Our newest property, Cary Place in Richmond, VA, includes a classic home at 1319 W. Main Street, on the corner of Main Street and Randolph Street. The Cary Place city block has other historic preservation buildings that are better known and more prominent, but this elegant structure, which was converted to a duplex in 2004 as part of a broader renovation, has a distinctive look of its own. As we consider rebranding and marketing Cary Place, we were led to wonder about 1319’s history and the prominence of the Randolph name in Richmond.
The story of Virginia Estelle Randolph is remarkable, and you can read about it on Henrico County, Virginia's website and in Richmond Magazine. The Randolph section of Richmond and Randolph Street, which runs through it, honor her and indicate her esteem in the early 1900s. Her home in Henrico is now a museum and National Historic Landmark, which is adjacent to the Virginia Randolph Education Center. She was a trailblazer, and the admiration and support she attracted is evident in the neighborhood and the state more widely, as seen here.
It is unlikely that Virginia Randolph lived in or had any interest in the lovely home on the corner of a street named after her, and if the historians are correct she was likely focused on more important things than places named in her honor. But for us at University Property, as we considered a brand identity for this classy, historic home on the corner of Randolph Street, there could be nothing better or more appropriate than: Randolph House.