The film The Aberdeen 158: Built For Us, By Us chronicles how blue-collar workers came to Aberdeen Gardens in 1937 and created a strong working-class community in Hampton. The Historical Foundation of Aberdeen Gardens, Inc. will host two viewings of the newly-created documentary Sept. 16 and Sept. 17 at The American Theatre in Phoebus.
The Historic Foundation of Aberdeen Gardens, Inc., whose mission is to preserve and restore the history and culture of the Aberdeen Gardens Historic District, will hold a premiere viewing fundraiser as well as a public matinee viewing. Proceeds will benefit the Aberdeen Gardens Historic Museum. The documentary premiere will be held on Sept. 16, at 6 p.m. Guests will enjoy a wine and cheese reception and keepsake documentary on disk. On Sept. 17 at 2 p.m., a matinee public viewing will be held. The premiere viewing requires a minimum donation of $50 and tickets to the matinee viewing cost $20 (plus fees).
From this modest beginning grew a vibrant community with generations of the original 158 families still calling Aberdeen Gardens home.
Aberdeen Gardens began as the first New Deal Planned Resettlement Community for African Americans under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Subsistence Homestead Project during the early 1930s, following the Great Depression. Its development was initiated by Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) in 1934. It was the only New Deal community designed by a Black architect, Hillyard R. Robertson from Howard University, overseen by a Black supervisor, and built by Black laborers. Charles Duke, a Black architect, was named architect-in-charge to design and manage the construction of 158 brick houses on large lots and the Aberdeen Elementary School.
Out of the 55 New Deal communities proposed and constructed at the time, Aberdeen Gardens was the only Resettlement Administration community for African Americans in Virginia. Additionally, Aberdeen Gardens is the only African American New Deal resettlement community that is intact. An original neighborhood structure, the Aberdeen Gardens Historic Museum building, was purchased, renovated and repaired in 2002 and opened to the public for touring. The museum has recently been closed for physical improvements and will soon reopen. Visitors interested in touring the museum should call 757-722-2345 for a museum tour.
To purchase tickets for the premiere viewing and reception, visit Tinyurl.com/Aberdeen-Gardens. Tickets for the Saturday, September 17 viewing may be purchased in person at The American Theatre Box Office or Hampton Coliseum Box Office. Tickets for the Saturday viewing may also be ordered online at theamericantheatre.org or by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets for The American Theatre are also available for purchase in person at the Hampton Coliseum Box Office.
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