February 2021 Historic Resources Committee Packet, Meeting II February 19, 2021, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM This packet contains various materials to guide meeting discussions. The materials are listed below, linked and with reference to their page in the PDF file. 1. Subcommittee Membership Roster Page 2 of PDF 2. 2020 workplan to complete Court Square Markers Page 3 of PDF 3. February 2020 letter to City Council re: Vinegar Hill Park Page 6 of PDF List of Subcommittees Walking Tour Map Subcommittee: Dede Smith Jordy Yager William Clay III Vinegar Hill Subcommittee: Alissa Diamond Gennie Keller Jordy Yager Ellen Wagner Sally Duncan Court Square Markers Subcommittee (also assumed discussions about Slave Auction Block site): Jalane Schmidt Alissa Diamond Gennie Keller Sally Duncan Jordy Yager I. Re-Assessment Stage: Determining workplan to move forward A. Meeting 1 (02/06/2020): Review necessary steps to move forward; decide on schedule for completion; draft mission statement B. Meeting 2 (02/10/2020): Complete mission statement; finalize schedule; assign 9 markers to specific meeting dates for review II. Content Editing Stage: Make necessary additions and revisions A. Meeting 3 (03/16/2020), 2 hours: 1. Review County Marker B. Meeting 4 (03/23/2020), 2 hours: 1. Slavery in Court Square 2. Taverns C. Meeting 5 (03/30/2020), 2 hours 1. Sixth Street 2. Courthouse D. Meeting 6 (04/06/2020), 2 hours 1. Beautification and Erasure 2. Levy Opera House E. Meeting 7 (04/13/2020), 2 hours 1. Early Hotels 2. McKee Block III. Copy Editing Stage: Review for readability and adherence to mission statement A. Meeting 8 (04/20/2020), 2 hours 1. Review County Marker [or review 4 regular markers] B. Meeting 9 (04/27/2020), 2 hours 1. Review Marker x 2. Review Marker x 3. Review Marker x 4. Review Marker x C. Meeting 10 (05/04/2020), 2 hours 1. Review Marker x 2. Review Marker x 3. Review Marker x 4. Review Marker x At end of Meeting 10, circulate marker text to CVHR, schools coordinator, full committee, Melanie Miller and Madeleine Hawks. Ask for comments within one week. D. Meeting 11 (05/11/2020), 2 hours: Address comments and feedback. E. Meeting 12 (05/18/2020), 2 hours: Final edits. At end of Meeting 12, re-circulate marker text to full committee. IV. Full Committee Review: A. Meeting 13 (not scheduled), 2 hours: special work session to review and approve markers. Meeting 13 to be scheduled at upcoming HRC meeting. Last week of May or early June. Mission Statement: The purpose of the Court Square Marker project is to contribute to the ongoing, inclusive and accurate account of the Court Square area from the earliest recorded time to the present. Our reparative intent is to illuminate and update stories minimized and distorted in the city’s past markers and publications. The establishment of the Albemarle County Courthouse at this location made it the social, physical, economic, and governmental center of a growing community and its associated power imbalances. These markers will look honestly at past people, places and events associated with Court Square, in order to reveal a more truthful and humane narrative of the activities that institutionalized and perpetuated inequalities. Who’s Old Marker Title New Marker Title writing Location it? Albemarle Understanding Court Square Understanding Court Square Jalane Courthouse Court Square McIntire’s Parks Beautification and Erasure Alissa Park Court Square McKee Block McKee Block Jordy Park Jefferson Jefferson Street Courthouse Jordy Street Early Hotels Jefferson Early Hotels Alissa Street Sixth Street Sixth Street Gennie Sixth Street Number Number Nothing Slavery in Court Square Alissa Nothing Taverns Taverns Sally Park Street Town Hall & Levy Opera Town Hall & Levy Opera Sally Park Street House House Madeleine Hawks, Chair Historic Resources Committee City of Charlottesville Department of Neighborhood Development Services Attn: Staff Contact Jeff Werner City Hall - 610 E. Market Street Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 HRC@charlottesville.org RE: Vinegar Hill Park (memo to Council) February 17, 2020 Dear Mayor Walker and City Councillors, Given that the composition of City Council has changed completely in the last three years, we hope to communicate the following recommendations and updates to the new Council regarding ongoing commemoration in the area known as Vinegar Hill: ● The HRC has formed a Vinegar Hill Subcommittee to consider issues relating to Vinegar Hill. In January, a former resident of Vinegar Hill joined the Subcommittee. ● To best incorporate the desires, stories, and remembrances of those who lived in Vinegar Hill, and