List of demolished buildings and structures in Charlottesville

This is a list of demolished buildings and infrastructures in Charlottesville. Over time, countless buildings have been built in what is now the city of Charlottesville. Some of them still stand today and can be viewed – however, many buildings have since been demolished. The reason for the demolition was often a lack of space; a larger building could fit. Many times the condition of the building was no longer adequate. The cost of building renovation is high, and demolition may have been easier.

Sometimes its style was outdated. However, opinions may change. Artistic standards of the time of construction, of demolition, of today, and of tomorrow may all disagree. Thus, many consider it detrimental to demolish buildings that were built to high artistic standards of their own time.

Accurate records of demolished buildings, roads, street railway systems and other structures were not always preserved, so this list is presumably fragmentary.

Banks and commercial buildings

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
(c.1945)	Monticello Bank	1853	1948	Northwest Corner of E Main St & Fourth NE St (Union Street), Charlottesville. creation: 1853; alteration: 1854. 1948 Razed--Site of later Miller & Rhoads Department Store. See also: List of Banks established prior to 1935	321 E Main St. (c. 2024)

Churches

Image	Building name	Year completed	Year demolished	Comments	Current view of site
(c.1895)	Charlottesville Presbyterian Church	1856	1897	This second building was located at the southeast corner of Second (Hill) and Market Streets. When the building was demolished, the bell was sold to Mount Zion Baptist Church.
(c.1898)	Charlottesville Presbyterian Church	c.1898	c.1956	This third building stood on the southwest corner of E. Market and 2nd St. NE. Until the early 1990's, the original sidewalk was still in place which gave the indication to the casual stroller of where the church entrances had once been used.
(c.1917)	First Baptist Church		1978	This building stood at the northeast corner of 2nd St. NE (Church) and E Jefferson. Designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, the church building was destroyed in a fire in 1977, a year before the congregation moved to its new building on Park Street. The house seen at left and the shell of the burned church were demolished in 1978 and the site is now occupied by the Queen Charlotte Square condominium and office complex.
(c.1912)	Methodist Episcopal Church, South	1859		This building was located on the southwest corner of 2nd St. SW and Water St. It faced 2nd St., George Wilson Spooner, alteration:1889; After its use as a church, supposedly a garage was operated out of the basement. This building was replaced by a service station, which was later remodeled into a pizza parlor. The house on the left served as the parsonage for the church and still stands at 207 2nd St., housing offices.
(c.1906)	Church of the Holy Paraclete-Roman Catholic	1880	1924	This building stood at 208 E. Jefferson St., completed on July 25, 1880, it was demolished in December, 1924 to make way for a new church building called Holy Comforter Catholic Church.	208 E Jefferson Street (c. July 2019)
(c. 1906)	High Street Baptist Church	1901	1936	A portion of this building, dedicated in 1902, still stands at 619 E. High St., on the northwest corner of 7th St. NE and E. High. In 1928 this congregation became University Baptist Church, and in 1936, long after the congregation moved to its present location at 1223 W. Main St., the High St. building was heavily damaged by fire. It was rebuilt and is now used as apartments and offices. Several of the small buttresses are still visible on the west side of he building.	619 E. High St (c. 2008)

Barracks, buildings used to accommodate military personnel

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
	Albemarle Barracks (The Barracks)	1779	1780	Albemarle Barracks was a prisoner-of-war camp for British and Hessian prisoners during the American Revolutionary War. Today, the original site of the barracks is located on private property north of Charlottesville on what is now Ivy Farm Road (County Route 1015), on the left when traveling east.

