Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/15/2016
NRHP Listing Date 05/08/2017
NRHP Reference Number SG100000984
The Markel Building, a distinctive Richmond area landmark, is also one of the most unusual office buildings in Virginia. Designed in Neo-Expressionist style, the Henrico County office building was commissioned by brothers Lewis and Irvin Markel of the Markel Insurance Corporation in 1964 and completed in 1966. For their ambitious project, the Markel brothers specifically chose controversial local architect Haigh Jamgochian because they sought an unusual, eye-catching building and had been impressed by Jamgochian’s previous design for an unbuilt but widely published Richmond apartment building known as “The Treehouse”. Jamgochian only had two of his designs ever built, of which the Markel Building is the only one extant; the other, known as the “Moon House,” was demolished in 2005. Clad in sheets of crimpled aluminum, the Markel Building rises three cantilevered stories above an open ground-level oval parking deck. The Markel Building still retained much of its material integrity at the time of listing in the registers, although original interior doors have been replaced.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: March 9, 2023