their families, the HRC has agreed to partner with the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center (JSAAHC), which is in the process of forming an advisory committee of former residents and their relatives. At the direction of JSAAHC Executive Director Andrea Douglas, and with facilitation by JSAAHC Fellow and HRC member Jordy Yager, this advisory committee will inform the HRC’s work and direction when considering any future memorialization involving Vinegar Hill. ● The HRC urges the City to support fundraising for the Vinegar Hill Monument, intended for installation on the historic Jefferson School property, near the intersection of 4th Street NW and Commerce Street. It was designed by Melvin Edwards, a world-renowned African American sculptor. The monument’s design was an action-item from the robust community engagement efforts of the City-sponsored Dialogue on Race program in 2011, and the City provided funds for artist selection. In 2017, the City’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Memorials, and Public Space listed the monument’s installation as one of its recommendations. Support could come in the form of direct allocations, and/or consciousness-raising efforts for fundraising. ● In December, 2016, the City of Charlottesville passed a resolution to designate a portion of the Downtown Pedestrian Mall as, “Vinegar Hill Park,” and to allocate $15,000 for signage to identify the area as, “Vinegar Hill Park.” The area is now under redesign for ADA accessibility in concert with the ongoing Center of Developing Entrepreneurs (CODE) project construction at the site of the former Main Street Arena. The HRC requests that City Council recommit to funding this signage. The Vinegar Hill Park shall serve as an introduction and gateway to the historic Jefferson School African American Heritage Center that is the focus of African American programming, interpretation, and legacy-building in the region. The HRC plans to recommit to an effort to provide limited (temporary?) interpretive signage for Vinegar Hill Park that is coordinated with the CODE project’s ADA accessibility plans. The HRC should coordinate this effort with JSAAHC efforts to engage former residents to help craft the interpretive wording and details on signs. ● City Council should be aware that Vinegar Hill’s historic limits extended beyond the area cleared during Urban Renewal. Some physical fabric remains as do portions of the historic street grid. Buildings on West Main Street including, and most notably, the former Inge’s Store, a few surviving buildings on 4th Street, the Odd Fellows former hall (now the site of Common House), the current Fellini’s Restaurant, the Artful Lodger (former A&P), and the other buildings on Market Street between Old Preston and 2nd Street all predate the demolition of most of Vinegar Hill as do several buildings on 2nd Street West, south of Market Street. The westernmost block of Main Street, as well as the sites of the Omni Hotel and the Federal Courthouse, are within the traditional boundaries of the area considered Vinegar Hill, and should be identified and interpreted as such in the designated park area. In consultation with the JSAAHC and the descendent community, the extent of the area traditionally considered as Vinegar Hill shall be identified and demarcated in a manner consistent with installations and demarcations in the Vinegar Hill Park and graphically depicted on a map in the park. New construction within these bounds should clearly identify that they replace the historic structures removed during Urban Renewal. Future demolitions should be reviewed in the context of the Vinegar Hill narrative and the contributions that the surviving buildings and the histories that they represent physically. Every effort shall be made to honor the legacy of this area that was so integral to the city’s history and African American culture, commerce, and community life. ● The HRC will continue to add to the temporary signage addressing the history of Vinegar Hill on the construction fence surrounding the CODE building construction. The first set of seven (7) temporary signs were installed in October, 2019, and the HRC plans to add more signs over the course of 2020, pending necessary approvals. Themes for these new signs may include: ○ Vinegar Hill: Then and Now ○ Public Decisions and Leadership ○ The Businesses of Vinegar Hill ○ Selective Imagery/Propaganda leading to neighborhood demolition If you have any questions, please contact me at 540-535-9632 or ​mdarcyhawks@gmail.com​ or email the whole committee: ​hrc@charlottesville.org​. Sincerely, Madeleine D. Hawks Chair, Historic Resources Committee