309 W Main StreetElizabeth City, NC 27909

The Mary Blades Foreman House, c. 1902. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Elizabeth City Historic District. A full-height pedimented portico, fluted columns, and a carved fanlight announce one of Elizabeth City's most commanding Neoclassical Revival residences -- a house the State of North Carolina certified as worth preserving as part of our national patrimony. Past the arched entry with its sunburst transom and sidelights, the center stair hall runs the depth of the house: an open-string staircase with turned balusters and carved newel, hardwood floors with inlaid border banding, and a glazed tile fireplace framed in oak. Twin parlors flank the hall behind wide cased openings, one anchored by a red-lacquered neoclassical mantel with gilt swags and paterae, the other by white tile and a canted bay. The formal dining room carries a fluted columned mantel, arched built-in china shelving, crystal chandelier, and a service pass-through. A second glass-walled dining room takes light on three sides. The kitchen keeps its beadboard ceiling and full-height cabinetry, refreshed with mosaic tile and stone-look counters, and connects through a butler's pantry to the rear service stair. Upstairs, bedrooms open off a broad hall lit by a fanlight arch. Several have fireplaces. The front chamber opens through French doors onto the portico balcony. Two full baths retain period white subway tile and hex mosaic floors, one with the original clawfoot tub. A paneled linen press is built into the hall wall; an enclosed sun porch spans the rear elevation. Throughout: cast-iron radiators, five-panel doors with glass knobs, deep molded casings, transoms, and beadboard porch ceilings in traditional blue. Outside, a wraparound porch on a brick lattice foundation, covered side walkway, rear deck, and a deep canopied lot under mature oak and magnolia. Detached garage. Minutes from downtown Elizabeth City and the Pasquotank River waterfront. As a contributing structure in a National Register district, qualifying rehabilitation may be eligible for North Carolina's 15% owner-occupied historic rehabilitation tax credit. Buyer to verify with the NC State Historic Preservation Office. Named houses reach the market not often, and this one has the paperwork to prove it. Basement and 3rd Floor are excluded from the virtual tour.