Pelham Place Apartments (1907-Present)

Ashlee Jordan, SMC Archival Librarian. July 2025.

Main Photograph Collection, MSS 0000-MPC, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia.

Pelham Place Apartments, located at 521 Boissevain Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23507, has a fascinating history that begins with its connection to the Jamestown Exposition of 1907. Newspapers originally advertised the nearly 120-year-old building as a hotel, specifically to accommodate an influx of travelers to the Jamestown Exposition. In fact, Pelham Place Corporation purchased the lot from David Lowenberg and the Norfolk Land Company in January of 1907 with the idea of starting a hotel and then transitioning it into apartment homes.[1] Generally speaking, the boon of apartment houses, as they were once called, at the turn of the century was a direct result of the anticipated volume of visitors to Norfolk, Virginia for the Jamestown Exposition.[2] Pelham Place was one of the earliest examples of this in the area.

Pelham Place Apartments features a unique layout that stretches between Olney Road and Boissevain Avenue. It is distinguishable in the North Ghent neighborhood by its Tudor Revival façade and vast interior courtyard, flanked on either side by nine identical brick buildings with steeply pitched gable roofs. John Kevan Peebles, local architect and Chairman of the Architectural Board for the Jamestown Exposition, designed Pelham Place as well as other Jamestown Exposition buildings.[3] The firm East & Hobbs constructed the building, estimated to be a cost of $135,000, in early January 1907.[4]

Boasting space of 175 rooms with a restaurant and café, the two-and-a-half story Pelham Place Hotel opened for guests as soon as June 2, 1907, ahead of the Jamestown Exposition. The hotel advertised a ‘European Plan’ that charged a minimum of $1.00 per day, and as soon as the Exposition ended, the hotel transitioned to an apartment complex with a new pricing model charging monthly rates.[5]

Over the years, Pelham Place Apartments exchanged hands of several owners. It was initially operated by Pelham Place Corporation in 1907 until it was put up for auction in the summer of 1910.[6] Shortly after advertising the auction, heirs of David Lowenberg purchased the property for $25,000.[7] Within less than a decade, the Lowenberg heirs sold the property to R. F. Hogue, with a reported $108,000 purchase in April of 1918.[8] Sometime between 1918 and 1941, J.E. Slater of New Bern, North Carolina, came into possession of Pelham Place before eventually turning over to his wife, Elizabeth B. Slater, when he died. It transferred ownership again from Elizabeth Slater in 1941 to Pelham Place, Inc.[9] Then in 1951, Elsie W. Margolius and Fannie M. Permut bought the property for a sum of $105,000.[10]

By 1961, Pelham Place Apartments experienced a remodel as it was converted into 72 one-bedroom and efficiency-type apartments.[11] This project was one of the early redevelopment initiatives within Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s neighborhood conservation plan. Several other key players were involved in the revitalization of Pelham Place: Building renovation by Urban Redevelopment of Virginia Corporation, architectural plans by Waller, Britt & Bates of Portsmouth, construction by Viking Construction Company, and model unit showcase by Alfred Y. Gustave of Interiors International, Inc. of Virginia Beach. The estimated project cost was to be around $300,000.[12]

By 1983, Sunnyside Associates owned the property. It finally sold to the current owner, Pelham Place CGC, LLC in 2020.[13] Its current design features studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments while maintaining its original English cottage charm. What once began as a hotel to accommodate transient visitors to the area has remained a lasting staple in the City of Norfolk’s residential landscape.

Sources:

1. “Ghent to Have a Cottage Hotel – To be Converted into Residences After Exposition.” The Norfolk Landmark (Norfolk, VA), January 6, 1907, Page 3, Column 1.

2. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. “122-0827 North Ghent Historic District.” Page 57. Accessed June 13, 2025. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/122-0827/

3. Ibid, page 58.

4. “Pelham Place Hotel Will Open Today.” The Norfolk Landmark (Norfolk, VA), June 02, 1907, Page 22, Column 2.

5. “Pelham Place Hotel and Restaurant.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), June 02, 1907, Page 14, Column 1.

6. “Auction Sales – Future Days.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), July 20, 1910, Page 14, Column 7.

7. “Lowenberg Heirs Buy in Pelham Place. Purchasers Hold Mortgage of $75,000 – Bought it Under Foreclosure.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), July 28, 1910, Page 3, Columns 3 and 4.

8. “R.H. Hogue Buys Pelham Place for $108,000. Attractive Ghent Property Sold by D. Lowenberg Heirs.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), April 24, 1918, Page 2, Columns 5 and 6.

9. “Pelham Place Sold by New Bern Man’s Widow for $85,000.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), January 4, 1941, Page 16, Column 4.

10. “Pelham Place Under New Ownership.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), June 30, 1951, Page 13.

