Charlottesville is an
independent city geographically located in
Albemarle County in the
Commonwealth of Virginia,
United States, and named after
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the
queen consort of
King George III of the United Kingdom.
The population was 40,745 according to the 2004 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau. It is the
county seat of
Albemarle County though the two are separate legal entities. The
Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Charlottesville with Albemarle County for statistical purposes, bringing the total population to 118,398. The city is the heart of the
Charlottesville metropolitan area which includes Albemarle,
Fluvanna,
Greene and
Nelson counties.
In 2004, Charlottesville was ranked the best place to live in the United States in the book
Cities Ranked and Rated by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander. Sperling and Sander ranked the cities based on cost of living, climate, and quality of life. Charlottesville is best known as the home to three
U.S. Presidents (
Thomas Jefferson,
James Madison and
James Monroe), as well as the home of the
University of Virginia. The city is also known for Jefferson's
Monticello, his renowned mountain-top home which attracts approximately half a million tourists every year.
Geography and history
Charlottesville is located in the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia along the
Rivanna River, a tributary of the
James, just west of the Southwest Mountains, itself paralleling the
Blue Ridge about 20 miles to the west. It was formed by charter in 1762 along a trade route called
Three Notched Road (present day
U.S. Route 250) which led from
Richmond to the
Great Valley. It was named for
Queen Charlotte, the
queen consort of King
George III of the United Kingdom.
During the
American Revolutionary War, the
Convention Army was imprisoned in Charlottesville between 1779 and 1781 at the
Albemarle Barracks. On
June 4,
1781,
Jack Jouett warned the Virginia Legislature meeting at
Monticello of an intended raid by
Banastre Tarleton, allowing a narrow escape.
Unlike much of Virginia, Charlottesville was spared the brunt of the
American Civil War. The only battle to take place in Charlottesville was the
Skirmish at Rio Hill, in which
George Armstrong Custer was repulsed by local Confederate militia. The city was later surrendered by the Mayor and others to spare the town from being burnt. The Charlottesville Factory, circa 1820-30, was accidentally burnt during General Sheridan's raid through the Shenandoah Valley in 1865. This factory was seized by the confederacy and used to manufacture woolen soldiers' wear. The mill ignited when coals were taken by union troops to burn a near-by railroad bridge. The factory was rebuilt immediately after and known then on as the Woolen Mills until its liquidation in 1962.
The first black church in Charlottesville was established in 1864. Previously, it was illegal for African-Americans to have their own churches, although they could worship in white churches. A current predominately African-American church can trace its lineage to that first church.
Congregation Beth Israel's 1882 building is the
oldest synagogue building still standing in Virginia.
Charlottesville is the home of the
National Radio Astronomy Observatory headquarters, the
Leander McCormick Observatory and the
CFA Institute. It is served by two area hospitals, the founded in 1903, and the .
The
National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) is in the Charlottesville area. Other large employers include
Crutchfield,
GE Fanuc Automation, ,
PepsiCo and
SNL Financial.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.
Charlottesville is 115 miles from
Washington, D.C. and 70 miles from
RichmondAttractions and culture
Charlottesville has a large series of attractions and venues for its relatively small size. Visitors come to the area for wine tours, ballooning, hiking, and world-class entertainment that perform at one of the area's four larger venues. The city is both the launching pad and home of the
Dave Matthews Band as well as the center of a sizable indie music scene.
The Charlottesville area was the home of
Thomas Jefferson,
James Madison, and
James Monroe.
Monticello, Jefferson's plantation manor, is located just a few miles from downtown. The home of
James Monroe,
Ash Lawn-Highland, is down the road from
Monticello. About 25 miles northeast of Charlottesville lies the home of James and
Dolley Madison,
Montpelier. During the summer, Ash Lawn-Highland also serves as the home of the Ash Lawn Opera Festival.
The nearby
Shenandoah National Park offers recreational activities and beautiful scenery, with rolling mountains and many hiking trails.
Skyline Drive is a well-known scenic drive that runs the length of the park, alternately winding through thick forest and emerging upon sweeping scenic overlooks. The
Blue Ridge Parkway, a similar scenic drive that extends 469 miles south to
Great Smoky Mountains National Park in
North Carolina, terminates at the southern entrance of Shenandoah, where it turns into Skyline Drive. This junction of the two scenic drives is only 22 miles west of down-town Charlottesville.
Charlottesville's
downtown is a center of business for
Albemarle County. It is home to the
Downtown Mall, one of the longest outdoor pedestrian malls in the nation, with stores, restaurants, and civic attractions. The renovated hosts various events, including Broadway shows and concerts. Local theatrics downtown are highlighted by Charlottesville's community theater
Live Arts, and a new addition, . Outside downtown are and
at UVa. Other attractions on the Downtown Mall are the and a 3,500 seat outdoor amphitheater, the . Court Square, just a few blocks from the Downtown Mall, is the original center of Charlottesville and several of the historic buildings there date back to the city's founding in 1762.
