If you have found this cache, you are very close to one of the most unique and beautiful neighborhoods in the United States. The Hollin Hills neighborhood, is significant as the work of renowned modernist architect Charles M. Goodman. The architectural design is recognized as significant at the state level and the community planning and development efforts are nationally significant. Hollin Hills is nominated under the Multiple Property Document, Historic Residential Suburbs in the United States, 1830-1960, as a "Post-World War II and Early Freeway Suburb." The areas of significance are Architecture and Community Planning & Development, with Hollin Hills reflecting the creativity of Robert C. Davenport's financing and the inventiveness of Goodman's modem house designs featuring open plans, non-traditional modem appearance, and prefabricated components. Further, the siting and landscape plans of Hollin Hills illustrate the success of designing with the land rather than altering it, resulting in the need for many different house types, each addressing the natural site conditions. Extending beyond the fifty-year mark, the period of significance reflects the historic district's full development period, beginning more than sixty years ago in 1946, when land was first purchased as the site of this residential subdivision, and ending in 1971, when the real estate development office closed. The 326-acre Hollin Hills residential neighborhood, developed between 1949 and 1971 on property purchased in 1946 and 1956, exemplifies merchant-builder housing, with Robert Davenport acting as developer/builder and Charles Goodman serving as architect and planner. The pioneering modem design of standardized modular unit types, the open interior plans augmented by trimless window walls, the economical construction practices with prefabrication and assembly taking place on site, and the amalgamated architectural design and landscape planning reflected Goodman's strong conviction that the traditional and widely accepted Colonial Revival-style house had no place in the twentieth century. The site plan, which celebrated the existing sloping and wooded topography rejected by fellow developers, was undertaken by prolific modernist landscape designer, Lou Bernard Voigt, under the direction of Goodman. Hollin Hills, and the collaborative partnership of Goodman and Davenport, received national acclaim and international attention as the first planned subdivision to combine novel land planning, modem house and landscape designs, and a merchandising plan that required the lots and house designs to be sold separately.
Despite all the fascinating history, and significance, it is a wonderful and challenging walk, full of architectural and natural splendor. Enjoy, be respectful, bring your own pen, and be amazed.