Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 01/05/1971
NRHP Listing Date 07/02/1971
NRHP Reference Number 71001055
An enduring landmark in the downtown heart of the Lexington Historic District, the Alexander-Withrow House is set apart from its neighbors by its corner chimneys and diaper-pattern brickwork decoration. Corner chimneys are a peculiarity of several early Rockbridge County houses, and diapering is found but rarely in the Shenandoah Valley. The house was completed by 1790 for William Alexander to serve as his store and residence. Originally the house was covered by a gable roof, which must have looked odd with corner chimneys. It received its present stone-lined shopfronts and low roof with heavy Italianate cornice when Main Street was lowered in the 1850s. After years of neglect, the building was restored in 1969 by the Historic Lexington Foundation. This singular element in the city’s historic fabric has since become a popular inn.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: October 7, 2021
