Nomination Form
The principal feature of this compact Albemarle County Courthouse Historic District in downtown Charlottesville is Court Square, a focus of county activity since it was laid out in 1762. In the early 1800s it was not unusual to see Thomas Jefferson conversing here with James Madison and James Monroe. On the square is the county courthouse of 1803, which also served originally as a community church where Jefferson sometimes attended services. Around the square sprang up mid-19th-century law offices, residences, and taverns, among which are the former Swan Tavern and the former Eagle Tavern. The 1851 Classical Revival town hall was purchased by Jefferson M. Levy, the then owner of Monticello, and converted into the Levy Opera House in 1887. Except for the multi-storied Monticello Hotel building, the district maintains a consistent scale and architectural harmony. The Albemarle County Courthouse Historic District centers the much larger Charlottesville and Albemarle County Courthouse Historic District.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Nomination Form
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia
