The Exchange Building, also known as the Merchant's Exchange Building or The Exchange, is a historic commercial building in at 15-19 West Bank Street in

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...

. Built in 1841, this

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style building is one of the least-altered examples of a 19th-century market hall. It now houses the Siege Museum commemorating the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1971.

Description and history

The Exchange Building is located in Petersburg's Old Town, at the northeast corner of West Bank Street and Exchange Avenue. It is a two-story, five bay by five bay, building with a hipped roof. It features a four-column

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

in front, and five pilastered bays on the sides. At the building's center is a large circular domed room, the dome supported by piers and an entablature. and The Exchange was created in 1839 by a group of Petersburg businessmen as a meeting place where locally produced wares, predominantly tobacco and cotton, could be sold, and as a place to hold public auctions. The building was designed by an architect named Berrien from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and was completed in 1841. It is a locally rare example of high-style Greek Revival architecture, and is one of the nation's least-altered examples of a market building. It now houses the Siege Museum, which displays artifacts and history relating to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The Siege Museum was closed about 2016. The Exchange Building now houses the Petersburg Visitor's Center on the first floor. In September 2021 a new museum, telling the 400 year history of Petersburg, will open. It will have various exhibits telling the story of Petersburg.

References

External links

Siege Museum
- City of Petersburg site * {{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia History museums in Virginia National Historic Landmarks in Virginia Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Commercial buildings completed in 1841 Greek Revival architecture in Virginia Buildings and structures in Petersburg, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Petersburg, Virginia Museums in Petersburg, Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia

Description and history

See also

References

External links