The Shockoe Examiner

34th Annual Postcard Show and Sale, Friday, Nov. 11th and Sat. Nov. 12

2011-11-04T16:43:00.000-04:00

The 34th Annual Postcard Show and Sale, sponsored by the Old Dominion Postcard Club, will take place on Friday, November 11, 2011 - 10am - 4pm AND Saturday, November 12, 2010 10am - 6pm. The event will be held at the Clarion Richmond Central (the old Holiday Inn Central), 3207 N. Boulevard, Richmond, VA

In close proximity to Interstates 64 and 95.

Donation is $3.00.

More than 25 postcard dealers! Millions of Postcards!

For additional information about the show, please contact Jim Adams at (804) 750-2535 or Mike Uzel at (804) 526-2628.

Here's a chance to own some history - acquire Rare views of Virginia localities and of towns, cities, etc. from all over the U.S. and the World.

Thousands and thousands of locations, thousands and thousands of topics.

Want an idea of the kinds of cards you can buy? Visit this site on Richmond postcards for an idea of the scope of postcards you'll find at the Postcard Show and Sale.

Image Challenge - What Street Is This? What Block? And When?

2011-10-19T13:01:00.002-04:00

Hello - Here's a new challenge for you.

What Street Is This? What Block? And When?

Hints are In the image.

Answer to appear this weekend.
(click on image for a much larger view)

Good Luck.

"Lewis Ginter" author speaks and signs books 2 pm - Oct. 28, 2011 - James Branch Cabell Library, VCU Libraries

2011-10-17T14:21:00.000-04:00

Brian Burns will discuss his just-published book, Lewis Ginter: Richmond's Gilded Age Icon, at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28th in the second floor multi-purpose room of the James Branch Cabell Library. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture at 3 p.m. in Special Collections and Archives on the fourth floor. The events are free and open to the public.

The author used the VCU Libraries' Special Collections and Archives (and other Richmond area institutions) during the research phase for the book.

"As a war hero, philanthropist and entrepreneur, Lewis Ginter was many things to Richmond. Ginter was the first major marketer of the hand-rolled cigarette in America. He developed one of America's first streetcar suburbs and built the magnificent Jefferson Hotel, a symbol of Richmond's ambition and prosperity. But beyond the well-known history of this River City icon, there are many aspects of his personal and professional life that few know about. Join local writer Brian Burns as he delves into the hidden history of Ginter's extraordinary life to fill in the gaps between Ginter the man and Ginter the legend."

Author Brian Burns has lived in Richmond since 1987. He lives in Bellevue, one of the neighborhoods that Lewis Ginter pioneered.

Let Ray know if you have any questions - rfbonis@vcu.edu

STYLE Weekly review

Punishment of a Negro at Richmond, VA., and New Market, Corner of Market and Sixth Street, Richmond, VA, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, August 10, 1865,

2011-10-14T15:46:00.001-04:00

These images are courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, VCU Libraries. They are from the department's Richmond Prints Collection. These two images are from the August 10, 1865 issue of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper.

Click on the images for larger views.

Illustrated by J. E. Taylor.

Illustrated by J. Becker.

-- Ray.

Richmond’s Lost Skyway: The Marshall Street Viaduct

2011-10-10T12:46:00.003-04:00

Marshall Street Viaduct as it appeared on a postcard ca. 1920 - the back of the card reads: "This beautiful viaduct spanning Shockoe Valley from Fourteenth to Twenty-first Streets was constructed for the Richmond and Henrico Street Railway, and is open to the public for general traffic connecting the Eastern and Western portions of the city."

Today it is hard to imagine driving a straight and level street from the modern VCU Medical Center campus, through the sky above Shockoe Valley and into the heart of Church Hill, but from the morning of February 12, 1911, until the afternoon of June 26, 1970, the Marshall Street Viaduct served Richmonders as the easiest route between the two hills. Running from College and Marshall streets, straight through what is now the Massey Cancer Center, the Viaduct carried Marshall Street across the valley to the Twenty-first Street at Jefferson Park, half a mile away.

This view is from the modern intersection of Marshall and
College streets - a view today blocked by the Massey Cancer Center facility.

The construction of the Viaduct by the Richmond and Henrico Railway as it marched across Shockoe Valley on its tall steel legs was followed with much interest in the Richmond newspapers. A photograph from the period shows the bridge’s towering path above Marshall Street, striding above the houses in the valley below. The shadow of the new bridge marked the hours for students at Marshall School at 19^th and Marshall Street, and crept over the coal depots, the railroad tracks, the machine shops, and the roofs of warehouses and homes in the valley below.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch estimated that on the day it opened, thousands of people took advantage of the view from the Viaduct on that February Sunday before the tolls were put in place. As they stood at the railing, they looked to the south and the green hills of Manchester rose above the river valley, beyond the clock tower of Main Street Station. To the north, the factories and warehouses of Shockoe Valley gave way to a neighborhood of small houses, mostly populated by African Americans, and beyond them, a busy locomotive factory at the upper end of the valley.

Below the delighted pedestrians who experienced the Marshall Street Viaduct on its opening day, trains moved around the sidings and main lines of Shockoe Valley like toys. Directly under the roadway, they could peer down on the roof of the Richmond City Jail, tucked against the sheer wall of Shockoe Hill below the Egyptian Building of the Medical College.

“The visitors moved leisurely about the viaduct, and many of them were much interested in peering over the high hand-rails for a view below, nearly 200 feet,” reported a Richmond newspaper. “The dizzying height was too much for many, and one glance below at passing trains was sufficient.”

The Viaduct was also witness to the famous collapse of a railroad tunnel under Church Hill in 1925, whose western portal was very near the base of the Viaduct. Rescue shafts were sunk into the tunnel from Jefferson Park above, and it was possible to follow their progress from the sidewalk of the eastern end of the Viaduct.

In the foreground are the shafts sunk in an attempt to rescue the crew of the train buried in the Church Hill railroad tunnel collapse. In the background is the elevator that allowed transfers

for street car riders with a line in the valley below

The streetcar line that ran down Broad Street Hill had been the scene of many spectacular runaway streetcar accidents, to the point these crashes were sometimes featured in national newspapers. In the photograph of rescue efforts at the tunnel collapse, it is possible to see an enclosed elevator from the roadway of the Marshall Street Viaduct down to the valley floor. After 1915 this elevator allowed streetcar passengers such as commuting workers in Shockoe factories to ride up to the level of the Viaduct, and then catch another streetcar east or west to downtown, avoiding the treacherous Broad Street hill. A ticket for this unique vertical transfer remains one of the most desired items for collectors of American streetcar memorabilia.

This photo of the Viaduct shows the amount of material that was pushed into Shockoe Valley from Jackson Ward and Navy Hill.  In the foreground the supports of the Viaduct have been protected by the flood of debris by concrete walls.  To the right is the area where the highway material covered part of the Burial Ground for Negroes site.