Education buildings

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
(c.1938)	The Anatomical Theatre	c.1825	1939	The Anatomical Theatre was designed by Thomas Jefferson and erected on the grounds of the University of Virginia in 1825–1826. It is the only Jefferson-designed building at the university to have been torn down.
(Artist drawing, c.1965)	Alderman Library (stacks addition)	1965	2020	Partial of demolition of Alderman Library started during the summer of 2020.
(c.1891)	Rotunda Annex--New Hall	1853	1895	A structure called the Annex, also known as "New Hall," was added to the north side of the Rotunda in 1853 to provide additional classroom space needed due to overcrowding. Faulty wiring was blamed for a fire on October 27, 1895 that destroyed the annex and the Rotunda. (View of Rotunda and Annex, from Carr's Hill)
(c.1917)	Midway School Building--Old Midway	1893	1973	Built on the site of a former hotel and Civil War era hospital, the high school building stood at the intersection of Ridge and West Main Streets. Old Midway housed a number of city agencies, notably the Welfare and Health Departments until 1966 and was also used for storage. It was torn down in 1973. Today, Midway Manor apartments at 100 Ridge Street occupies the site.	W Main St - looking East (2022)
	Rotunda (south front addition)			This view, seen from the Lawn, shows the Rotunda as rebuilt by architect Stanford White after the disastrous fire of 1895. The University library was housed here. Pavilion I is seen at left.
(c.1898)	Albemarle College	1892		Park St Extended, Charlottesville
(c.1905)	Albemarle Female Institute (1857) -- Rawlings Institute (1897) -- Saint Anne's School (1910-1939)	1857	1972	This school building stood at 1009 E. Jefferson St., on the northeast corner of 10th and E. Jefferson Street. The 3-story brick veneer school building, featuring a tetra-style portico and over 60 rooms, was originally built to accommodate the Baptist operated Albemarle Female Institute. The building became apartments before being torn down in 1972 to make way for medical offices.	1009 E Jefferson St (2019)

Hospital buildings

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments

Hotels

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
(c.1955 postcard)	Gallery Court Motor Hotel --Budget Inn--Excel Inn & Suites	1950	2023	This Hotel once stood at 140 Emmett Street N, near the Lambeth Field Apartments and one of the main entrances to the University of Virginia. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stayed here during his visited to the University of Virginia on March 25, 1963, to speak to nearly 900 students, faculty, and community members. On May 4, 2017 fire destroyed the hotel. After six years, the vacant, burned-out shell of the former Gallery Court Motor Hotel was demolished in April 2023.
(c.1919)	Queen Charlotte Hotel		1955	A popular hotel built on West Main just to the west of the railroad tracks, until it was demolished in 1955, the Queen Charlotte was second in business only to the Albemarle Hotel along West Main. Other hotels that at one time operated along West Main Street included the Hotel Clermont, the Cabell House and the Dolly Madison Inn, all of which have since been demolished. In 1954, the city ordered renovations of the Queen Charlotte Hotel under terms of the city’s building code. Requirements included structural and fire protection measures, including extensive repair to the building’s exterior walls and framing.
(c.1909 postcard)	Hotel Clermont			Located at 801-809 W Main Street
(c.1919)	Cabell House	c.1840	c.1919-1922	Built sometime before 1840, this boarding house stood west of the current Amtrak station (Union Station) between 9th and 10th streets west, about where The Flats@West Village student housing complex is now located at 852 W Main Street. Both the Cabell House and its adjacent ice house "built by F. A. Manoni" were torn down ca. 1919-1922. Merchant's Tire and Auto at 856 W. Main Street occupied the site until it was torn down c. 2014 to make way for The Flats.
(c. 1950's)	Fitch-Patton House	1820's	c. 1950	Located on West Main Street, it stood just to the west of the Patton House on the present parking lot. When John Jordan subdivided a five-acre tract on the south side of "the road from Charlottesville to the University" in 1852, Mary Fitch (widow of William D. Fitch) purchased two 100-foot lot. She built a two-storey brick house on the western lot, and at her death in 1868, she willed both lots to her grand-niece Pauline S. Patton. Miss Patton wrote her will in 1882, leaving the property to her nephew John S. Patton, who was late the Librarian at the University.	Present parking lot - W Main St & 11th St SW (2024); Background: Student apartments (Lark on Main).
(c.1945)	Dolly Madison Inn	c.1850	c.1970	1204 W Main St, Charlottesville. House. Built circa 1850; alteration: circa 1920; razed: circa 1970. Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. The Thomas Jefferson Chapter Sons of the American Revolution was organized on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 o'clock, February 4, 1939 at the Dolly Madison Inn.

