History and historical preservation are an integral part of the Museum District’s

identity, and many Museum District real estate owners are active advocates of conserving and maintaining the neighborhood’s rich heritage. In 1940, the Museum District Association/Historic West of the Boulevard was founded to protect and maintain the historic value of the community and to raise Museum District real estate values. Primarily funded by the popular annual Mother’s Day House and Garden Tour, the Association represents over five thousand Museum District real estate owners. Further representation is provided by another local civil group, the Museum District Women’s Club, which has been instrumental in the beautification of the district’s gateway. In 1993, the entire neighborhood became a Federal and State

Historic District, thanks to the unrelenting efforts of its residents. Today,

it is Virginia’s third-largest historic district, with twenty-two individual

properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.