The late 1950s saw the construction of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike (now Interstate 95), which tore through Jackson Ward and Navy Hill. The bricks and debris and even the ground under these two Richmond neighborhood was bulldozed and shoved like a flood into the western edge of Shockoe Valley. Construction of the highway destroyed hundreds of houses, completely obliterated Navy Hill, and flowed down the valley over the site of the Burying Ground for Negroes and the old City jail, and around the supports of the Marshall Street Viaduct. Concrete cofferdams preserved the Viaduct’s pilings and, for a time, demonstrated the original level of the valley floor.

Last car to cross the viaduct.

The end came in 1970, half an hour after City Works Director Wilkinson received a letter from a New York engineering firm which, after surveying the bridge, found, “the margin of structural adequacy of the present viaduct is questionable…the Marshall Street viaduct should be closed to all traffic at once.” Wilkinson picked up the telephone and had the police immediately reroute traffic away from the Viaduct entrances.

This postcard view from Church Hill shows the Marshall Street Viaduct on the right

where it met the Medical College of Virginia campus.

City Councilman Howard H. Carwile declared, “we’d have to be a real lunatic to open that bridge again and I doubt we will.” They never did, and today not a trace remains of the massive concrete bases or the steel supports of Richmond’s lost skyway. It would be six years before the two hills were once again united (this time by Leigh Street) with the opening of the Martin Luther King Memorial Bridge in 1976.

- Selden Richardson.

Riverfront Plan, Richmond, Virginia - Public Forum, October 18, 2011.

2011-10-10T12:02:00.001-04:00

Riverfront Plan, Richmond, Virginia - Public Forum, October 18, 2011.

Click on the poster to see a larger image.

The Mosque - Part of the "Arabesque" in Richmond

2011-10-10T11:55:00.003-04:00

Image from Untangling the Arabesque: Islamic Design Elements in the VCU Monnroe Park Campus, Richmond, Virginia, 2007 by Leila Prasertwaitaya, Research Assistant in Special Collections and Archives, VCU Libraries. Read it Online - it's very interesting.

What building is this in Richmond, Virginia?

2011-10-02T15:33:00.003-04:00

This elaborate niche is on a famous Richmond building. What is the building? When was the building built? The building still stands. The image is only about three years old.

If you are a published Richmond architect, you can not participate in this quiz. We'll have quizes for your expertise in the future.

- Ray

===

Update: Yup, its the Mosque. See the next post for more information.

The Jefferson [Hotel], Richmond, Virginia (1890) - Online book

2011-09-26T16:03:00.002-04:00

From the Internet Archive -

The Jefferson, Richmond, Virginia (1890)

Read it online - has some wonderful images of the Jefferson Hotel.

- Ray

Name this Richmond street.

2011-09-26T10:56:00.002-04:00

What Richmond street is this? Time period? What is the building on the left? What is the church building on the right?

- Ray

====Update====

It is Broad Street, from about 1910, with what is now Old City hall on the left. Broad Street Methodist Church on the right.

Dr. Edgar E. MacDonald (1917-2011) - Scholar, Co-worker, and Friend.

2011-09-12T14:26:00.024-04:00

Edgar E. MacDonald, 1998.

Dr. Edgar E. MacDonald (1917-2011) died last Thursday, September 8, 2011.

Dr. Mac., as we called him in Special Collections and Archives, was a literary scholar and long time English professor at Randolph-Macon College, from 1953 to 1984.

In his role as Senior Cabell Scholar at VCU Libraries, Dr. Mac. was the longest serving staff member in Special Collections and Archives at the James Branch Cabell Library. He began that relationship in the late 1980s when he was asked to write a biography of James Branch Cabell. After his research on Cabell was completed and the book published in 1993, he stayed on, working in the mornings in the department for a total of nearly 25 years.

He spent most of his time in the library writing on various aspects of Virginia literature, genealogy, and Richmond history. Much of what he wrote would be published in a variety of periodicals. He also wrote essays for, and edited, the newsletter of the Friends of the Virginia State Archives of the Library of Virginia. He had spent much time in the old state library building (when it was called the Virginia State Library and Archives) doing genealogical research. Edgar never forgave the Commonwealth for moving the Virginia archives and library across Broad Street into a new "monstrous" building. He also didn't like that they changed the name of the institution to the "Library of Virginia." He said many times they should have left the word "Archives" in the name.

Dr. Mac., along with long time VCU English professors Maurice Duke and E. Allan Brown, are credited with convincing VCU in 1968 to name its Monroe Park campus library after Richmond author James Branch Cabell. Dr. Mac. also helped pursued the Cabell family to donate Cabell's personal library - a collection of some 3,000 books and other papers - to the library. They are now housed in the Cabell Room located in Special Collections and Archives. He also helped revive scholarly interest in another Richmond native, Ellen Glasgow. He founded the Ellen Glasgow Society in the early 1970s, edited its newsletter for 10 years, and helped organize panel discussions on her life and work at numerous college English seminars.

Over the course of his lifetime he lived in many parts of Richmond and had memories that he shared with library staff and others about those neighborhoods. His earliest memory was of playing in a sand box in Monroe Park. He last address was the Prestwould apartment building located directly across from the park.

Dr. Mac. at his desk - composing as always.

2010 photo by Maurice Duke

I often said of Dr. Mac. that he knew "all things Richmond." That included most aspects of Richmond history but especially the cultural history of the city's elite of the late 19th and 20th centuries. He seemed to know, or knew of, most of the prominent figures of Richmond during his life time. When you walked down the street with Edgar, you could point to an old house and ask him who one lived there and he often could name 2 or 3 of its former occupants. I learned so much from him about Richmond history and its people. Everything I know about Cabell and the literary world that made up 1920s Richmond I learned from Edgar. He was like a walking Internet search engine.

Over the years Dr. Mac helped library staff, students, professors, and others with numerous research topics. He knew of obscure articles or other publications that might help the researcher. Most often the best information he shared were his own memories on events and topics. He seemed to have a bottomless memory of interesting stories.

He loved challenging people too. Many times he would walk up to a staff member or student worker and ask them, "So... what's it all about?" He liked hearing someone else's take on life and its mysteries. His own theories constantly changed. The one constant was that he said he was an agnostic - but "a hopeful one."

Dr. Mac. loved opera and on several occasions he would take a library staff member to the Carpenter Center as his guest. But he knew pop music and popular culture too. He knew the words to many 1960s songs including "Do You Believe in Magic?" by the Lovin' Spoonful and several Bob Dylan songs. He would sing them as well! And I'm sure he was one of the few 90 something year-olds who had any idea who Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and Sandra Bullock were (he liked them all).

He loved writing, he loved conversation.

And he adored cats. Throughout his life he had a series of them and in the 1980s he got a license plate that listed the first letter of all of their names (about 7 if I remember correctly).

He didn't mind pointing out the faults of others - but he was quick to point out his own.

His obituary appeared in today's Richmond Times-Dispatch. The obit. says his favorite author was James Branch Cabell. While he enjoyed Cabell's work, his favorite author was actually Ellen Glasgow. He could always find a place to quote her in just about anything he wrote - even in an article on some arcane aspect of genealogy. He knew her work inside and out (he would strike that last sentence because it was a cliche - he was a great editor too).

