Court End Neighborhood

Court End’s modern boundaries include 10th Street to the west, Leigh Street to the north, Broad Street to the South and I-95 to the east, but the original boundaries extended much farther. Today, the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University along with city and state government buildings dominate the once residential neighborhood.  

The area known as Shockoe Hill began growing when the state capital moved from Williamsburg to Richmond in the late 1700s, and the current Virginia State Capitol site was chosen over Church Hill.  Politicians, lawyers and judges such as Supreme Court Justice John Marshall and attorney John Wickham built homes in this area to be close to the courthouse and the Capitol.  

Boundaries during the early 1800s stretched from Capitol Square across East Broad Street to Leigh Street and covered from North 8th to College streets. 

As the city began to expand westward toward Grace and Franklin Streets in the 1840s, several of the Italianate and Greek Revival homes in Court End were torn down, and the area became more commercial.  

Remaining today from the late 18th and 19th century are several of the original buildings, including the John Marshall House, the Brockenbrough House (also known as the White House of the Confederacy), the Egyptian Building (Medical College of Virginia), Monumental Church, the Executive Mansion (residence of the Governor of Virginia), the Virginia State Capitol and several buildings in the 1000 block of Clay Street including John Wickham’s home (link to Wickham House fs), which is part of the Valentine Museum.  

To learn more about these and other historic structures in the neighborhood, please check out our self-guided Court End walking tour.  

Sources

• Court End, Venture Richmond, https://venturerichmond.com/live-downtown/historic-neighborhoods/court-end/ 
• “Court End: One of Richmond’s Earliest Standout Neighborhoods, Albeit with a Different Name,” Doug Childers, Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 30, 2024. https://richmond.com/realestate/features/richmond-neighborhoods/court-end-one-of-richmond-s-earliest-standout-neighborhoods-albeit-with-a-different-name/article_9f6227a0-ec40-11ee-a10c-57e490607efe.html