National Historic Landmark · Petersburg (Independent City), Virginia

Exchange Building

Historic commercial building in Virginia. Built 1841. Added to the National Register in 1969, and a National Historic Landmark.

Open to visit National Historic Landmark Built 1841 Listed 1969 Greek Revival architecture

Photos via Wikimedia Commons · 6 in the Commons category

What it is

The Exchange Building, also known as the Merchant's Exchange Building or The Exchange, is a historic commercial building in at 15-19 West Bank Street in Petersburg, Virginia. Built in 1841, this Greek Revival style building is one of the least-altered examples of a 19th-century market hall. It now houses the Siege Museum commemorating the Siege of Petersburg. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

Property type	Building
Address	15-19 W. Bank St., Petersburg (Independent City), VA
Independent city	City of Petersburg
Listed	Jun 11, 1969
Listed for	Commerce, Architecture
Level of significance	National
Also known as	Merchant's Exchange Building; The Exchange
Reference number	69000322
Built	1841 · more from the 1840s
Type of place	building
Style	Greek Revival architecture
Designations	National Historic Landmark, Virginia Historic Landmark
Contributing resources	1 building
Standing	Yes

The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗

Visiting

Address	15-19 W. Bank St., Petersburg (Independent City), VA
Coordinates	37.2321° N, 77.4054° W · Directions ↗
Also in Petersburg (Independent City)	40 listed places in Petersburg (Independent City) →
Nearest national park unit	Petersburg National Battlefield · 5 miles · on Park Atlas

This one you can go inside. Hours and admission change with the season; the website above has the current schedule.

At a glance

State: Virginia
Independent city: City of Petersburg
Listed: 1969
Type: Building
Landmark: Yes
Built: 1841

Cell signal

Verizon: 5G (fast)
AT&T: 5G (fast)
T-Mobile: 5G (fast)

Outdoor coverage as modeled by carriers in FCC filings as of 2025-12-31. This product uses FCC APIs and/or Data but is not endorsed or certified by the FCC.

Official links

Sister site

Park Atlas

Every unit of the National Park System, with its fees, hours, alerts and campgrounds.

Open Park Atlas →

This record is built from National Park Service sources, re-read every Saturday, and Wikidata, re-read on the first Saturday of each month. Register Atlas is independent and is not affiliated with any agency, and a listing does not mean a place is open to visitors. How the data is built →

Explore

Map

Nearby in City of Petersburg

All listings in City of Petersburg →

Building · 0.1 km

Appomattox Iron Works

BuildingListed 1976

Building · 0.2 km

Tabb Street Prebyterian Church

Guidebooks to historic places in Virginia

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

Historical Tours Alexandria, Virginia
Frederick Knops, 2017
Find at Bookshop.org
Plantations of Virginia
Charlene C. Giannetti and Jai Williams, 2017
Find at Bookshop.org
George Washington's Virginia
John R. Maass, 2017
Find at Bookshop.org
Historic Sites in Virginia's Northern Neck and Essex County
Thomas A. Wolf, 2011
Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

When was Exchange Building listed on the National Register?

Jun 11, 1969. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.

Source: National Park Service

When was Exchange Building built?

1841, in the Greek Revival architecture style.

Source: Wikidata

Can I visit Exchange Building?

Yes. Exchange Building is recorded as open to the public.

Source: Wikidata

Where is Exchange Building?

15-19 W. Bank St., Petersburg (Independent City), City of Petersburg, Virginia. The nearest national park unit is Petersburg National Battlefield, 5 miles away.

Source: Petersburg National Battlefield

Where is the nomination form for Exchange Building?

The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.

Source: National Archives

Is there cell service at Exchange Building?

FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the listed point. Coverage indoors and behind old masonry is another matter.

Source: FCC Broadband Map

Sources

Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 69000322. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.