Edgar MacDonald was a real delight or as he would sometimes say of others, "utterly charming."

He was our co-worker, a professor we learned much from, a man we cared for, and our friend. He will be greatly missed.

- Ray

VCU has just posted a News Item about him. Randolph Macon did the same thing yesterday.

Rare view - 818 W. Main St., Richmond, Va - What is now the Main Street side of the Landmark Theatre, ca. 1870-80s??

2011-08-04T15:29:00.006-04:00

Another item I found on EBAY.

The back of the image reads:

818 W. Main St., Richmond, Va.

Katie and Lunelle Cheatham

at the gate

Eunice Binns at window.

“Jif” the mocking bird in cage.

Now site of Shrine Temple. [The Richmond Mosque, or what we call now, the Landmark Theatre]

Birthplace of K. Sewell Wingfield.

[Thanks to Sean Yeager on helping to figure out some of the names and the date range! See his comments - he looked at the original Ebay posting for clues. Good work!]

Rare view of "The Capital, Richmond, Virginia," from Ballou's Pictorial (Boston) newspaper dated February 27, 1858.

2011-08-04T15:05:00.001-04:00

Found this on EBAY - I'm too cheap to bid onit.

Rare view of "The Capital, Richmond, Virginia," from Ballou's Pictorial (Boston) newspaper dated February 27, 1858. The ad on Ebay also says the newspaper had images of "Guard House and Alarm Bell, Richmond, Virginia," "View of the Penitentiary, Richmond, Virginia."

You can see the City Hall building in the background.

-- Ray

First Psychedelic Rock Concert in Richmond (and Virginia) took place 44 years (& 2 days) ago on W. Broad Street, August 4, 1967.

2011-08-02T08:37:00.001-04:00

The image above is the poster for what was billed as the first psychedelic dance (rock concert) in Virginia - which took place in Richmond on August 4, 1967 at the Tantilla Gardens Ballroom on West Broad Street. The band was called the Actual Mushroom - made up of students from Richmond Professional Institute (now VCU). It featured a female singer. I believe this was the only time they performed together.

Colored lights provided by the crew that became the Air Flow Light Show (headed by Chuck Wrenn, Richmond's Rock-N-Roll impresario). I'm certain that Chuck did the artwork for this poster. Check out the places listed on the poster where you could buy tickets. All gone now.

Ross Mackenzie covered the event for the Richmond News-Leader and wrote that the band sounded like a “streetcar screeching to a stop.” Another account of the show (most likely the Richmond Times-Dispatch) stated that the dance was attended by “about 1000 people." Very Groovy.

Check out this site for more about Richmond and Virginia's Rock-N-Roll History. The Library of Virginia also has other images of posters from the Tantilla Gardens Ballroom.

- Ray B. [This is a re-posting of an earlier post - we've been on vacation but will be posting more starting next week.]

Clarence Clemons (1942-2011)

2011-06-19T18:53:00.002-04:00

Virginia native Clarence Clemons, the saxophone soul of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, died Saturday at age 69. He was born and raised in the Tidewater area. Both before and after Clemons hooked up with Springsteen on the Jersey Shore in 1971, Springsteen had some of his earliest success in the Richmond area.

“This was a town we made our living in for a long time,” Springsteen said at a Richmond show in 2003. “Back then there was only this place and one other place... thank God we had two places! This town kept us going, and you don’t forget that.” He summoned Virginians Robbin Thompson and Bruce Hornsby to the stage that night, and at a show in 1999 at the MCI Center, Hornsby and NoVa favorite Mary Chapin Carpenter joined the band.

An excellent obituary of Clarence Clemons by The Post’s Terence McArdle is here. And the definitive Clemons story, by the Springsteen site Backstreets.com, is here. From the churches to the jails, tonight all is silent in the world, Springsteen sang before Clemons’ epic solo in ”Jungleland.”

- from the Wash. Post.

[Click for larger view]

Here's an image of Bruce Springsteen and members of the E. Street Band at a sound check at the VCU Franklin St. Gym, February 14, 1973. Springsteen and his band opened for for Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks.

By the time Springsteen and the E Street Band played this 1973 show, the New Jersey rocker had played nearly 30 shows in Richmond with at least four of them at VCU.

From left to right are Clarence Clemons, Danny Federici on keyboards, Springsteen, Vini Lopez on drums, and Garry Tallent. Image was taken by Jeff Crossan, a student then at U of R. For more information about that particular show at VCU, visit BruceBase HERE.

Clarence.

New York Times.

"Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him alove of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years. He was my great friend, my partner and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band."

- Bruce Springsteen.

- Ray B.

The 1886-1887 Richmond YMCA building.

2011-06-12T13:05:00.005-04:00

The image is from the March 14, 1891 issue
of the American Architect and Building News.
[Double click on each image for a much larger view]

One of the earliest Richardsonian influenced building to be built in Richmond was one of the finest examples of the style to be produced in Virginia. The YMCA building was built 1885-1887 and was designed by the Philadelphia architectural firm of Cope and Stewardson. The building stood at the northwest corner of Main and Sixth streets.

The Philadelphia architectural firm of Walter Cope (1860-1902) and John Stewardson (1858-1896) are known mostly for their work as “major exponents and purveyors of the Collegiate Gothic” style of the late 19^th and early 20^th century. They designed numerous buildings for Bryn Mawr College, Princeton University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Pennsylvania. Both men had tutored worked under architects in Pennsylvania – Stewardson was briefly in the noted architect Frank Furnerss’s firm. And both men had traveled in Europe to study architecture. Stewardson’s education included time in the Atelier Pascal at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in France. Their firm was formed in 1885. The Richmond YMCA building was one of their first major commissions.

A complete history of the building will be available in July at the Richmondsonian web site.

-- Ray

What 1886-1887 building was this?

2011-05-05T09:25:00.003-04:00

Can you guess what building this was in Richmond? Built 1886-1887, the public building stood on the north west corner of Main and Sixth Streets. We will provide the answer next week with a lengthy history and description.

Multiple Exposure: Catablog of the Prints and Photographs Collection at the Library of Virginia

2011-05-05T09:16:00.001-04:00

"The Library of Virginia's Special Collections is proud to announce the launch of its new catablog!

http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/multiple_exposure/

Multiple Exposure: Catablog of the Prints and Photographs Collection @ the Library of Virginia is an interactive catalog created with WordPress blogging software - hence it is referred to as a “catablog.” Each post will include a description of the collection or file, a small visual sampling, notes on provenance and arrangement, and links to fuller, more complete finding aids and inventories when available. In an attempt to bring greater visibility to our print and photograph holdings, the catablog will be an ongoing project and we will be incrementally adding new posts on a regular basis."

New Web Site on Richardsonian Architecture of Richmond

2011-05-05T09:10:00.000-04:00

I have a new blog focusing on Richardsonian architecture in Richmond and building/architecture in Richmond from the 1880s to 1910 - visit the site HERE

- Ray B.

Neil Young visits Plan 9 Music in Richmond's Carytown, April 16, 2011.

