Hinke Younger — Senior Thesis 2023
The majority of my sources for this class will be documents, permits, and eye-witness accounts rather than books or other “traditional academic” sources. For this reason, each post that I upload to this WordPress page will include multiple sources of all kinds and what I have gleaned from them, in addition to timelines, photographs, and citations.
SOURCE SESSION #5: CHARLOTTESVILLE ASSESSOR’S OFFICE.
I visited the Charlottesville City Assessor’s office in mid-August and pulled the file on 418 E; I was greeted by several deeds and sources, as well as forty-four filed building permits. I have included the most useful of those documents below, in roughly chronological order.
Featured Image: “Letter to Roger Wiley.” Written by Gary McGee (1981). This letter was written by Gary McGee, an employee at McGuire, Woods & Battle (who owned the building from 1978-1998). It is addressed to Roger Wiley, a city attorney, and details concerns over the alley behind 418 E Jefferson St. MG&B filed a permit in 1981 to join the 418 building with the McCue building (now the assembly room section of RHS) by adding an extension in the alleyway.
SOURCE: “Application for Building Permit in Charlottesville City, Albemarle, Va.” Distributed and processed by Neighborhood Development Services (1921-2020). Most noteworthy permits:
1956—Permit #3325 is filed, calling for the destruction of the building (this did not occur)
1956—Permit #3364 is filed, calling for the construction of a new building (this did not occur)
1981—Permit # 18602 is filed, calling for the joining of 418 E & the McCue building
1999—Permit #B-99-000814 is filed, calling for the addition of a third floor to the McCue building and the construction of the elevator
2007—Permit #B-07-001090 is filed, calling for the construction of a 6’ retaining wall
2016—Permit #BN-16-0169 is filed, calling for the construction of a door and passageway in the alley between RHS and the law offices on 5th St.
SOURCE: “Real Estate Value Reassessment.” Performed by City of Charlottesville (1921-2006). Below is a cursory graph I made showing the value of the 418 building over time (based on the values provided in every building assessment I could find):
(My apologies for the low quality). The graph begins in 1921, shortly before the 100th anniversary of the building’s construction. When the building was passed from W.R. Burnley to Court Square Building, Inc. in 1921, its value was assessed at $15,000. At its most recent assessment, it was valued at $2,893,300.
SOURCE: “Real Estate Transfer”. Recorded by City of Charlottesville (1921). W.R.Burnley –> Court Square Building, Inc. ($15,000)
SOURCE: “Real Estate Transfer”. Recorded by City of Charlottesville (1956). Jesse B. Wilson/People’s National Bank–>Court Square Building, Inc. ($28,500)
I have tried to find other records of this bank inhabiting 418 E; however, other than a poorly cited Wikipedia article, I have not found any information. Paper money was printed at the PBN in Charlottesville for some time, and may have been stored or made in the 418 E building. I would love to be able to find more information about this, and I think I need to start at the bank branch. (Lofty goal: find a $20 bill printed in the 418 E. building. Best case scenario: find a hidden vault in the scary basement).
SOURCE: “Map #53-40-41.” Unknown artist (1968). Scale: 1″ = 20′.
SOURCE: “Real Estate Transfer.” Attached map & assessment by William Roudabush (1978). Court Square Building, Inc.–>McGuire, Woods, & Battle ($250,000). Attached map:
SOURCE: “Re: Alley between Parcels 40 and 42, City Real Property Tax Map 53.” Written by Roger Wiley (1981). This correspondence is the reply to the letter featured at the top of this session, giving the green light to merge the two buildings through the alley.
I have three additional maps that I have not included in this session. They are cited below.
SOURCE: “Plat showing proposed vacation of a portion of East Jefferson Street in City of Charlottesville, Virginia.” Map made by William Morris Foster (1981).
SOURCE: “Physical survey of property known as Court Square Building.” Map made by William Roudabush (1981).
SOURCE: “Plat showing a new temporary construction easement across tax map 53 parcel 40.” Map made by Thomas Lincoln (2002).
SOURCE: “Inspection of 418 E Jefferson Street Buildings for Asbestos-Containing Materials.” Signed by T. Joel. Loving of Environmental Health Consultants, Inc. (1998).
The document everyone is excited to find. Pages 1-5 proved most useful to me, as they exhaustively detailed every location in the building that contained asbestos (and there are many). However, an asbestos compliance letter was issued later in that decade, which presumably means much of the asbestos was removed. I still think it would be interesting to walk through the building and attempt to identify any remaining chemical structures.
SOURCE: “Asbestos Compliance Certification.” Published by the City of Charlottesville (1999).
SOURCE: “Deed of Sale #003669.” Documented by McGuire, Woods, Battle, & Boothe LLP (1998). McGuire, Woods, Battle, & Boothe –>Gilead Properties, L.L.C. ($735,000).
SOURCE: “Deed of Sale #007628.” Recorded by Scott Kroner, Clerk (2006). Gilead Properties, L.L.C.–>418 East Jefferson Street, LLC ($2,075,000).
Of the 57 sources I have saved in my bibliography app, 45 have been included in source sessions; 5 are still pending (at UVa Special Collections); 7 will be included in source session #6 before school starts. I have also posted an updated timeline and bibliography (research through 8/27/22).
Going forward, I’m shifting towards studying the history of RHS. Most of this research will rely on interviews; ideally, I’d like to speak to MJ, Mr. Tanner, Ms. Watson, Patterson Cunningham (first Head of School), Nancy Knorr (co-founder), and some founding faculty and students.
Thanks!