, however, which affected the rate of growth. For example, along Gosnold Ave., only one house was allowed to a site of 110 feet, only two houses to 220 feet, and all houses had to be set back 10 feet from the building line. No liquor was allowed, and no "persons of African descent" were allowed. After 1912, however, the area grew rapidly to include the neighborhoods of Park Place and Riverview, when modest three and four bedroom homes were allowed. A number of period revival styles were popular in the early 1900's. These revivals did not copy older styles, but chose characteristic elements from the past and adapted them to contemporary residences. Period houses such as the Consolvo House, a Queen Anne-Colonial Revival style, the Topping House, a Spanish Revival-Mission Style, and the Wolcott House, a Colonial Revival style predominate in Colonial Place and Riverview Neighborhoods. Also popular during this time period were the Gothic Style, English Tudor and Jacobean Revival styles, as well as the Bungalow Style which for the less affluent, became the most common style of home. The architectural styles are similar in both areas since they were developed at roughly the same time. In modern terms, the boundaries of the 1902 annexation are: bounded on the north and the east by the Lafayette River. The eastern boundary extends from the intersection of 29th and Church Streets, continuing along Church Street to the intersection of 22nd and Church Streets. The southern boundary roughly follows the Norfolk Southern Railway just north of 22nd Street. It extends from the intersection of 22nd and Church Street to 28th Street and Waverly Way, and the western boundary roughly extends from this intersection to the intersection of 53rd Street and West Colley Avenue.
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