Virginia State University’s (VSU) Azurest South, known on campus as the Alumni House, has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL).

VSU, a historically Black university, was founded in 1882 as one of Virginia’s two land-grant institutions. Constructed in 1939, Azurest South is a testament to the groundbreaking vision of Amaza Lee Meredith, one of the first documented African American female architects and a VSU alumna. 

The home was celebrated for its innovative design when it was built. Meredith lived in Azurest South with her partner, Dr. Edna Meade Colson, until her death in 1984. Beyond her architectural achievements, Meredith made lasting contributions to education, founding VSU’s Fine Arts Department. In 1986, Azurest South became VSU’s official Alumni House, fulfilling Meredith’s dream of establishing a gathering space for alumni.

Ensuring Azurest South’s preservation for future generations, VSU received a $150,000 grant through the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. This competitive program supports the protection and conservation of African American historic sites and landmarks, allowing the university to maintain the building’s structural and historical integrity.

The building joins a select group of properties across the nation in achieving the highest federal acknowledgment of a property’s historical, architectural, or archeological significance. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a release, “As America’s storyteller, it is our privilege at the Department of the Interior, through the National Park Service, to tell our nation’s history and honor the many historical chapters and heroic communities that brought us to where we all are today… These newly designated historic landmarks join a list of the nation’s premier historic and cultural places, all of which were nominated through voluntary and locally led stewardship.”