2011-04-19T15:10:00.011-04:00

I think we can call this history: Neil Young in Plan 9 Music in Richmond's Carytown. More about the visit, which took place April 16, 2011, the day before he played a concert at the Landmark Theater (formely the Mosque), HERE. It was Record Store Day. Even Rolling Stone heard about it.

Photos shown here are by Emaleigh Franzak, Asst. Manager of Plan 9 Music. Emaleigh said Neil bought a record by It's A Beautiful Day. More about the band HERE.

More photos HERE.

Neil's mother's side of the family comes from near Petersburg, Virginia - just down the road from Richmond. She was born Edna Ragland (everyone knew her as Rassy).

BTW, I went to the concert - it was great. Could I have any more Links in this entry?!

UPDATE:

"Just to be clear, I only took the photo of Neil with It's a Beautiful Day -- all other photos were taken by James Nelson. Neil was very polite and friendly...I did thank him for coming in. It was a little odd to look Neil Young in the eye, but made for such a nice Record Store Day surprise!" - Emaleigh Franzak.

AND

"I actually bought the "It's a beautiful Day" lp after the photo was taken. Neil didn't buy it." - Anonymous.

Neil Young, Eric Johnson (tour manager), and the great Elliot Roberts, Neil's "manager" - he managed Joni Mitchell and others over the years.

And what did Neil play at the show the next night?
(Hitchhiker on YouTube)

1.	My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)
2.	Tell Me Why
3.	Helpless
4.	You Never Call
5.	Peaceful Valley Boulevard
6.	Love And War
7.	Down By The River
8.	Hitchhiker
9.	Ohio
10.	Sign Of Love
11.	Leia
12.	After The Gold Rush
13.	I Believe In You
14.	Rumblin'
15.	Cortez The Killer
16.	Cinnamon Girl
	---
17.	Walk With Me

- Ray B.

ThroTTle Magazine - 30 Years Later and Counting.

2011-04-19T14:14:00.004-04:00

Cover of ThroTTle magazine, Volume One, Number One, January 1981
published in Richmond from 1981 through 1999. A web site launched earlier this year.

The site has a history of the journal and links to complete issues and more, as they say.

A complete set of issues is housed in Special Collections and Archives at VCU Libraries' Special Collections and Archives. It is also available on microfilm at VCU Libraries and the Library of Virginia.

I was a student at VCU in the early 1980s and Throttle was one of the few Richmond periodicals produced in the city for my generation at this time (boy does that sound OLD). If you knew who the The Strange Ones were then you were cool.

What they say about themselves:

Throttle was an independent alternative music and culture magazine based in Richmond, Virginia. Throttle was founded in 1981 by Peter Blake, Dale Brumfield and Bill Panelas, all former editors of the Virginia Commonwealth University student newspaper, The Commonwealth Times. From its inaugural issue in January, 1981 (with original cover art by Frank Zappa), Throttle grew to become the voice of the burgeoning punk and art community in and around Richmond throughout the eighties and nineties. During it peak years, the magazine claimed a circulation of over 30,000. The magazine published its final issue in 1999.

- Ray B.

Civil War Richmond (Civil War started 150 years ago today)

2011-04-12T16:39:00.001-04:00

Screen capture of Mike Gorman's Civil War Richmond web site

- a valuable resource on information pertaining to Richmond during the Civil War.

Here's Mike's list of Civil War related sites he has linked to on his site:

Other sites pertaining to Richmond, or Civil War research in general.

Civil War Center : the best collection of Civil War links on the web.
Civil War Hospitals in Richmond : online reprint of this useful research tool.
Guide to Historic Virginia : looking to visit historic sites? Click here.
Historic Richmond Foundation : help preserve Richmond's historic sites.
Library of Congress Civil War Photos : Hi-res scans of the Library of Congress' Civil War negatives.
The Library of Virginia : invaluable Virginia resources.
Museum of the Confederacy : Amazing collections, and very nice website.
National Archives : search in the ARC database for Civil War items; great photos.
Rarely Seen Richmond : see post-war Richmond through an impressive collection of old postcards. Courtesy of the Virginia Commonwealth University Library.
Richmond National Battlefield Park : learn about the battles around Richmond.
US Army Military History Institute : search their photo collection, or browse the manuscripts.
Virginia Historical Society : good manuscript descriptions and digitized photographs.
Virginia Military Institute Archives : great archival site; check out the various manuscripts.
Hollywood Cemetery: official site of the famous cemetery

Image of Old City Hall, 1909.

2011-04-08T07:52:00.007-04:00

Postcard image of Old City Hall, postmarked 1909.

"Completed in 1894, the exuberant Gothic architecture of the City Hall building expressed, as few other Richmond buildings do, the spirit of the City in the 1890s. Having recovered from the affects of the Civil War and Reconstruction, Richmond in the 1890s was abreast with one of the most popular public architectural styles, the Gothic. Old City Hall, as it is now known, was designed by an architect from Detroit, Elijah E. Myers (1832-1909). Myers designed five state capitol buildings as well as other public buildings. Old City Hall is an enduring legacy of Virginia for two reasons. First, the exterior is solid Petersburg granite, a magnificent stone that was quarried locally and overseen by Richmond stone mason George Netherwood. Second, the splendid cast iron interior was manufactured by the Richmond firm of Asa Snyder and Co."

-- Tom Ray, from Greetings from Richmond.

The postcard image above is an interesting view of Old City Hall. The postcard makers would have you believe it was darker than it really was. Here's another postcard representation - this one with the granite looking more like "Richmond granite" and a few drawn people and carriages (i.e. fake people and fake carriages), also postmarked 1909:

Here's another view:

This image, ca. 1910, is from Capitol Square and shows Broad Street Methodist Church in the background.

To view more early 20th century postcard images of Richmond

- check out this site maintained by VCU Libraries.

So where was that image?

2011-04-06T08:23:00.002-04:00

It is the corner of Harrison and Park. The image was first published in in 1891 in the picture book on Richmond called "Picturesque Richmond" - then published again in 1996 in "Richmond's Fan District" by Drew Carneal.

That nice looking Richardsonian style house on the left was later replaced with the Scottish Rite Temple - we'll have an image of the temple, a masonic building, online in the next few weeks.

On the right you can see space for what would become the small park that houses the Howitzer Monument which was unveiled in December of 1892. The neighborhood surrounding the Howitzer Monument was often referred to as "Howitzer Place."

What block in Richmond was this and what is the date range?

2011-04-01T10:24:00.001-04:00

Mystery image - we'll let you know where and when next week.

One hint - the image been published at least twice in two different publications in two different centuries but not the current century.

W. H. Eanes - Tinning, Plumbing and Gas Fitting, 1307 W. Main St., Richmond, ca. 1905

2011-04-01T09:12:00.002-04:00

These two wonderful images come to us from Stephen R. Jackson, a native of Richmond who now lives in Norfolk and is a fan of the Shockoe Examiner. Stephen's great-grandfather, William Henry Eanes, ran the company.

Stephen would like to learn more about the Eanes plumbing company, the plumbing business in Richmond, and the Eanes family. That is his great aunt in the photograph, born in 1900. Email us if you have any more information about Eanes plumbing, etc.