Charlottesville also is home to the
University of Virginia (most of which is legally in Albemarle County). During the academic year more than 20,000 students pour into Charlottesville to attend the university. Its main grounds are located on the west side of Charlottesville, with
Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village, known as
the Lawn, as the centerpiece. The Lawn is a long esplanade crowned by two prominent structures,
The Rotunda (designed by Jefferson) and Old Cabell Hall (designed by
Stanford White). Along the Lawn and the parallel
Range are dormitory rooms reserved for distinguished students. The is a student-run body that programs concerts, comedy shows, speakers, and other events open to the students and the community, such as the annual "
Lighting of the Lawn." One block from The Rotunda, the
University of Virginia Art Museum exhibits work drawn from its collection of more than 10,000 objects and special temporary exhibitions from sources nationwide. It is also home to the
Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School where all military lawyers, known as "JAGs", take courses specific to military law.
Downtown Mall
is the commercial district abutting the main grounds of UVa, along University Avenue. This area is full of college bars, eateries, and UVa merchandise stores, and is busy with student activity during the school year. Much of the University's
Greek life is on nearby
Rugby Road. West Main Street, running from the Corner to the Downtown Mall, is a commercial district of restaurants, bars, and other businesses.
Charlottesville is host to the annual
Virginia Film Festival in October, the
Charlottesville Festival of the Photograph in July, and the in March. In addition, the
Foxfield Races are
steeplechase races held in April and October of each year. A
Fourth of July celebration, including a
Naturalization Ceremony, is held annually at Monticello, and a
First Night celebration has been held on the Downtown Mall since 1982.
Sports
Charlottesville has no professional sports teams, but is home to the University of Virginia's athletic teams, the
Cavaliers, who have a wide fan base throughout the region. The Cavaliers field teams in sports from soccer to basketball, and have modern facilities that draw spectators throughout the year. Cavalier
football season draws the largest crowds during the academic year, with football games played in
Scott Stadium. The stadium hosts large musical events, including concerts by the
Dave Matthews Band,
The Rolling Stones, and
U2.
John Paul Jones Arena, which opened in 2006, is the home arena of the Cavalier
basketball teams, in addition to serving as a site for concerts and other events. The arena is one of the largest basketball venues in the
Atlantic Coast Conference, being the biggest not located in a major metropolitan area. In its first season in the new arena concluded in
March 2007, the Virginia men's basketball team tied with
UNC for 1st in the ACC.
Both men's and women's
lacrosse have become a significant part of the Charlottesville sports scene. The Virginia Men's team won their first
NCAA Championship in 1972; in 2006, they won their fourth National Championship and became the first NCAA Men's lacrosse team to become undefeated Champions. Virginia's Women's team has three
NCAA Championships to its credit, with wins in 1991, 1993, and 2004. The soccer program is also strong; the Men's team shared a national title with Santa Clara in 1989 and won an unprecedented four consecutive NCAA Division I Championships (1991-1994). Their coach during that period was
Bruce Arena, who later won two MLS titles at D.C. United and coached the U.S. National Team during the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.
Charlottesville area high school sports have been prominent throughout the state. Charlottesville is a hotbed for lacrosse in the country, with teams such as
St. Anne's-Belfield School,
The Covenant School,
Tandem Friends School,
Charlottesville Catholic School,
Western Albemarle High School and
Albemarle High School. St. Anne's-Belfield School won its fourth state championship in ten years in football in 2006. The Covenant School won the state title for boys cross country in 2007-8 school year, the second win in as many years, and that year the girls cross country team won the state title.
Monticello High School won the Group AA state football title in 2007.
Albemarle High School's boys 4x800 track team currently holds the world record.
Transportation
Charlottesville is served by
Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, the
Charlottesville Amtrak Station, and a
Greyhound Lines intercity bus terminal. Direct bus service to
New York City is also provided by the . The provides area bus service, augmented by , a regional
paratransit van service.
University Transit Service provides mass transit for students and residents in the vicinity of the University of Virginia. The highways passing through Charlottesville are
I-64, its older parallel east-west route
US 250, and the north-south
US 29. Also
Virginia State Route 20 passes north-south through downtown.
US 29 and
US 250 by-pass the city. Charlottesville has four exits on
I-64.
Rail transportation
Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, provides service to Charlottesville with three routes: The
Cardinal (service between Chicago and New York City via central Virginia and Washington, D.C.), select
Northeast Regional trains (service between Boston and Lynchburg) and the
Crescent (service between New York City and New Orleans). The Cardinal operates three times a week, the Crescent daily in both directions, and the Regional twice per day.
Charlottesville was once a major rail hub, served by both the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) and the
Southern Railway. The first train service to Charlottesville was by the Louisa Railroad Company, which became the
Virginia Central Railroad, before becoming the C&O. The Southern Railway started service to Charlottesville around the mid-1860s with a north-south route crossing the C&O east-west tracks. The new depot which sprang up at the crossing of the two tracks was called Union Station. In addition to the new rail line, Southern located a major repair shop which produced competition between the two rail companies and bolstered the local economy. The Queen Charlotte hotel went up on West Main street along with restaurants for the many new railroad workers.
