{"nrhp_refnum":"99001601","name":"Robertson, Judge William J., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"705 Park St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charlottesville (Independent City)","county":"Charlottesville","state":"VA","lat":38.03712465600006,"lon":-78.47587120499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-12-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Law"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick house at 705 Park Street in Charlottesville, Virginia, built about 1859 for jurist William J. Robertson. It combines Italianate and Gothic Revival elements and stands on a landscaped lot of 1.232 acres with a ca. 1920 garage.","why_significant":"The house is tied to William J. Robertson, a leading Virginia lawyer and judge of the state Court of Appeals, and first president of the Virginia State Bar Association in 1888. It is also a sophisticated example of mid-nineteenth-century pattern-book-inspired architecture, likely drawing on Calvert Vaux's Villas and Cottages (1857). It is significant at the state level.","narrative":"Built about 1859 at 705 Park Street in Charlottesville, this two-story brick house blends Italianate and Gothic Revival features. Its double-gabled front, bracketed eaves, pyramidal window hoods and scored, rendered walls were originally painted in mauve and brownish purple. The design appears to draw on 1850s pattern books, most likely Calvert Vaux's Villas and Cottages. The architect is unknown. The house was built for William J. Robertson, a Commonwealth's Attorney for Albemarle County and a judge on Virginia's Court of Appeals. After the Civil War he became a prominent corporate lawyer for railroads and argued the Lee family's Arlington case before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1888 he was elected the first president of the Virginia State Bar Association. He lived in the house until his death in 1898. Later owners added radiators, replaced the north wing with a porch and built a garage, but the original room arrangement, mantels and stair details survive.","period_of_significance":"Ca. 1859-1898","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate; Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a single dwelling; retains good architectural integrity, with the north wing removed about 1920 and some bathrooms and closets added.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.938152-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/6800/41680079/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/99001601.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001601/3e36cb7e11-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001601/3e36cb7e11-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Judge_William_J._Robertson_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Judge_William_J._Robertson_House.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"82004904","name":"Charlottesville and Albemarle County Courthouse Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/charlottesville-and-albemarle-county-courthouse-historic-district-82004904/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680079","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_William_J._Robertson_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15229815"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/charlottesville/robertson-judge-william-j-house-99001601/"}