Preservation Piedmont

02/19/2026

Preservation Piedmont is pleased to support the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center in its centennial celebration of the 100th anniversary of the opening of Charlottesville’s first public high school for Black students. Preservation Piedmont was an early and committed supporter and advocate of preserving the historic school and planning for its adaptive use into the thriving multi-use community center that is today.

The Preservation Piedmont banner is part of the series of banners that portray historic images from the Jefferson School yearbooks (1926-1951) the banners are attached to West Main Street poles extend from near the historic Inge’s Store (now Tavern and Grocery) at the east end and near the 7th St intersection at the west end. This banner is adjacent to Maya Restaurant and opposite the First Baptist Church. The banners are planned to be on display through much of 2026.

08/06/2025

Georgia O'Keeffe: The Brightness of Life, Film Screening & Discussion!

Join ACHS and Preservation Piedmont for a screening of this documentary, followed by a discussion with the filmmakers, Paul and Ellen Wagner (Preservation Piedmont board member), and University of Virginia Professor Emerita in Art History Elizabeth Hutton Turner.

Saturday, September 27 · 2 - 4:30pm EDT. Doors at 1:30pm
Light House Studio at Vinegar Hill Theatre
220 West Market Street Charlottesville, VA 22902

Tickets available on eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/georgia-okeeffe-the-brightness-of-life-film-screening-discussion-tickets-1564032917559?aff=oddtdtcreator

07/23/2025

Can't make the event in person? Watch the livestream at the link below!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1055422419963942

Historic Preservation Lecture Series – Contours of Community: Digitally Mapping Brown’s Cove

Join us: Thursday, July 24, 2025 | 6:00 p.m. at Lane Auditorium
401 McIntire Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22902

Free | Registration Required

Dr. J. Jacob Calhoun will guide the audience through a digital exploration of the spaces, structures, and stories of Brown’s Cove, Albemarle County. Using ArcGIS, Calhoun and ACHS interns have recently completed the first phase of this special research project and will be presenting on it publicly for the first time. The talk will include a demonstration of an interactive map of Brown’s Cove, a historical timeline of the region, and a collection of StoryMaps.

This is the inaugural session in a series to be held in association with the Albemarle County Historic Preservation Committee and Preservation Piedmont.
https://albemarlehistory.org/programs/

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/contours-of-community-digitally-mapping-browns-cove-tickets-1442371715629?aff=oddtdtcreator

07/15/2025

Historic Rosenwald school in Albemarle County gets new life as a community center!

St. Johns School was a 2023 Preservation Piedmont Awardee.

"St. John Elementary School in Albemarle County was largely unknown after its closure in 1954, but members of the local church discovered it was a Rosenwald School for Black children when it opened during the 1922-1923 school year. Rebecca "Becky" Kinney, who attended the school as a child, helped lead an effort to preserve the building's history while transforming it into a resource for the current community."

Read the article to learn more!

https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/historic-rosenwald-school-in-albemarle-county-gets-new-life-as-a-community-center-while-preserving-its-past/

Image Credit: Bonnie Newman Davis/Charlottesville Tomorrow

07/11/2025

Historic Preservation Lecture Series – Contours of Community: Digitally Mapping Brown’s Cove

Join us: Thursday, July 24, 2025 | 6:00 p.m. at Lane Auditorium
401 McIntire Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22902

Free | Registration Required

Dr. J. Jacob Calhoun will guide the audience through a digital exploration of the spaces, structures, and stories of Brown’s Cove, Albemarle County. Using ArcGIS, Calhoun and ACHS interns have recently completed the first phase of this special research project and will be presenting on it publicly for the first time. The talk will include a demonstration of an interactive map of Brown’s Cove, a historical timeline of the region, and a collection of StoryMaps.

This is the inaugural session in a series to be held in association with the Albemarle County Historic Preservation Committee and Preservation Piedmont.
https://albemarlehistory.org/programs/

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/contours-of-community-digitally-mapping-browns-cove-tickets-1442371715629?aff=oddtdtcreator

05/16/2025

Charlottesville’s Most Endangered Historic Place:

On Tuesday May 20, 2025, the City Board of Architectural Review (BAR) will consider an application to demolish the significant early nineteenth-century residence of William Wertenbaker. Selected by Thomas Jefferson as librarian of the University of Virginia, Wertenbaker served in that capacity from 1826 until 1891 and served the community also as sheriff and postmaster.

Let the BAR and City Council know it is important to preserve this house as one of Charlottesville’s earliest surviving residences, a significant and tangible example of local early nineteenth-century architecture.

This local IPP (Individually Protected Property), is a contributing building in the City’s Wertland Street Historic District that is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. The district remains remarkably intact because new infill construction in recent decades has occurred in and adjacent to this district without demolishing the street’s historic buildings. The proposed demolition of the Wertenbaker House is not just the possible loss of a single building, but the destruction of a place associated with generations of University students and staff who have contributed to the city’s and university’s evolving urban development.

04/04/2025

Check out this upcoming lecture at UVA!

Designing the Academical Village: Thomas Jefferson’s Drawings for UVA
Thursday, April 10 | 3 to 4 PM | Newcomb Hall Ballroom + Virtual

UVA Lifetime Learning: The Academical Village at the University of Virginia is one of the most important architectural designs in early America and, together with Monticello, is rightly listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, we often think of this design complex as a project that sprung whole cloth from the mind of Jefferson, like Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. Yet a close examination of Jefferson’s drawings reveals an exciting process of trial and error and changes in course by Jefferson over the many years he spent designing UVA. Join us for an engaging look at these rare drawings shared by Louis Nelson, Professor of Architecture and Vice Provost for Academic Outreach.

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/designing-the-academical-village-thomas-jeffersons-drawings-for-uva-registration-1268921220529

04/03/2025

We had a great afternoon at the unveiling of the City’s newly installed DHR State Marker for the Carver Inn site on Preston Ave!

If you weren't able to attend - we highly recommend walking back to check out the new sign.

Thanks for all involved for their hard work getting this marker installed

03/16/2025

Join us on Saturday, March 22 at 3:00PM for the unveiling of the new historic marker at the site of the Carver Inn! Carver Inn provided safe lodging for African Americans during the time of racial segregation. In addition to lodging, it offered a beauty salon and fine dining. The Inn was an institution for not only Charlottesville's African American population, but also famous travelers such as Louis Armstrong who stayed at the Carver Inn when he performed at the University of Virginia. The Inn was listed in the Negro Travelers Green Book from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s.

Preservation Piedmont, the City’s Historic Resources Committee, the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, and the Jefferson Madison Regional Library are sponsoring events to celebrate the Virginia Department of Historic Resources unveiling of the Carver Inn historic marker.

3:00PM - Unveiling of marker at the 700 block of Preston Avenue; approximately 150 feet west of the train bridge on the north side of Preston. Parking for the unveiling is available at the former Reid Super-Save Market at 600 Preston Avenue.

3:30PM - Preservation Piedmont will host a screening of Lorenzo Dickerson’s documentary film "Carver Inn, Charlottesville VA" in the Swanson Room at the Central Library - 201 East Market Street

See you there!

02/05/2025

Check out this upcoming lecture at UVA on the preservation of Monticello, "this lecture will explore the long process of painstaking research, restoration, re-evaluation, and re-restoration to reveal a Mountaintop continuously changing and adapting to the needs of an evolving society."

The lecture is taking place on Monday, February 10th at 5:00PM in Campbell 153. This event will also be recorded and made available on the School of Architecture's YouTube Channel.

Learn more: https://buff.ly/4176y4H

09/30/2024