W, H. Eanes, Inc. stood at 1307 W. Main St. – they were later known as Eanes and Co. when they moved to 1305 W. Main St.

We have a new look - what do you think?

2011-03-05T13:17:00.002-05:00

Let us know what you think of the new design for the Shockoe Examiner.
All suggestions welcome.

Email us at:
RichmondHistory2009@gmail.com

"New View of A Western Section of Richmond..." - 1906 view of the Fan with Richmond College in Background.

2011-03-02T15:57:00.002-05:00

"New View of A Western Section of Richmond Which Has Recently Built Up By Leaps and Bounds" - The Photograph Which Is Produced Here, Was Taken from the Roof of the Chesterfield at Shafer and Franklin Streets.

- From the Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 26, 1906.

Now this is a View! 105 years ago. Not a clear image - but about the only one I have come across showing Richmond College (the big building on the right) and its orientation facing downtown.

Click on the image to see a larger view. See the entire article HERE (the article continues on this page). From Chronicling America.

- Ray B.

Monument Avenue Wiki

2011-03-02T15:41:00.001-05:00

Postcard, 1907 - Monument Avenue as seen from Stuart Circle.

It is about time we mention the Wiki web site focuses on Monument Avenue. It is maintained by Coleen Butler Rodriguez and the Monument Avenue Preservation Society. Coleen has helped document who designed and built what on Monument Avenue - and more. Here's the description of their site:

"This wiki showcases the houses and buildings on the portion of the avenue within the national historic designation. This historic area begins at Birch Street in the east and continues west along Monument Avenue to Roseneath Avenue. Additionally, it includes the blocks of Allen and Davis Avenues immediately to the north and south of Monument where they intersect it. The objective of this wiki is to gather baseline data on each contributing structure and to gather facts and lore of the history from the people who have lived here or who have known these buildings. Baseline data includes address, architect or builder, date built, first owner, references for the baseline data, and a photograph. History and lore can be anything, really, concerning the past of the buildings! Keep it clean and honest. Our goal is to share this unique neighborhood with each other and the larger world interested in preserving historic places in the United States, and to capture history that slips through our fingers with each passing generation. We hope you will join us." - Monument Avenue Wiki

- Ray B.

Looking for Photographic Images of the Ellett House, or the 800 block (south side) of W. Franklin St.

2011-03-01T15:13:00.002-05:00

I am trying to find a photographic image of the house below - believed to have been built ca.1887-1888 at 807 W. Franklin St. for Mr. T. H. Ellett. The building was designed by architect Marion J. Dimmock. A photographic image of the house or of the 800 block of W. Franklin St. (the south side, from the 1880s until 1960) would be greatly appreciated. I have checked all the usual suspects. I think the house was torn down in the 1950s to build an extension of VCU's Franklin Street Gym. If you know of any leads, just email Ray at rfbonis@vcu.edu

Residence for Mr. T.H. Ellett, Richmond, Va

– 807 W. Franklin St. from Southern Architect, August, 1890.

Residence for Mr. T.H. Ellett, Richmond, Va

– 807 W. Franklin St. from Inland Architect and News Record, Sept. 1889

Suburban Reflections: A Review of the Attractive Suburban Property Belonging to the Estate of the Late Major Lewis Ginter, ca. 1900.

2011-03-01T15:00:00.002-05:00

Front page from Suburban Reflections.

Suburban Reflections: A Review of the Attractive Suburban Property Belonging to the Estate of the Late Major Lewis Ginter. Presented by Douglas E. Taylor, real estate agent, published the Press of I. N. Jones & Son, ca. 1900.

This rare 25 page pamphlet has some wonderful images of the architecture and streetscape of Ginter Park soon after it was established. View the PDF HERE.

Willie, the Six Year Old Richmond Newsboy, and the Photographs of Lewis W. Hine, June 8, 1911.

2011-02-27T09:56:00.011-05:00

"Willie" photographed in June of 1911 by Lewis W. Hine.

Over the years I noticed folks on eBay selling several images of a barefoot boy called Willie on the streets of Richmond.

It turns out these images were taken by Lewis W. Hine (1874-1940) and the images are part of a print collection from the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) records at the Library of Congress Prints and Photograph Division.

Hines worked as an investigative photographer for the NCLC to document working and living conditions of children in the United States from 1908 to 1924. The collection of images contains more than 5,100 photographic prints which were given to the Library of Congress along with the NCLC records in 1954. Several web sites have images by Hines that are easy to access.

Willie was one of hundreds of young boys selling newspapers on the streets of big and small cities across the country. These boys were not only out of school but worked in the summer heat and the winter cold all year long. Can you imagine a six year old selling newspapers on the street today?

I came across a web site called the Lewis Hine Project run by Joe Manning. He tries to locate descendants of child laborers photographed by Hine from 1908 to 1917. I asked Joe how many images were taken in Richmond by Hines, he wrote back:

"Lewis Hine took five photos of newsboys in Richmond in June of 1911. Those are the only ones in the Library of Congress. It's likely that Hine was there only a day or two. He took about 100 photos in Virginia in June 1911, but only five in Richmond.”

But why June 1911 and why Richmond? The answer is in one of the images.

I noticed that in this image of Willie you can see part of the front page of the newspaper he is trying to sell. So I blew the image up and turned it upside down.

It turns out he was selling the Richmond News Leader, the Tuesday, June 8, 1911 edition (thanks to Claire Hope for checking the microfilm).

Here's the front page of the June 8, 1911 edition of the News Leader (Richmond's afternoon paper) that Willie was selling that day.

But why was Hine in Richmond that day? By looking at the microfilm of the News Leader I noticed that in the next day's edition, June 9th, there was a report that said that the 6th Annual Convention of the Virginia Federation of Labor (Virginia's centralized union organization body) had just ended in Richmond.

I went to the Library of Virginia to look at the Virginia Federation of Labor annual reports hoping that there would be some mention of Hine at the convention but I did not see any mention of him. But it seems likely that it was that convention that brought him to Richmond. I wonder if Hine spoke to the group about child labor in Virginia and in the United States?

Here are a few more images taken by Hine in Richmond on June 8, 1911. These may be the only images taken by Hine in Richmond - though he took hundreds of images in other Virginia localities throughout his career.

The store behind Willie in this image is the Dawes and Nash Saloon located on the 800 block of E. Main St. That might indicate that all five of the images of Willie in Richmond were of him on E Main St.

[Notice the sign on side of window of the saloon - it says Pabst Blue Ribbon.]

Hines comments on this image:

"1911 child labor photo Richard Green, (with hat), 5 year old newsie, Richmond, Va. Willie---, who said he was 8. (Compare them.) Many of these little newsboys here. Location: Richmond, Virginia."

In one comment on the five images of Willie he wrote:

"Willie Hutchinson, a six year old newsie in Richmond, Va. Many very small newsboys sell here, some in the evening."

Another comment by Hine on Willie:

"Told me first that he was 8, then admitted 7, and finally 6 years old."

I wonder if Willie Hutchinson appears in a later census record or if his family (his descendants) still reside in Richmond?

