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Form 10-300 STATE:
UNITED S T A T E S DEPARTMENT OF THC INTERIOR
(DOC. 19681
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Virginia

i NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNT":
J
-INVENTORY NOMINATION FORM . . Richmond ( i n c i t . ) .
(2.
,. , .. . FOR NPS USE ONLY

(Type all entries - cornplcfe applicable sections) -, C,, ENTRY NUMBER DaTE

. .. , . . 69-04-4:Xa 14/16/61
.
NAME --

COMMON: ,. ..,> . .
~
Egyptian Building
.-

ANO'O!3 H8STORIC:

Egyptian Building . .,

LOCSATION

I STREET *NO NUMBER:

SW corner o f E . Marshall S t r e e t and College S t r e e t

C l T I OR TOWN:

Richmond

STATE

b. Virginia
CLASSIFICATION
iz u: o:.trict
V) CATEGORY OWNFRSHIP STATUS ACCESSIBLE
TO THE PUBLIC
(Cheek One) Public Acquisition:
avilding In Process
- isit*'O IJ Strucsre a Public Baing Conxidcred 0cs~pi.d Yes:
Unoccupied
0 Pri*mts I n Restricted

nObi.<, Both Pre.errotion work Unres1rist.d

I- i I ,i n progress IJ N:,

U I

A [ ~ ] Covrrnment Park Trensportetion n Comments U

I- Edusotion.1 B Military Private Kcsidence Other ( S p o c i f ~ J
I -n -VI
~ntsrtainmanb Museum n Reli~ious 0 -

- 1 OWNERS N I M C : a Scientific -- 0

,.

w / V i r g i n i a Commonwealth University (Medical College o f Virginia)

STREET A N D NUMBER.

W STATE. rD

VI C I T Y O R TOWN. -V i r g i n i a

Richmond

-- - -5. L O C A T I O N OF-L-E G A L D E S C R I P T--I O N
COURTHOUSE RECLSTRY O F DEEDS E T C

Richmond Citv Hall

I I

C l T I 0 1 TOWN: STATE

E%EMPrEn YirPinia
-- ----. . c R s I O c O E NI,MINATEo P n O v F R T v :
- -I N~E..X..I S T I N G S U R V E Y S 374 acre

-- lvgHistoric American Buildings Su--rv-e-y- I. nventory 51.t. El County [I1 :. Iz
OITE OF SVRVEI: ~ . d * r o l 1% Local C ]
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OEPOSITORY FOR I U R Y E I RECORD$:
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- Library of Congress

< STREET A N 0 NUMDER:

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE 1
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
, .V -i-rDo-..i-n.. i 9
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
COUNTY
-INVENTORY NOMINATION FORM
Richmond ( i n c i t . )

FOR NPS USE ONLY

(Continuation Sheet) ENTRYNUMBER DATE

69-04-4g-oohj
.
(Numbet all entrlo.) >,.
.-,..,
, , i ,I' ,' ,- ' .: '

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6
6 . V i r g i n i a H i s t o r i c Landmarks Commission Report #127-87: i,..
,, i(.?TjO;.!.r,~
1968
i<zc;s>.;,;Virginia Historic Landmarks Conmission
.
Room 1116, Ninth S t r e e t S t a t e O f f i c e Building
:, ,.'I,\:$. --:1':..:..<>>..:. 1L/.\,a.\, ,./.:'.,;/.;
.Richmond, Virginia 23219
Code: 760

L CONO'T'ON <xccllent 0 Good Fair .- U Ruins rn nm,Unexwsed I
INTEGRITY
Altered ..(Chock OhaJ Deteriorated --Moved (Check One)

Unaltered 1 Orisin01Site

D E S C R l S E T H E P R E S E N T A N D O R I G I N A L ( I ~ L ~ o w IP;H) Y S I C A L A P P E A R A N C E

The Egyptian B u i l d i n g i s b a s i c a l l y a temple-form s t r u c t u r e w i t h n e a r l y
i d e n t i c a l facades a t e i t h e r end. These facades a r e each composed o f a

p o r t i c o c o n t a i n i n g two palm c a p i t a l columns i n a n t i s , w i t h e l o n g a t e d pylons
framing t h e p o r t i c o e s a t t h e c o r n e r s of t h e b u i l d i n g . The pylon motif i s

r e p e a t e d a s enframements f o r t h e windows on t h e s i d e s o f t h e b u i l d i n g .
Crowning the e n t i r e s t r u c t u r e is a massive torus cornice and a very shallow

I 1hipped r o o f .

It is fortunate that such a significant building a s the Egyptian Building
has s u r v i v e d w i t h few e x t e r i o r a l t e r a t i o n s . I t s c a r e f u l l y and p r e c i s e l y
executed d e t a i l is a most scholarly i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of ancient forms. In
1939 t h e e x t e r i o r o f t h e b u i l d i n g was renovated through t h e g e n e r o s i t y o f

Bernard Baruch i n memory of h i s f a t h e r who graduated from Medical C o l l e g e
of Virginia i n 1862, and served a s a Confederate surgeon during the C i v i l
War. U n f o r t u n a t e l y none of t h e o r i g i n a l i n t e r i o r s s u r v i v e ; however, t h e
present auditorium, installed during the 1939 renovation, contains

interesting Egyptian-style decoration.

