Views of the Charlottesville and Albemarle
County Courthouse Historic District
Photographs courtesy of Shannon Bell
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Charlottesville has
served as an important regional political center since its selection as
the site of the Albemarle County Courthouse 1762. In addition to its strong
associations with Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia, the
town is significant for its diversity of 19th-century governmental, commercial,
residential, and industrial architecture. Typical of many 19th-century
American towns is its courthouse square, containing the courthouse and
several 19th-century brick offices set about a small public green. This
compact quarter in the heart of downtown Charlottesville preserves the
atmosphere of a mid-19th-century Piedmont county seat. The Albemarle County
Courthouse of 1803 also served originally as a community church, and here,
in what he called the "Common temple," Thomas Jefferson sometimes attended
Sunday services. The square has been a focus of county activity from the
time it was laid out in 1762, and it was not unusual in the early 19th
century to see Jefferson conversing here with James Madison and James
Monroe. The town hall was built across from the northeast corner of the
square in 1851. In 1887 this tall Classical Revival building was purchased
by Jefferson M. Levy, then the owner of Monticello,
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Albemarle County Courthouse located
on Charlottesville's courthouse square
Photograph courtesy of Shannon Bell
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and converted into the Levy Opera House. Around the rest of the square
sprang up numerous taverns, law offices, and residences. Among the early
tavern buildings remaining are the former Swan Tavern and the former Eagle
Tavern, both dating from the second quarter of the 19th century. The most
notable law office is No. 0 ("No. Nothing") Court Square, a plain but
handsome Federal building of c.1823. The courthouse was enlarged in the
1870s with the addition of the south wing with its Ionic portico. Except
for the multistoried Monticello Hotel building, the district maintains
a consistent scale and architectural harmony, being composed primarily
of brick two- and three-story buildings in a Federal or Federal Revival
idiom. Also in the district is a centrally located late 19th-century main
street, with numerous 20th-century modifications including a 1970s pedestrian
mall. A turn-of-the-century railroad passenger station with adjacent industrial
buildings and several adjoining residential neighborhoods complete the
district. While not devoid of intrusions, the district gives Charlottesville's
downtown a strong sense of historical continuity and architectural cohesiveness.
The Charlottesville & Albemarle County Courthouse Historic
District is roughly bounded by Park, Water, Saxton, and Main Sts., in
Charlottesville. The Visitors Center, located on Rte. 20 in front of
Piedmont Community College, offers a map suitable for walking tours.
The Albemarle County Historical Society, located at 200 Second St.,
NE, Charlottesville (phone 804-296-1492) offers a walking tour every
Saturday morning at 10:00am through the district, and can be contacted
for special tours. Call 804-977-1783 for further information or viist
the city's website.
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