The Pythian Castle is a historic three-story brick-and-stone
Knights of Pythias
The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...
building located at 610-612 Court Street in
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...
. Built between 1897 and 1898 for the Atlantic Lodge, Knights of Pythias, it was designed by architect
Edward Overman
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
in the
Romanesque Revival style of architecture. Like many multistory urban fraternal buildings built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, its street floor was rented out for retail and office spaces while the upper floors were reserved for lodge use. In 1908 a single-story brick-and-stone Romanesque Revival addition was built to the north of the original building. In 1979 the Pythian Castle was sold by the knights. On October 30, 1980, it was added to the
National Register of Historic Places. Today the ground floor is a Mexican eatery.
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It is located in the Downtown Portsmouth Historic District
Downtown Portsmouth Historic District, also known as the High Street Corridor Historic District, is a national historic district located at Portsmouth, Virginia. It encompasses 229 contributing buildings, 1 contributing site, 4 contributing stru ...
.
References
Knights of Pythias buildings
Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Portsmouth, Virginia
Buildings and structures in Portsmouth, Virginia
Romanesque Revival architecture in Virginia
Houses completed in 1898
Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia
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