Mercer Apartments, 740 and 742 West Princess Anne Road (1919-Present)

Description:

The apartment building was owned and built for Corydon Mercer Baylor in 1919.  The building’s name is the middle name of Corydon M. Baylor.  It was built the same time as its sister building, Corydon Apartments at 736 West Princess Anne Road.

Major Keywords/Search Terms:

Ghent | Apartment Buildings | Norfolk, Virginia | Corydon Mercer Baylor | Philip B. Moser | Mercer Apartments | Buildings 

Sources:

1)    Primary Sources:

             1)    Books and Pamphlets:

                                 City Directories: (selective)

• 1920-1921 Norfolk City Directory, page 961 (742 Armistead Avenue) first listing

• 1924 Norfolk City Directory, page 1034.  (Street changes to West Princess Anne Road)

             2)    Documents/Collections:

• Block 708, Guaranty Title and Trust Corporation Records, MSS 0000-052, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia

• Permit # 10296, from Box 24, folder 1 of City of Norfolk Department of Public Works, Division of Building Inspection, Demolition and Building Permits, RG 22-2016-001, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia

• Norfolk, Virginia.  (Deed for property, from Kate G. West, West, Denison, Wayt, and Wayt to Corydon M. Baylor on February 6, 1919), Deed Book 238A, page 549.

• Norfolk, Virginia.  (Plumbing Deed by C. M. Baylor, July 8, 1919), Deed Book 245A, page 273.

• Norfolk, Virginia.  (Deed from C. M. Baylor to Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company to install wiring, October 8, 1919), Deed Book 253C, page 28.

              3)    Maps/Plats/Surveys:

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps.  Norfolk, VA, 1928 edition. Volume 2, sheet 214.

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps.  Norfolk, VA, 1928-1950 edition. Volume 2, sheet 213.

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps.  Norfolk, VA, 1970 edition. Volume 2, sheet 213.

              4)    Newspaper/Magazines/Journals:

• American Contractor (Chicago, IL), 28 March 1919, pg 46 https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433057658761?urlappend=%3Bseq=1052%3Bownerid=27021597770010894-1108

• Manufacturers’ Record (Baltimore, MD), 24 April 1919, pg 134. 

2)    Secondary Sources:

              1)    Books and Pamphlets:

Wells, John E., and Robert E. Dalton. The Virginia Architects, 1835-1955: A Biographical Dictionary. Richmond, VA: New South Architectural Press, 1997. 312.

             2) Documents/Collections:

Norfolk (Va.), Building Inspection Office, Architectural drawings and plans, 1898-1980. Accession 32256, Local government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.  http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=lva/vi01221.xml

Box 21 Control Number: folder: 276   Apartment on Armistead Bridge Road for C. M. Baylor - Permit Number: 10296-10297, Address: 732-738 Princess Anne Rd., 1919  Media: Blueprints; Sheets: 9; Tag Number: 1940-80;  Drawn by: Philip B. Moser, Architect, 702 Law Building, Norfolk, Va.; Contractor: Johnson Construction Co.; Commissioned by: C. M. Baylor; Notes: Includes three sheets by Alex O. Ferebee, Architect, Norfolk, for alterations to the 4th Floor of the Corydon Apartments, (Permit # 43110), 9/19/1940. Also known as Mercer Apartments.