Thomas Jefferson High School

Charles M. Robinson
1930
4100 W Grace St

Thomas Jefferson High School is one of Richmond’s most important Art Deco buildings. Although the structure is a full block long, repetitive limestone ribs give the facade a strong vertical emphasis. The three-story limestone building is crowned by a ziggurat topped with a glass orb. Low relief sculptures illustrating the life of Thomas Jefferson adorn the entry and other parts of the facade. The carvings make skillful use of the simplified aesthetic language of Art Deco. (Sadly, the name of the sculptor is not known.)

The school’s architect, Richmond-based Charles M. Robinson (1867-1932), was well-known for designing in the Colonial Revival style. He was one of the most prolific in Virginia history, completing hundreds of buildings across the Commonwealth in less than three decades of independent practice. Robinson’s specialty was schools—he completed dozens in Virginia including more than 60 structures on William & Mary’s campus alone.

The school, colloquially known as Tee Jay, opened in 1930, building the capacity of the school system in the newly developing West End of Richmond. The residential blocks around the school were still sparsely settled at this time, but the classrooms filled quickly. During World War II, more than 1,200 Tee Jay students served in the armed forces, many of whom had not yet completed their studies. 73 perished overseas. 

Although the military began integrating in 1948, Richmond’s public school remained segregated until after the Brown v. Board decision of 1954. A further federal court ruling in 1966 ordered the city to consciously integrate schools, rather than simply leave school integration to “freedom of choice.” Busing began in 1970, successfully integrating the school. Mirroring trends around the city and nation, school enrollment declined as a result of many white families abandoning the school system and moving to the suburbs. The school board twice considered closing the school, but student and alumni families, who by then were predominantly black, rallied to save the institution. 

Thomas Jefferson’s enrollment eventually stabilized and it remains an important part of the city’s school system. Since 1999, it has offered an International Baccalaureate (IB) program—still the only public IB program in the city. TJ was the original location of Richmond’s Governor’s School for Government and International Studies, before it moved to the Maggie L. Walker school building in the Carver neighborhood.

DOK