But fate had other plans for Murphy. In 1999, she and her partner, the glass to move. We went around the neighborhood and a lot of
Oliver Kuttner, approached the Archer family about buying the old the residents helped in the building and took pride in it as part of
Cavalier Beverage Building. “We made a hand shake deal that they their neighborhood. Short of a ladder falling or some accident from
honored even after higher offers came in,” said Murphy. “Soon the tenants themselves, we’ve never had a broken glass!”
after, Alana did start development on the Design Center. It’s the
kind of history that made downtown Charlottesville.”
“We were enchanted with the idea of owning, renovating, living and working in a historic warehouse in downtown Charlottesville where
The Cavalier Beverage Building, now known as the Glass
we could, perhaps, attract other families and small businesses to an urban downtown Charlottesville.”
Building, was a large open butler building storing beer, with
offices where the Downtown Family Health Care is located today.
“Because the property was so big we were concerned about cutting The “pink warehouse” at 100 South Street West is owned by
off the street between the residential area and Downtown,” said architectural historian and author Roulhac Toledano, who has
Murphy. “We made an effort to be an open, inviting bridge by renovated over two-dozen historic buildings in New Orleans, New
tearing away the tin and replacing it with as much glass as we Mexico and Charlottesville. Tax records of 1917 include a notation
could. People said we were crazy so close to the tracks with the about the building, which was owned by the Albemarle Grocery
vibration or that we would be inviting kids to break glass. But my Company. In 1929, Albemarle Grocery Company merged with
partner has the best engineering mind and created enough room for the Michie Grocery Company and became the Albemarle-Michie
Company and continued its operation from
this site.
When Roulhac first bought the three-story
building in 1983, the Downtown Mall was
rarely used. She hoped her investment
in the area would change all that. “We
were enchanted with the idea of owning,
renovating, living and working in a historic
warehouse in downtown Charlottesville
where we could, perhaps, attract other
families and small businesses to an urban
downtown Charlottesville.” And she did.
With Martha Gleason, Kay Slaughter and
other volunteers, Roulhac worked to bring
Heading across the tracks from Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall
the City Market to the downtown area. “The
Bright refurbished buildings and a strong sense
will bring you into the Warehouse District. of community are making the warehouses a vital
part of the downtown scene.
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