127-0196 Branch Building

For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF

VLR Listing Date 12/02/1969

NRHP Listing Date 04/17/1970

NRHP Reference Number 70000878

After its destruction during the Evacuation Fire of 1865, most of Richmond’s commercial area was rebuilt with structures employing cast-iron trim or completely cast-iron facades, nearly all in a rich Italianate style. Of the three iron fronts remaining in the area, the Branch Building of 1866 stands as a particularly engaging representative of this American architectural fashion. Built as the headquarters of the Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company, the four-bay, four-story building features an intricate ground-floor loggia composed of free-standing Corinthian columns. Its current name comes from the fact that the building was for many years the offices of the Branch Co., later Branch, Cabell & Co., a brokerage firm.  The building contributes to Richmond’s Main Street Banking Historic District.

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: September 21, 2021