Housing

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
(c.1965)	Vinegar Hill--Random Row--Smiths Row--Williams Row	early 1800s	1964	Vinegar Hill (once called Random Row). Photograph of house in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood prior to demolition. Houses, Stores, Churches razed for Urban Development.
(c.1918)	McKee Row--McKee Block--McKee's block	early 1800s	1918	The single-block of connected buildings stood between Jefferson Street and High Street, 4th St., N.E. and McKee Street (adjacent to the Albemarle County Court Building). Demolished to create a public park (Court Square Park)
(c.1918)	Southall-Venable House		1918	Originally built by V. W. Southall. Located on Market Street between 1st, Jefferson and 2nd. Purchased by Paul Goodloe McIntire, a commodities trader and philanthropist, in 1917; razed in 1918 to make room for a public park (Lee Park). Some of the original plantings were incorporated into the park landscape.
	Norris House	1850	1990-1991	Norris House, (Joseph Norris, owner), Charlottesville, ca. 1850; 1953 razed for Monticello Hotel (500 Court Square) parking area 1990-1991
	Gale Hill	1770	1932	Gale Hill house was situated on an elevated site overlooking the North Fork of the Rivanna River, near Bentivar (on the Rivanna Farm property). (two-story framed dwelling with center gable 62'x22,' paired column portico, square columns, 3 bay, 1 pile, veranda, brackets, gothic window, tripartite window, bay window, triangular lintel.) Gale Hill Plantation was the home of many members of the prominent Carr, Jefferson, Terrell, Minor, and Caskie families, as well as generations of African-Americans, both slave and free. The land was granted to John Minor of “Topping Castle” by King George II in 1735. The estate house burned to the ground in 1932. The Gale Hill Graveyard is located on private property.
	Howard (Kelly) Property		1955	Residence at the corner of Park and Maple Streets. In July 1950, the Trustees of the Charlottesville Presbyterian Church were authorized to purchase the property (and adjoining Wood property on Park Street) at a cost of $25,000. On November 22, 1954, the congregation of the Charlottesville Presbyterian Church gave its approval to construct a new church on this site at a cost of $403,236.50 (2023 assessment, tax exempt, $11,501,700.00).
	Wood Property		1955	Residence at the 500 block of Park Street. Property purchased in July 1950 by the Trustees of the Charlottesville Presbyterian Church as site of a new sanctuary.
	Carr House	1830	1975	117 Cream Street, Charlottesville. House ca. 1830, ca. 1850, ca. 1930, razed 1975
	Cole--Southall--Haden Property	1845	1969	522 Park Street. In 1965, the Charlottesville Presbyterian Trustees purchased the Haden Property adjoining the Church on the north. The parcel included 2.29 acres with 200 feet on Park Street and running back to 8th Street. The purchase price was $75,000. The large brick house on the property was built around 1845 by Miss Betsy Cole. In 1875, local attorney S. V. Southall purchased the property. He enlarged and remodeled the house in the Victorian style around 1884, and probably built the carriage house at the same time. The church demolished the house in 1969, but spared the carriage house. The rear part of the property was turned into a parking lot.
	McIntire Home	c.1848		Built about 1848 by George M. McIntire, a druggist and mayor of Charlottesville during the Civil War. This is one of the houses which was thoroughly searched for food during the occupation of the town by northern troops in the spring of 1865, even a school girl's trunk being emptied. Boyhood home of Paul Goodloe McIntire who was later acknowledged as one of the great benefactors of the City of Charlottesville. The house was pulled down to make way for the Hughes Esso Filling Station (later the Tarleton Oak Gasoline Station), corner of E. High and 9th Streets. A superb black oak in the yard, long known as the McIntire Oak, become erroneously associated with Tarleton's raid. According to tradition, British lieutenant colonel Banastre Tarleton camped under this tree when he was in pursuit of Governor Thomas Jefferson. Tarleton came to Charlottesville on the night of June 3–4, 1781. The Tarleton's Oak, a centerpiece of the Charlottesville landscape and source of local folklore, was felled on May 24, 1997; a cutting was later planted near the site of the "mother tree".
(c.1900)	Peyton House		1957	205 Ridge Street, Charlottesville; Razed for site of "new" Fire Station
	Willoughby	1850	1991	Willoughby mansion was located on Moores Creek about two miles south of downtown Charlottesville. It was built for Eugene Davis, who served as mayor during the civil war. The house fell into disrepair throughout the 20th century, and there was an attempt to renovate the mansion as part of a 65 acre business park. However, this fell through. The house was lost to a fire on Halloween 1991.
(c. 1895)	Pen Park, (William Hotopp Home)	1750	1972	Pen Park, (William Hotopp Home), Rivanna River, ante 1750, 1920s burned, ca. 1972 razed n.d. Wayland Park--Dr George Gilmer (1743-1795), Jefferson's physician, and wife Lucy Walker Home--William Wirt, Biographer of Patrick Henry & Monroe's Attorney General of US, and wife Mildred Gilmer, eldest Daughter of Dr. George Gilmer, resided here in 18th century--John H Craven Home 1810--William Hotopp Home 1866 creation: before 1750; alteration: 1899; alteration: 1900; alteration: 1920s; alteration: circa 1972 Location: Rt 768 @ Rt 631, on Rivanna River
Farmhouse (c. 1930)	Rose Hill farmhouse	c. 1800	c. 1933	Located in the Rose Hill Neighborhood, this farmhouse was torn down in 1933. John H. Craven (1774–1845), farmer, moved to Albemarle from Loudoun County in 1800. He purchased a home at Pen Park in 1819, and he acquired William Wirt’s Rose Hill estate the following year. Craven's descendants continued to live in the Rose Hill house and to farm on the surrounding 35 acres.	1140 Rose Hill Drive (c. 2024)