11. “Colonial Column.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), February 12, 1961, Page 20A, Columns 1 and 2.

12. “Apartment Project to Open.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), May 5, 1961, Page 41, Columns 1 through 3.

13. Norfolk AIR. “517 Boissevain Avenue.” Accessed June 20, 2025. https://air.norfolk.gov/#/property/26710400

Street Address: Original – “between Boissevain Avenue and Olney Road at Stockley Gardens”

Current – 521 Boissevain Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23507

Name (Original): Pelham Place Hotel

Name (Also Known As): Pelham Place

Architect: John Kevan Peebles

Contractor: East & Hobbs

Architectural Style: Tudor Revival

Cost (Original): $135,000

Construction Date: January 1907

Opening Date: June 2, 1907

Demolition Date: N/A

GPS: 36.859730, -76.297348

Major Keywords/Search Terms:

Pelham Place Apartments l Pelham Place Hotel l Norfolk, Virginia l Ghent (Norfolk, Va.) l North Ghent l Hotels l Jamestown Exposition l Tourism l Hotels l Peebles, John Kevan l East & Hobbs l Olney Road l Boissevain Avenue l Virginia Department of Historic Resources l Pelham Place Corporation l Apartment Buildings l Rental Properties l Slater, Elizabeth B. l Hogue, R. F. l Lowenberg, David l Viking Construction Company l Redevelopment l English cottage l Tudor Revival l Norfolk Land Company

Sources:

1. Primary Sources:

a. Books:

City Directories:

1910 Norfolk City Directory (Norfolk, VA), Page 67.
1911 Norfolk City Directory (Norfolk, VA), Page 63.

b. Documents/Collections:

- - - Guaranty Title and Trust Corporation Records, 1883-1919, MSS 0000-052, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia.

c. Maps/Plats/Surveys:

Sanborn Map Company. “Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: Norfolk, Independent City, Virginia.” New York: Sanborn Map Publishing Co., 1910, Vol. 1, Sheet 54. https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3884nm.g3884nm_g09050191001/?sp=67&st=image&r=-0.153,-0.123,1.625,1.017,0

d. Newspaper/Magazines/Journals:

- - - “Announcements.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), March 24, 1912, Page 5, Column 3.
    - “Announcements.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), December 17, 1912, Page 5, Column 3.
    - “Apartment Project to Open.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), May 5, 1961, Page 41, Columns 1 through 3.
    - “Auction Sales – Future Days.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), July 20, 1910, Page 14, Column 7.
    - “Colonial Column.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), February 12, 1961, Page 20A, Columns 1 and 2.
    - “Ghent to Have a Cottage Hotel – To be Converted into Residences After Exposition.” The Norfolk Landmark (Norfolk, VA), January 6, 1907, Page 3, Column 1.
    - “Lowenberg Heirs Buy in Pelham Place. Purchasers Hold Mortgage of $75,000 – Bought it Under Foreclosure.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), July 28, 1910, Page 3, Columns 3 and 4.
    - “Now Open Pelham Place Hotel.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), June 02, 1907, Page 6, Column 7.
    - “Pelham Place Hotel and Restaurant.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), June 02, 1907, Page 14, Column 1.
    - “Pelham Place Hotel Will Open Today.” The Norfolk Landmark (Norfolk, VA), June 02, 1907, Page 22, Column 2.
    - “Pelham Place Sold by New Bern Man’s Widow for $85,000.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), January 4, 1941, Page 16, Column 4.
    - “Pelham Place Under New Ownership.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), June 30, 1951, Page 13.
    - “R.H. Hogue Buys Pelham Place for $108,000. Attractive Ghent Property Sold by D. Lowenberg Heirs.” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), April 24, 1918, Page 2, Columns 5 and 6.

e. Websites:

Norfolk AIR. “517 Boissevain Avenue.” Accessed June 20, 2025. https://air.norfolk.gov/#/property/26710400
Pelham Place Apartments. Accessed June 20, 2025. https://www.pelhamplace.net/

2. Secondary Sources:

a. Books:

Yarsinske, Amy Waters. Ghent: John Graham's Dream, Norfolk, Virginia's Treasure. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2006.

b. Documents/Collections:

- - - Sargeant Memorial Collection Main Photograph Collection, MSS 0000-MPC, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia.

e. Photographs/Images:

Folder: “Olney Road III.” Pelham Place. Sargeant Memorial Collection Main Photograph Collection, MSS 0000-MPC, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia.

f. Websites:

HathiTrust. “Building Notes.” Manufacturer’s Record (Baltimore, MD), January 10, 1907, p. 692, column 4. Accessed June 16, 2025.

#786 - Manufacturers' record v.50 (1906-1907:July-Jan.). - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library

Virginia Department of Historic Resources. “122-0827 North Ghent Historic District.” Accessed June 13, 2025. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/122-0827/

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