The Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs (HCA) gets a new home in downtown Dover.
The Historical and Cultural Affairs division moved from its home for 30 years at 21 The Green to Richardson Hall on the corner of N. State Street and Delaware Avenue.
HCA’s deputy director Suzanne Savery says the move was prompted by the state transferring ownership of their previous home to the Biggs Museum of American Art last fall.
“It was the idea that, let’s continue to invest in the historic resources in the State; let’s try to find a way to work with the Biggs so they can expand. And how can we have wins on all sides,” said Savery.
Richardson Hall provides HCA the chance to adaptively restore a vacant, historic structure, according to Savery,
“So how can we work with the State Tax Credit Program; how can we support individuals who are rehabilitating the resources around the communities in Delaware," she said. "We also have six museums that this agency operates that tells a story of the history of Delaware.”
Richardson Hall was built in the 1880s as a home for Harry Richardson, who served as a Republican Senator in Delaware from 1907 to 1913.
Before he became a senator, Richardson ran his father’s canning business and was president of Dover’s First National Bank.
While additions have been added to Richardson Hall over the years, Savery says it has not changed too much in the past 140 years.
Richardson Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
