This fine 19th century residential neighborhood is significant as the hub of Black professional and entrepreneurial activities in the city and the State. Fraternal organizations, cooperative banks, insurance companies and other commercial and social institutions that figure prominently in that era bore fruit here; individuals of exceptional vision and talent--such as Maggie Walker, John Mitchell, W.W. Browne, and Giles B. Jackson--lived and worked here. The Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site is within the district.

Information provided by the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Park Service.