Mirrored

Communities

 
Federally Planned Public Housing
for Whites in Hampton Roads

 

 

 


Cradock Housing Community

Cradock was the first federally planned community in the nation. Designed by George B. Post & Sons, an architectural firm from New York, the community pioneered the use of concealed utility lines. The early town had government-built schools, sewage and water systems, electric street lighting, individual phone lines, as well as a fire station, a recreational area, a commercial area, and a public transportation system.

Hilton Village Housing Community
At the urging of Newport News Shipbuilding president Homer L. Ferguson, Congress appropriated funding to create an emergency housing program in 1918. Built by architect Francis Joannes, and supervised by town planner Henry Vincent Hubbard, Hilton Village had approximately 473 homes. Amenities included paved roadways, electric stree lights, and sewage and water systems. The planned movie theater, billiard hall, bowling alley, and school were never built, however, because World War II ended in 1945.

Broad Creek Village
Built in 1942 in the Tanners Creek section of Norfolk County, Broad Creek Village housed military families. Though similar to Cradock and Hilton Village in architectural style, Broad Creek came closer to a self-contained neighborhood than either of its predecesors. It had
a fire department, library, shopping center, police station, post office, and schools. Though Broad Creek was scheduled to be "demounted" and moved elsewhere six months after the end of World War II, it was still standing in 1955. By July 1958, however, all of Broad Creek Village had been vacated, and the units were demolished.