St. Luke Building is a historic

office An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a po ...

building located in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. It was built in 1902, and is a four-story, brick

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

style building. The original building was designed by John H. White. It was then remodeled and enlarged in 1915–1920. From its start, the building housed the offices of the Independent Order of St. Luke, an African-American fraternal society headquartered in Richmond. The remodeled building was designed by Charles Thaddeus Russell, the first Black architect to be licensed in Richmond. It was his first professional commission, when

Maggie L. Walker Maggie Lena (née Draper Mitchell) Walker (July 15, 1864 – December 15, 1934) was an American businessperson and teacher. In 1903, Walker became both the first African-American woman to charter a bank and the first African-American woman ...

, the head of the Order, asked him to design the building to better support the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank. The building has a yellow pressed-brick facade and red brick secondary walls. The office of

, who helmed the Order from 1899 until her death, is preserved as it was at the time of her death in 1934. an
''Accompanying two photos''
/ref> It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982.

References

African-American history in Richmond, Virginia Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Commercial buildings completed in 1902 Buildings and structures in Richmond, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Richmond, Virginia {{RichmondCityVA-NRHP-stub