One of five images taken by Hine that day in Richmond. Here Willie sits between the columns of what is the Bank of Virginia located on E. Main St. (is it the National or Merchants?).

The document above was found on Google Books - it is from September 12, 1912, vol. 19, no. 9 issue of the American Federationist, the official magazine of the American Federation of Labor. It indicates that the Federation and other advocates had some success in reforming child labor.

- Ray B.

Profile of Richmond, Va, Jan. 1917 - from the NAACP's The Crisis

2011-02-14T20:18:00.002-05:00

Google Books is a wonderful resource. While looking for information about a doctor who lived in Jackson Ward, I came across the NAACP's The Crisis online and it appears that every issue (going back some 100 years) is scanned and available in Google Books.

The Jan. 1917 issue of The Crisis has a large section devoted to Richmond, Virginia - specifically Jackson Ward. Below are a few images from that issue that might give you an idea of the contents of the magazine but Please take a look at the entire issue.

The entire issue is worth looking at so please do.

More on Jackson Ward's history and architecture are available here and here.

And HERE too.

- Ray B.

RICHMOND COOKS 1898-2010: A sampling of cookbooks in the Library of Virginia collection

2011-02-14T11:02:00.001-05:00

We have a guest contributor today. Tom H. Ray, the Collections Management Coordinator at the Library of Virginia, has an essay about a number of cook books.

Tom, a native Tar Heel, has lived in Richmond for nearly 20 years. He has held several positions at the LVA during that time. He completed the course work in VCU's Graduate Art and Architecture Program and has contributed entries to Lost Virginia (2001) and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography (2006). He is the co-author of Greetings From Richmond (2009). Tom collects Southern outsider folk art in addition to postcards. In his spare time he is an enthusiastic, if eclectic, gardener.

-----------------------------------

Receipts for Luncheon and Tea

"Men more easily renounce their interests than their tastes." - Rochefoucauld.

Thus a quote from a 17^th century French writer set the tone for the earliest church cookbook in the Library of Virginia cookbook collection. Published in 1898, Receipts for Luncheon and Tea, is one of two known copies to survive. The other is at the Virginia Historical Society. The preface could well be the introduction for most contemporary cookbooks:

"In offering this little book to the public, we have aimed to supply a want which every housekeeper must have often felt when called upon to provide a luncheon or tea.
The receipts herein contained have been tested by the ladies who furnished them, and we feel that we can vouch for each and every one, and that those who use them will be pleased with the result." -
The Ladies’ Societies of Grace Street Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Va.

Like most later spiral bound church or community cookbooks the names of the lady church members are preserved. What sets this 19^th century cookbook apart from its later cousins is the lack of detailed instructions. For instance, Mrs. G.W. Duke’s cake recipe is simply one sentence of ingredients:

                                                            White cake
                        One cup of creamed butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour
                        1 cup of cream, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, whites of 8 eggs,
                        flavor to taste.

No cooking time? How can that be? No temperature? Flavor?

My favorite recipe in this tiny 44 page book is for “Pickled oysters” from Mrs. A.P. Shield. I’ve never heard of such a dish mush less a recipe that could handle up to 100 oysters.

The longest, most detailed recipe in the book came from a Mrs. Kirkpatrick in Lynchburg. Her recipe for “Jellied chicken soup” sounds quite involved. One necessary ingredient is “a gill of wine.” Sounds good but what is it?

The “Cheese suffle” recipe reminds me of St. Paul’s Wednesday cheese soufflé during Lent. Those Presbyterian ladies! Over 50 years ahead of their good Episcopalian sisters.

Receipts for Luncheon and Tea is only one of over 1000 Virginia cookbooks at the Library of Virginia. The collection has been assembled over the years to document the cooking and dining culture of Virginians and to document the people and organizations who contributed to, or published the books. Often a cookbook is the only existing history of a church, a social club, a civic organization, a school or a locally prominent chef or restaurateur.

The Uzell Family Cookbook

Several years ago a rare book dealer offered the Library of Virginia a collection of cookbooks as genealogical tools. He had a very convincing sales pitch that someday someone would come to the Library and be delighted to find great-grandma’s recipe.

The dealer’s observation is indeed borne out in the most recent addition to the LVA collection, The Uzell Family Cookbook. This family produced collection documents 100 years of an American-Czech family that first settled in Dinwiddie County in 1911. This is actually the second cookbook the family has complied. The books contain family history, photographs, names, traditions – a true family legacy through recipes bridging the old country and the new.

Mary Angela’s Best of Everything

Two other examples at LVA illustrate classical blending and updating of Italian and French cuisine. Mary Angela’s Best of Everything began with the author’s Italian family heritage but was expanded to include recipes from Northern Europe, Spain, Morocco, Greece. Mary Angela Morgan notes her membership in local groups such as the Old Dominion Herb Society, the
Richmond Culinary Guild and other gourmet groups as her resources and inspiration.

Chef Paul’s la Petite France

Most cookbooks at LVA are complied by groups. Mrs. Morgan’s and Chef Paul Elbling’s are among the few exceptions. Chef Paul was noted for his Richmond restaurant, La Petite France. Chef Paul’s la Petite France was published in 1975. Sadly, the restaurant closed in 2007. Chef Paul’s philosophy is summed up very simply: “…my feeling about food – it is never good if it is contrived. It should never be overdone, overdressed and will never be good if the cook is overstressed.” Anyone who remembers the wonderful sauces at La Petite would treasure this book. Chef Paul has undoubtedly been the most authentic French chef Richmond has known.

Signs of Good Taste: Recollections and Recipes from

Richmond’s Historic Fan Restaurants

The Richmond community has another, though more limited, recipe collection documenting the history of some well known Fan restaurants. In 2000 Ann Meade Bensenfelder published Signs of Good Taste: recollections & recipes from Richmond’s historic Fan restaurants. Twelve vintage Fan restaurants were profiled: Buddy’s, Chiocca’s, Davis & Main, Helen’s, Joe’s Inn, Julian’s, Robin Inn, Sally Bell’s Kitchen, Sobel’s, Stella’s, Strawberry Street Café, and the Village Café. A brief history, photographs, and selected recipes from each restaurant are included. Want to make 60 gallons of Joe’s spaghetti sauce? Here’s how!

Since 2000 Richmond has lost some of these Fan favorites but a delectable scrapbook remains to remind us of good times.

Two final examples of Richmond cookbooks were published in 2001. First, Dietz Press reprinted a 1958 classic, Recipes from Old Virginia. Originally compiled by the Virginia Federation of Home Demonstration Clubs, later the Virginia Extension Homemakers Council, this book represents a movement of the mid-20^th century to popularize and standardize regional recipes. Many local Junior League groups lead the way – and still do.

Recipes from Old Virginia

Recipes from Old Virginia boasts recipes of two centuries, plus tested recipes. Many of our mothers or grand-mothers probably had home-ec classes in which recipe collections like this were their text books. Interestingly, no recipe for pickled oysters appears but suggestions for the bi-valve include soup, stew, fried, scalloped, each with cooking times and temperatures clearly explained. The book includes the home county of each lady contributor and it is a nice cross section of the state.

