{"nrhp_refnum":"08000542","name":"Virginia State Library-Oliver Hill Building","other_names":["State Finance Building","VDHR File #127-6048"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"102 Governor St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.53796798800005,"lon":-77.42629254999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-06-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A monumental classical-style government building on Capitol Square in Richmond, Virginia, built 1892-1894 to designs by William M. Poindexter as the Virginia State Library, later expanded and remodeled and renamed the Oliver Hill Building in 2005.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the important work of master architect William Poindexter under Criterion C for Architecture, and the first purpose-built home of the Virginia State Library. It is nominated at the state level. The 1929 remodeling and 1910 south wing are part of its evolution through 1939, when the library moved to a new facility.","narrative":"Prominently sited on Capitol Square just east of Jefferson's Capitol in Richmond, this buff brick and terra cotta building was designed by William M. Poindexter in 1892 and completed in 1894 as the Commonwealth's first purpose-built state library. It also housed the Supreme Court and the Attorney General. A south wing by M. J. Dimmock followed in 1910. In 1929 the firm of Carneal, Johnston and Wright simplified the west facade, replacing Poindexter's Greek Ionic columns with Roman Ionic limestone columns to harmonize with the Capitol. The library and court moved out in 1939, and the building became the State Finance Building. State offices began leaving in the 1970s, and it stood largely vacant for roughly twenty-five years before a rehabilitation and a rear addition by Ballou Justice Upton. It was renamed in 2005 for civil rights lawyer Oliver Hill. Its significance rests on Poindexter's work and its place in the state's seat of government.","period_of_significance":"1892-1939","architect_builder":"1892: William Munday Poindexter; 1910: Marion Johnson Dimmock; 1929: Carneal, Johnston and Wright","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Beaux Arts Classicism (American Renaissance)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Rehabilitated after about 25 years largely vacant; a five-story rear addition was built and the building now houses the Lieutenant Governor's office, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Compensation Board.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.859068-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/66/6828/41682866/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/08000542.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000542/827cb68580-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000542/827cb68580-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"VCU Libraries","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Virginia_State_Library_Postcard.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">VCU Libraries</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Virginia_State_Library_Postcard.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000982","name":"James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/james-river-and-kanawha-canal-historic-district-71000982/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682866","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Hill_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16896144"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/virginia-state-library-oliver-hill-building-08000542/"}