The Carver Inn

Charlottesville County · dedicated 2024 · Preston Ave., east of intersection with Forest Ave.

The Carver Inn (ca. 1947) on this site was among the few lodging places in Charlottesville where African Americans could stay during segregation. Featuring fine dining, a private social club, and a beauty salon, the inn was host to famous guests including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Thurgood Marshall. Gregory Swanson, the first African American to attend the University of Virginia, resided here after his successful lawsuit to gain admission to the graduate law program. The Carver Inn was listed in the Green Book, a national guide to facilities that served African American travelers. It was demolished in the mid-1970s during a road-widening project that razed several Black-owned properties.

University Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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