Forever Thin Cookbook

Forever Thin Cookbook, from the Gastric By-pass Support Group, is included here for three reasons. First, it is a chronicle of a unique modern culture organization, a group of individuals with a shared medical history. Second, the recipes include nutritional information for each serving including calories, fat, carbohydrate and sodium contents. Third, the book illustrates the range of recipes and cooking styles currently in vogue: Tex-Mex and other internationally inspired dishes, “lite” dishes, and “almost” homemade, those recipes that begin with a mix or brand name commercial product.

-- Tom Ray.

The LVA cookbook collection is a heritage print collection. Copies circulate if there are two in the collection, otherwise they are available for use in the Library.

For additional information on Virginia cookbooks the following resources are suggested:

Bertlesen, Cynthia D., A Bibliography of Virginia-related Cookbooks, compiled 2006:
http://spec.lib.vt.edu/culinary/va_cookbooks_bib.html

Harbury, Katherine E., Colonial Virginias Cooking Dynasty. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2004.

Historic Images found in Richmond Magazine.

2011-02-04T14:00:00.002-05:00

Richmond Magazine, Special Collector's Edition:

The Complete Sourcebook

Just published.

This annual Sourcebook edition of Richmond Magazine contains numerous historic images from several area repositories and private collections. The magazine includes four images selected by three Shockoe Examiner contributors who were asked to share with the magazine what they considered their "favorite historic" Richmond image. The images chosen by Ray Bonis, Edward Ragan, and Selden Richardson are all quite different. An abbreviated online version spotlighting those images and a few others can be accessed HERE - but we suggest you pick up a copy of the magazine for the longer, more complete remarks about the images by Bonis, Ragan, and Richardson.

The images of the newsboys taken by Lewis Hines in June of 1911 seen on the cover of the magazine will be discussed in a longer blog entry to be posted later this month.

Border Cafe, 1992.

2011-01-31T17:07:00.000-05:00

Couldn't you go for their chili and cornbread (with jalapenos) now?

Image from Slant, 1992.

Shockoe Valley slums, 1913.

2011-01-31T08:15:00.000-05:00

The mystery image from last week's post shows the slums in Shockoe Valley. And yes, that is the White House of the Confederacy at the top. This image is from Report on Housing and Living Conditions in the Neglected Sections of Richmond, Virginia, prepared by Gustavus A. Weber, secretary Society for the Betterment of Housing and Living conditions in Richmond. Published in 1913 by Whittet & Shepperson in Richmond. It is available in several Richmond area libraries and on Google Books. This area was called Butcher Town. More about Butcher Town in a future post.

This is how Gregg Kimball described this and other similar areas of the city:

Other images from the Report on Housing and Living Conditions in the Neglected Sections of Richmond, Virginia:

Check out the Report on Housing and Living Conditions.... in Richmond, 1913 HERE. It is full of images, graphs, and lots of data.

Can you name this location in Richmond?

2011-01-27T15:55:00.001-05:00

Can you name the location of this site in Richmond?

Or the year?

The answer will appear on Monday.

Sixty Grand in Sixty Seconds: One of Richmond’s Great Unsolved Robberies

2011-01-25T08:40:00.003-05:00

Just another city alley?

Today, it is just another city alley, notable only that the buildings beside it now extend above it and block out the sun, making the alley in the 800 block of Main Street seem dark and foreboding. Walking through the gloom from west to east, the pedestrian welcomes the sunlight ahead and the cheerful blue awning of the Commonwealth Park Suits (the former Hotel Rueger) across the street. Few today emerging at the mouth of the darkened alley would suspect that this spot was the scene of one of Richmond’s great unsolved robberies.

Certainly such a thing was furthest from the minds of William Harvey Cogbill and William B. Jones as they made their way up Ninth Street hill through the dirty snow on a gray and cold March 2, 1934. Cogbill, an armed bank messenger with a long history at State Planters Bank, left the bank at 904 East Main Street with Jones, his escort, and turned uphill toward the Federal Reserve Bank, then in the building now housing the Virginia Supreme Court. Cogbill carried a canvas satchel with $60,000 in small bills.

Transporting this kind of money to the Federal Reserve where they would be credited to State-Planters was a routine transfer, and both Cogbill and Jones, bundled against the cold, were at first annoyed when a large dark touring car pulled abruptly out of the alley and blocked their path. Their annoyance turned to astonishment as three nicely-dressed men in suits and overcoats emerged from the Essex sedan, grabbed Cogbill and Williams, and hustled the two stunned bank employees out of sight behind the car, idling in the alley.

Cogbill, age 55, and Jones, described as “the elderly porter,” at first thought they were the victims of a joke – until guns were pointed at them. “Several times fellow-workers at the bank have passed me and in undertones jested to hold me up,” Cogbill explained. “I thought this was another such occasion for the moment.” Cogbill and Jones were so taken by surprise that they hardly looked at their captors faces, but the display of guns quickly dispelled the idea this was a prank. The shaken Jones’ only comment later was, “I never had seen such big guns.”

One robber told another to look for Cogbill’s pistol, and then removed it from the messenger’s holster as the third pinned his arms behind him and shoved him down on the cobblestones in the slush behind the car. The robbers grabbed the satchel with the money, dove back in the car, and made a left up Ninth Street and immediately turned right on Bank Street, rounding the corner by the Hotel Rueger. They were never seen again.

Police all over the state were put on alert. A hot tip from Petersburg turned out to be false lead. A ticket agent at Broad Street Station phoned in a report of a party of neatly dressed men who boarded a train headed north shortly after the robbery. Removed from their train car at gunpoint by the police in Washington, they turned out to be on their way to a funeral in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.

Hotel Rueger - The Robbers rounded the corner here and were never seen again.

The entire Ninth Street robbery was so fast, taking less then a minute, that one eyewitness to the event could only offer the fact the car had chains on the tires as a clue. A witness was found, however, who was able to produce a license plate number, which was traced to a car stolen in Washington two weeks earlier. And there the trail went cold.

$60,000 was a huge amount of money in 1934, whose value today would be approximately $900,000, but despite the enormous sum involved, there were no arrests in the case. One fact of the robbery was emphasized again and again in the newspaper coverage: the $60,000 was insured and the depositors would not lose a cent. It was the era of bank failures and it was judged important that the public be assured that within twenty-four hours of the robbery on Ninth Street, a check for the entire amount had been presented to replace the funds.

A mail truck from this Federal Reserve building in Richmond was held up in 1934 - 77 years ago this coming March 2nd.

Only a day old, as a news story the $60,000 robbery was already in eclipse by March 4^th. It was shoved down below the fold on the first page of Richmond newspapers by John Dillinger’s sensational escape from a jail in Crown Point, Indiana. By the following week, the holdup in Richmond of a Federal Reserve mail truck and the murder of the driver near Broad Street Station drove the Ninth Street holdup further from the public eye. The eventual discovery of the getaway car in a local garage weeks later was practically the last mention of the event in the press.

And the nicely dressed men who had been driving that black Essex?

Whoever they were, they got away with it.

