{"nrhp_refnum":"93001441","name":"Thomas Jefferson High School","other_names":["VDHR File No. 127-431"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4100 W. Grace St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.57204941100005,"lon":-77.48603176543173,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1993-12-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story, symmetrical Art Deco public high school of poured and cast concrete at 4100 West Grace Street in Richmond, Virginia, designed by Charles M. Robinson in 1929 and completed in 1930.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the last and largest of the monumental Richmond schools built between 1909 and 1930, marking the end of an era of historic school construction in the city. It is the only Art Deco school in Richmond and the last and largest school designed by architect Charles M. Robinson. It has also operated continuously as a school since 1930.","narrative":"Thomas Jefferson High School is a three-story Art Deco school on West Grace Street in Richmond's west end, designed by city school architect Charles M. Robinson and completed in 1930. Built of poured and cast concrete with a uniform precast marble-chip facing, it is the largest of the city's schools erected between 1909 and 1930. Close inspection reveals extensive ornament: geometric reliefs, floral motifs, animals, and large panels depicting academic subjects. A central pyramidal tower with a clock, busts of Thomas Jefferson and a rooftop planetarium anchors the facade. Inside are about seventy-five classrooms, a cafeteria, a gymnasium and an auditorium seating 1,650. Robinson's 1925 survey had urged a west end school to serve a shifting population. When it opened in 1930 with 900 pupils, it was proclaimed the city's largest and most modern school. It is the only Art Deco school in Richmond and closed out an era of monumental school construction; it has served as a school ever since.","period_of_significance":"1929-1930","architect_builder":"Robinson, Charles M., Architect","architectural_style":"MODERN MOVEMENT: Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Has functioned continuously as a school since 1930; interior described as exceptionally well preserved with only minor alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.571518-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/16/6789/41678916/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/93001441.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93001441/f375b6ef24-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93001441/f375b6ef24-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Crazyale","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Jefferson_High_School,_Richmond,_VA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Crazyale</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Jefferson_High_School,_Richmond,_VA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678916","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson_High_School_(Richmond,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7791264"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/thomas-jefferson-high-school-93001441/"}