Mansions

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
(c. 1900)	Residence of R. T. W. Duke	1884	1987	This house at 1005 E. High St., stood on or near the northeast corner of E. High St. and Locust Ave. across from Martha Jefferson Hospital. This corner was later occupied by the Physicians and Surgeons Building at 400 Locust Ave.
	Residence of W. J. Tyson			This house was located at 907 E. High St. The site later part of a Martha Jefferson Hospital parking lot on the corner of E. High St. and Lexington Ave. Several other houses further east on the block were torn down as the hospital expanded. Number 907 may have come down at the same time.
(c. 1897)	Pen Park, House			"Pen Park" was the Gilmer family estate in Albemarle County. George Gilmer (1743-1795), Thomas Jefferson's friend and physician, was an influential Albemarle County landowner in the late 18th century.
	Belvedere
(c. 1913)	"Meadlands" - Hedges Family House			Hedges Family House Meadlands, Park Street, Charlottesville. Demolished, now the site of First Baptist Church
(ca.	Belvoir	1790	1836	Belvoir, Albemarle County, Virginia. Residence of United States Senator John Walker, 1790. Destroyed by fire, 1836. John "Jack" Walker was born 13 February 1744 in Albemarle county, the oldest son of Thomas Walker and Mildred Thornton. Thomas Jefferson was his classmate, neighbor, and friend. About 1764, John Walker married Elizabeth Moore and settled on the Belvoir plantation in Albemarle county. It was located about three miles southeast of Castle Hill, the home of John Walker's childhood. The Belvoir property had passed down from the Meriwether and Lewis families to John's mother, Mildred Thornton Walker. John built a home on the property about 1790 and several generations of his descendants lived there, until it burned in 1836. During the Revolutionary War John Walker attained the rank of Colonel and he served as confidential aide to General George Washington. John and his wife Elizabeth Moore both died in 1809 and are buried in the Belvoir Family Cemetery.
(c. 1929/1935)	The Riggory			Demolished. Building Date: 18th Century. Albemarle County, Virginia.

Municipal buildings

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
(c. 1900)	City Hall	c.1853	1969	Market Street & Fifth Street. creation: circa 1852; alteration: circa 1871; alteration: 1887. It was torn down shortly after the opening of the new City Hall in 1969.
(c. 1906)	Armory of the Monticello Guard	1891	c.1970	Market Street, between 5th and 6th Streets. Home of the Monticello Guard, Co. D, 1st Regiment Infantry Virginia Volunteers - Drills were held every Friday night at the Armory. The Armory stood next to old City Hall near the corner of 5th and E. Market St. It later became the city's recreation center, after the Guard built another armory a block east on Market Street in 1937. The old Armory was torn down around 1970. The City's Market Street Parking Garage occupies the site of both the armory and old City Hall.
	Albemarle County Clerk's office		1938	Located at the corner of Jefferson and Park St., this photograph actually shows the portion built in 1859-60. The rear, or north wing, dates to 1803. The stucco facade with Gothic detailing seen in this photograph was removed and replaced with brick facing and classical detailing during a 1938 facelift. During the same building project, the County Clerk's office seen at left was torn down and rebuilt in the Colonial Revival style. The building on the right, also gone, was once part of a row of law offices. Source: Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society
	Albemarle County Courthouse		1938	In 1761, the seat of Albemarle County was moved to Charlottesville from Scottsville. A courthouse was erected near the site of the left wing of the present structure. This Holsinger photograph was taken in 1910. In 1938 the Albemarle County Courthouse was completely renovated.
(c. 1906)	Police Headquarters	1852	c.1969	This building stood at the corner of 5th St., NE and E. Market St., where the city's Market Street Parking Garage is now located. The retaining wall in the foreground and a tree were left standing when these buildings were torn down. Built in 1852 as the Farmer's Bank, it was later the home of the Thornley family before the town of Charlottesville purchased it in 1887 for use as its municipal headquarters. It was torn down shortly after the opening of the new City Hall in 1969.
(c. 1905)	Water Street Fire Station	1906	1960	Fire Department Company No 1

