A new era in the building’s history began in 1921, when 418 E. Jefferson St. was sold to Court Square Building, Incorporated.1 The structure was extensively remodeled and converted into office space before being occupied by various law offices.2 In 1931, an additional structure named the McCue building was built behind 418 E. Jefferson St.3 It eventually became the back half of the current structure, which includes the RS math, science, and art rooms.
The body of digitally available public records for the City of Charlottesville increased greatly in the late 1970s. The law firm of McGuire, Woods, & Battle purchased 418 E. Jefferson St. in 1978,4 and occupied the space for two decades.5 In 1998, 418 E. was purchased by Gilead Properties, LLC, who used the building as office space until the mid 2000s.5 After the founding of the School in 1999, RS occupied a space on the Downtown mall.6 418 E. Jefferson LLC purchased the building from Gilead Properties in 2006, and began plans to convert 418 E. Jefferson St. into a larger space for the school.6 It has served as the primary school building since September of 2007.
In its 197 year history, a collection of changes — both major and minor — have been made to the structure of the building. In 1981, owners McGuire, Woods & Battle joined 418 E. Jefferson St. and the adjacent McCue building. This was accomplished by constructing a connecting structure between the two buildings, which now consists of the spiral staircase connecting the Assembly and Art rooms. Later, the firm’s request to add a third floor to the McCue building and install an elevator in 1999 was approved by the City. Most recently, a permit filed by Renaissance School in 2016 licensed the construction of a door and passageway to fill the alley between RS and the 5th St. law offices directly behind it.7
1 City of Charlottesville. (1921b). Real Estate Transfer.
2 Landmark Commission. (1976b). Landmark Survey. Department of Community Development. http://weblink.charlottesville.org/Public/0/edoc/651310/516%20East%20Jefferson%20St_Historic%20Survey.pdf
3 Cornerstone. (1931). Charlottesville McCue Building.
4 Roudabush, W. (1978). Real Estate Transfer. Charlottesville City.
5 McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe LLP. (1998). Deed of Sale, 003669. City of Charlottesville.
6 Tanner, L., Johnson, S., & Halladay, N. (2022, October 7). Panel Interview: RS History.7 Neighborhood Development Services. (1921-2020). Application for Building Permit in Charlottesville City, Albemarle, VA. Building Permits.