The former C&O station on East Water Street was turned into offices in the mid 1990s. Union Station, still a functional depot for Amtrak, is located on West Main street between 7th & 9th streets where the tracks of the former C&O Railway (leased by C&O successor
CSX to
Buckingham Branch Railroad) and Southern (now
Norfolk Southern Railway) lines cross. Amtrak and the city of Charlottesville finished refurbishing the station just after 2000, upgrading the depot and adding a full-service restaurant. The Amtrak Crescent travels on Norfolk Southern's dual north-south tracks. The Amtrak Cardinal runs on the Buckingham Branch east-west single track, which follows
U.S. Route 250 from
Staunton to a point east of Charlottesville near Cismont. The eastbound Cardinal joins the northbound Norfolk Southern line at
Orange, on its way to Washington, D.C.
There are proposals to extend
Virginia Railway Express, the
commuter rail line connecting
Northern Virginia to
Washington, DC, to Charlottesville.
Media
Charlottesville has a main daily newspaper:
The Daily Progress. Weekly publications include and
The Hook along with the monthly magazines and . A daily newspaper,
The Cavalier Daily, is published by an independent student group at UVa. Additionally, the alternative newsmagazine of UVa, , is printed every other week with new online content every week. The monthly newspaper
Echo covers holistic health and related topics.
Charlottesville is served by most of the major national networks:
WVIR 29 (NBC/CW on DT2),
WHTJ 41 (PBS),
WCAV 19 (CBS),
WAHU 27 (FOX), and
WVAW 16 (ABC). News radio in Charlottesville can be heard on 89.7,
WINA 1070,
WCHV 1260, and
WVAX 1450. FM stations include WWWV (classic rock) 97.5, WCYK (country) 99.7, WHTE (CHR) 101.9, WZGN (Generations) 102.3, and WWTJ (Tom) 107.5. There are also several community radio stations operated out of Charlottesville, including
WNRN and
WTJU.
aggregates many area blogs. Notable blogs are , , and . and the cover growth and development issues.
Education
A public university,
University of Virginia, is located in Charlottesville.
Charlottesville is served by the
Charlottesville City Public Schools. The school system operates six elementary schools,
Buford Middle School, and
Charlottesville High School. It operated
Lane High School jointly with Albemarle County from 1940-1974, when it was replaced by Charlottesville High School.
Charlottesville also has the following private schools, some attended by students from Albemarle county and surrounding areas:
City children also attend several private
schools in the surrounding county.
Demographics
right|thumb|City HallAs of the
census of 2000, there were 45,049 people, 16,851 households, and 7,633 families residing in the city. The
population density was 4,389.7 people per square mile (1,695.3/km²). There were 17,591 housing units at an average density of 1,714.1/sq mi (662.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.56%
White, 22.22%
Black or African American, 0.11%
Native American, 4.93%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 1.02% from
other races, and 2.13% from two or more races. 2.45% of the population were
Hispanics or Latinos of any race.
There were 16,851 households out of which 20.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.2% were
married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.7% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.85.
The age distribution was 15.2% under the age of 18, 33.8% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.
The city's low median age and the "bulge" in the 18-to-24 age group are both due to the presence of the University of Virginia.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,007, and the median income for a family was $45,110. Males had a median income of $31,197 versus $26,458 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $16,973. About 12.0% of families and 25.9% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 20.8% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
Crime
The city of Charlottesville has an overall
crime rate higher than the national average, which tends to be a typical pattern for urban areas of the
Southern United States. The total
crime index for Charlottesville was 487.9
crimes committed per 100,000 citizens for the year of 2006, the national average for the
United States was 320.9 crimes committed per 100,000 citizens. For the year of 2006, Charlottesville ranked higher on all
violent crimes except for
robbery, the city ranked lower in all categories of
property crimes except for
larceny theft. As of 2008, there was a total of 202 reported
violent crimes, and 1,976
property crimes.
Notable residents
Since the city's early formation, it has been home to numerous notable individuals, from historic figures
Thomas Jefferson and
James Monroe, to literary giants
Edgar Allan Poe and
William Faulkner. In the present day, Charlottesville is home to, or has been the home of movie stars
Sissy Spacek,
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and
Sam Shepherd, novelist
John Grisham, the poet
Rita Dove,
NFL Hall of Fame member
Howie Long, the rock band
Dave Matthews Band, and reality TV star Colin Steers, from the Bravo TV show
Make Me a Supermodel. Charlottesville was also the home of
Anna Anderson, who claimed to be the
Grand Duchess Anastasia and to have survived the massacre of the Russian Imperial Family.
Sister cities
Charlottesville has three
sister cities:
See also