Office and commercial buildings

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
c. 1968	Nanny Cox Jackson Home	1800's	1968	Nanny Cox Jackson Home--Now City Hall Site (William Wirt's Law Office) 1 Story Brick, Paired Column Portico, 5 Bay, Mousetooth Cornice, 6/9; Razed (ca. 1968) creation: 19th century; alteration: 1968; 611 E Main St, Charlottesville
(c. 2000)	Virginia Aberdeen-Angus Association Headquarters	1951	2023	Virginia Aberdeen-Angus Association Headquarters (also know as Virginia Angus Headquarters); Rt 250 Bypass ( 909 Landonia Circle), Charlottesville. 1 Story Brick, Flemish Bond, Blinds; Milton Grigg, Architect. Later used as a childcare facility, after the City Council grant a rezoning applicant request for the land in 2020, the building, along with the adjacent the All-American Car Wash located at 1315 Long Street, were demolished in 2023 to make way for a replacement car wash facility. A meeting was held January 26, 1955 at the Virginia Angus Headquarters in Charlottesville and the Virginia BCIA was organized. There was considerable discussion relative to what the name of the new organization should be but at a subsequent meeting of the new board of directors in March, 1955, the name Virginia Beef Cattle Improvement Association was agreed upon.

Shopping centers

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments

Stadiums, sport buildings

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
(c. 1970)	University Hall	1965	2019	"U-Hall" (shorthanded nickname for University Hall) was the home court of UVA’s men’s and women’s basketball teams until John Paul Jones Arena opened in 2006. The implosion demolition occurred on May 25, 2019.

Theatres

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
1950	Ridge Drive-in Theatre	1950	1979	The Ridge Drive-In Theatre at Emmett Street (US 29 north) and Hydraulic Rd., opened for business on April 22, 1950 with the showing of “Yellow Sky” starring Gregory Peck. Featuring a 64 feet high screen tower and space for 295 cars, it was built into a hill which allowed each row of parking to be higher than the one in front of it.  Cars with low roofs were directed toward front rows while sport utilities and vans are guided to the rear. Owned and operated by Neighborhood Theaters, Inc., who already had purchased the Jefferson Theatre, Lafayette Theatre and University Theatre. Morton G. Thalheimer of Richmond was president of Neighborhood Theaters. Walter Crummett, who had been the former assistant manager at the Lafayette Theatre, was the drive-in’s first manager. Today, a Kroger grocery store and parking lot sit on the property. Except for the slopped site grading – no trace of the drive-in remains.
1959 (Photo by Ed Roseberry)	University Theater	1938	c.1990	University Theater opened in 1938 on West Main Street, becoming Charlottesville's fourth movie house. The building was located near where the Graduate Hotel stands today and was demolished in the early 1990's, with the site later successively serving as the location of the regional record store chain Plan 9 Music, a tanning salon, and a convenience store.

Other buildings

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
(c. 1906)	Elks Lodge	1903		Home of the Elks – Charlottesville Lodge, No 389. Completed in 1903, this Colonial Revival building stood at 411 E. High Street. Built for the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), it housed a library, a card room, a billiard parlor, and even a bowling alley. This c. 1906 photographs of the lodge show the building with a four-column front portico with a moose head & antler mounted at the gable end over the entrance door. A fire on March 30, 1960 resulted in the destruction of the portico, though the bases of each of its four columns remained. It was later occupied by the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. The building was demolished and a replacement building for the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court was built on the site.

Other structures

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
	Belmont Bridge	1905	1961	The Belmont Bridge seen at left in this photo was built in 1905 and was replaced in 1961.
	Belmont Bridge (Replacement)	1961	c.2023
(1918)	Charlottesville and Albemarle Railway Company	1903	1936	The Charlottesville and Albemarle Railway (C&A Rwy Co.) was a short electric street railroad operating within the city of Charlottesville during the early 20th century. The line was preceded by several streetcar lines operating both horse-drawn and electric powered cars dating back to 1887. This Rufus W. Holsinger photograph was taken in 1918. Possibly view of Midway School in background.
	Charlottesville Gas Works
(c. 1887)	Free Bridge	1887
	Free Bridge
	Free Bridge

Image	Name	Date built	Date demolished	Comments	Current view of site
				WILLS DRUG COMPANY — Fred Wills's business was located in the old Monticello Bank Building on the northwest corner of E. Main and 4th St. NE. The building was torn down in 1954 to make way for the Miller and Rhoads Building, which later became the operations center for Jefferson National Bank.