On October 15, 1975, the City of Salisbury adopted the West Square District as its first local historic district, and set forth special zoning and architectural guidelines to help preserve it. One month later, the Salisbury Historic District was nationally recognized through placement on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1985, the National Register district was extended, and in 1990, the local district was extended as well. The West Square Historic District now encompasses approximately thirty-one blocks, extending from West Innes Street south to McCubbins Street, and from mid-block between South Church and South Main streets west to mid-block between South Ellis and South Caldwell Streets.

The original town plan of Salisbury, laid out into 112 lots surrounding the intersection with what is now Main and Innes Streets, was a rectilinear grid system which remains largely unaltered today. Much of that is included in the existing Salisbury National Historic Register District and West Square Local Historic District. The commercial area of the Salisbury Historic District is a solid, tightly packed collection of buildings dating from the decades following the Civil War up to the second decade of the twentieth century. The district has mostly a late Victorian urban look, but also has examples of Mission Style, Beaux-Arts, and Richardson Romanesque architectural styles—just to name a few.

The residential architecture of the West Square and Salisbury Historic district is quite remarkable in its wealth of variety and styles. Examples of the Federal-style, Neo-Classical Revival, Greek Revival, Italian Villa, Queen Anne, Spanish Mission, and Jacobean styles can all be found mixed throughout the district. Domestic structures date mostly from the 1820’s to the 1920’s.

Source: National Historic Register Nomination form, 1985