8. SIGNIFICAN-C.E... --

P E ~ I O D(check Orze or More u s AppreprlnrcJ [x18th Century

[IPrs-Columbion 16th Century 191h Century 0'Bth Century

015th Century 17th Century

1845S P E C I F I C D A T E I S ) (I1 A p p l i c a b l ~endKr8.w")

A a r r r OF S~ONIF!FINCE (Check Ono or MOW =a=APP~OPI~~IO)
' a: *bdr ipindl :' - : . . . ~ d ~ ~ b ; l ; o ~. '
, ~elitieal n: . I , ;:urbanptonhihp , :,
. m..' : Other .fSpsclfy) ,
.Prehistoric Engineering 0 Raligion/Phiz :

.~ i i t o i i c , .n.Industry I : :. :, I I ,,Architecture . .

Agriculture invention . Science ~ [j , .. ' I

Art Londscap. Sculpture ;:0 ,. -.11
cornmcrco
n aArchitecture s ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I / H ~ ~ . .~ L

0Comrnunicotions Litarotur. itorion 0,' .,
~i~itar~ ~heotcl :,
Ccnrsrvotion 0 ' Q, ., , .' ,

Music 13 0T r a n ~ ~ o t t a l l ~

S T A T E M E N T O F O I G N I F I C I N C E (Includa P e r a ~ a # ~ Ds a, te*, B v e n l s . S I C . )

I n 1838 Hampden-Sydney C o l l e g e e s t a b l i s h e d a medical department i n

Richmond which occupied t h e o l d Union Hotel a t 1 9 t h and Main S t r e e t s .
S e v e r a l y e a r s l a t o r t h i s medical d e p a r t m e a t was c h a r t e r e d by t h e s t a t e a s

t h e Medical C o l l e g e o f Vir,ginia. The Egyptian B u i l d i n g , designed by t h e
n o t e d Greek Revival a r c h i t e c t , Thomas S t e w a r t , was t h e f i r s t b u i l d i n g p u t
up e s p e c i a l l y f o r t h e new c o l l e g e . Completed i n 1845, t h i s e x o t i c e d i f i c e
was a r a d i c a l d e p a r t u r e from t h e c u r r e n t a r c h i t e c t u r a l t r a d i t i o n s of the

c i t y . Not o n l y h a s t h e Egjrptian B u i l d i n g becolrle a symbol o f a d i s t i n g u i s h c

I school, it survives a s the oldest medical college building i n the South.
A r c h i t e c t u r a l l y , t h e Egyptian Building ranks a s the f i n e s t Egyptian Revival
b u i l d i n g i n t h e n a t i o n . '.

F O 10~-r)o. UNITED STATES O E P A R T ~ E N TOF THE INTERIOR
- . (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Richmond

-INVENTORY NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY

IEgyptian Building (Continuation Sheet) ENTRY NVMeER DATE
(Nrnb.. .I1 ."l,l..)
I

I
II 8. statement of significance
H!S-rOZlC LANDMARK

In the f i r s t decade of t h e 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian
Campaign (1798-1801) created a widespread, a l b e i t b r i e f , vogue f o r things
Egyptian. This fashion was r e f l e c t e d i n f u r n i t u r e , jewelery, and c l o t h e s
more s o than i n the more expensive and permanent medium of a r c h i t e c t u r e . In
Europe and i n the United S t a t e s t h e a r c h i t e c t u r e of t h e ancient Egyptians did
not i n s p i r e the same emotions of c u l t u r a l kinship a s d i d t h a t of the ancient
Greeks and Romans. The Egyptian s t y l e was thought of an exotic. The Egyptian
buildings b e s t known t o t h e public were r e s t i n g places o r monuments t o the
dead. Therefore, t h e s t y l e seemed a l s o t o suggest r a t h e r lugubrious functions

I n the United States the Egyptian Revival s t y l e enjoyed a limited popularity
i n the middle decades of t h e 19th century. It was o f t e n used with a c e r t a i n
s t e r n e s s of purpose such a s cemetery gateways, p r i s o n s , and obelisks t o honor
the dead. The two most outstanding Egyptian Revival buildings i n t h e United
S t a t e s a r e t h e F i r s t Presbyterian Church i n Nashville Tennessee, and t h e
Egyptian Building i n Richmond. B u i l t i n 1845 by the a r c h i t e c t Thomas Stewart
f o r t h e Medical College of Virginia, t h e Egyptian Building i s uncompromisingl]
Egyptian i n o v e r a l l form a s well a s i n d e t a i l . B u i l t on a s t e e p grassed r i s e
above the c i t y s t r e e t , t h e building is surrounded on two s i d e s by a superb
c a s t i r o n fence i n t h e same s t y l e . The g a t e posts a r e small stone obelisks
and the fence p o s t s a r e s t y l i z e d c a s t i r o n murmny f i g u r e s with r a t h e r unexpectc
bare feet. Despite the remodeling of the i n t e r i o r i n 1929, the Egyptian

Building remains t h e b e s t example of t h e Egyptian Revival s t y l e remaining i n
the United States.

v

The U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s o f V i r g i n i a , 1968.

Commonr~ealth, February, 1964.
S c o t t , Mary Wingfield, Old Richmond Neithborhoods, Richmond; W h i t t e t and

Shepperson, 1950.
"The F i r s t 125 y e a r s " , B u l l e t i n o f t h e Medical College of V i r g i n i a . ,.:.

37 32 25

As the designated State Liaison Officer tor the Ns-

In the National Register and certify that it has been

evaluated according to the criteria end procehres s e t

forth by the National Park Service. l%e recommended

l e v e l of significance of this nomination is:

National Q State Local

.Nume D r . Edward P. Alexander

Title C h a i r r a n . V i r ~ l i n i aH i s t c r i c
Landmarks Commission