- Selden Richardson.

A Little Mystery - Richmond Goes Electric

2011-01-20T12:58:00.002-05:00

We have a guest contributor today. Robert P. Winthrop is an architect and architectural historian. His books and articles include The Architecture of Jackson Ward, Cast and Wrought: The Architectural Metalwork of Downtown Richmond, Virginia, and Architecture in Downtown Richmond. He has given major lecture series for the Monument Avenue Foundation and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. He is the coauthor, with Sarah Driggs and Richard Guy Wilson, of Richmond’s Monument Avenue published in 2001. Today he writes about Richmond and Electricity. We thank Robert for this contribution.

A Little Mystery.

At the turn of the 20^th century many Richmond houses had unusual gas-electric light fixtures. Ceiling light fixtures had gas piping and electric wires. Typically they had electric bulbs turned down, and the gas fixtures facing up. While doing electrical work on my house in the 1970s, I discovered the piping was still in place, and was still in service. They had simply capped the fixture, but left the pipes in place and filled with gas.

In spite of the obvious dangers of this combination, there is no indication of fires resulting from the arrangement. Electric power in Richmond came from the Virginia Railroad and Power Company. This was the precursor of VEPCO and eventual Dominion Power. The Railroad in the company name referred to the city's electric streetcar.

[VCU Libraries' Special Collections and Archives houses the James W. Allison Papers which contain materials related to the building of what is now the VCU President's Office, 901 W. Franklin St.. The building was built 1894-1896 and contained the combination electric/gas light fixtures that Robert discusses in this essay. Many of the original sconces and chandeliers are still in existence in the building.]

I was told the electric company cut off, or reduced electrical service to residential customers during peak hours of streetcar service. The gas lights were needed during these periods. This makes sense, but I have been unable to document this practice. When the Historic American Building Survey staff researching Monument Avenue investigated the subject they were unable to find documentation.

It is possible to attribute the hybrid fixtures to Richmonder’s fabled conservatism. They may have thought electricity was a fad. The City of Richmond owned the gas system, then as now. It is also possible they required houses have gas lighting. As of now, the reason for the hybrid fixtures is unknown.

- Robert P. Winthrop, architect and architectural historian and guest contributor.

Grace Place - Demolished.

2011-01-18T08:33:00.000-05:00

Selden Richardson submitted this image of the demolition of the 1890s-era building that housed Grace Place. Does anyone know the year this building was demolished?

Grace Place, Richmond's first vegetarian restaurant, 826 W. Grace St., image from 1992.

2011-01-14T16:09:00.002-05:00

Grace Place - closed in the 1990s - was considered one of the first vegetarian restaurants in Virginia - maybe the first in Richmond (it opened in 1973). This building and most of the 800 block of W. Grace Street is gone now - thanks to VCU. The image above is from a 1992 issue of F. T. Rea's Slant - which is now Online (and in this entry he discusses Grace Place).

I remember coming to Grace Place sometime around 1984 and asked for a coke to go with my veggie lasagna. The waitress looked at me as if I ordered a dead rat. I got apple juice instead.This building had a wonderful cast iron fence. That's gone too.

While working on this entry I found a great site on Grace Place here - includes two images.

I found this text online about Grace Place - found it here - this view includes an image of the building.

Since 1973, Grace Place has been pleasing diners with its brand of international vegetarian cuisine. The restaurant in Richmond, Virginia, started as I an offshoot of a small natural foods store but has grown into a local legend with a reputation for quality and variety.

Just a block away from Virginia Commonwealth University and located in a quaint Victorian home, Grace Place originally attracted college I students and radical professors. Today, Chef Michael King describes his clientele as a potpourri of the city population--university students as well as tourists, families and out-of-/owners, who drive in for satisfying dishes such as the seitan gyros, a temp eh Fish less Fillet sandwich, or hearty bean and rice combination plates. Grace Place also offers appetizers, made-from-scratch soups, pizza, pasta and bountiful salads. After 5, the menu grows even more varied with the addition of dinner entrees and daily specials. Desserts feature home style favorites as well as a daily list of "baker's inspirations" (which always includes vegan selections). Specialty juices, smoothies, a range of herbal and caffeinated teas, micro brewed beers, wines, organic Mexican Pluma coffee, the restaurant's fabulous house coffee, and espresso drinks round out the extensive menu.

Filtered water is used in all preparations and beverages, and beans and grains are organic. All tofu products are made in Virginia and produce is purchased from local growers whenever possible. Only egg less mayonnaise is used and soy cheese is available upon request.

With its eclectic menu and uncompromising attention to quality, it's no wonder Grace Place has stood the test of time.

Anyone have any memories or more info. about Grace Place that they'd like to share?

BTW - Old issues of the paper edition of Slant (1980s-1990s) are housed in Special Collections and Archives, VCU Libraries.

- Ray B.

Panorama of Richmond by Alexander Gardner, April 1865.

2011-01-07T13:38:00.011-05:00

Another important view (like the image seen in the previous blog entry) of Richmond in April of 1865 is by Alexander Gardner. As noted on the Civil War Richmond site, this "panorama was taken from the western edge of Church Hill. The street running left and right through the foreground is 20th street, and the street perpendicular to that is Grace street."

Thanks to Jeffrey Ruggles for this hint: The image was made up of 4 plates and available from the National Archives web site. The reference numbers to search for at that site are:

524555, 526378, 524454, and 524470. The Virginia Historical Society has a reprint made in 1961.

Jeffrey also suggested I look online at the view of Richmond from Church Hill that might be the earliest - if is of a daguerreotype image dated 1853-56 - available from the Valentine Richmond History Center HERE.

More views of by Gardner (and Richmond) HERE.

Here are some more panorama images from the Civil War Richmond site.

Here are the four images of the Gardner Panorama View below:

A very large view of the third image is HERE - click Twice.

524555:

526378:

524454:

A very large view of the image above is HERE - click Twice.

524470:

- Ray B.

Richmond from Church Hill, April 1865.

2011-01-07T11:37:00.000-05:00

Click twice on the image for a much larger view.

Here's a popular Richmond image - it is Richmond from Church Hill (not Oregon Hill, as the label at the Library of Congress says), looking west, April 1865. This LINK gives you access to the image from the Library of Congress and includes a much larger TIFF image.

Here's what the Library of Congress says about the image:

Title: Richmond, from Oregon Hill [NOT CORRECT], April 1865
Creator(s): Russell, Andrew J., photographer
Date Created/Published: 1865 April.
Medium: 1 photographic print : albumen.
Summary: Photograph shows an aerial view of Richmond, Virginia.
Part of: Russell, Andrew J. Military installations, activities, and views, Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va., and vicinity
Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-08222 (digital file from original photograph) LC-B8184-10228 (b&w film copy neg.)
Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Call Number: LOT 11486-A, no. 1 [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Notes:
- Title from item.

Floyd Ave. - Then and Now.

2011-01-04T16:56:00.000-05:00

900 Block of Floyd Avenue - Looking West, ca. 1898.

Same block of Floyd Ave. - Google Maps Image, ca. 2008.

All but one house demolished by VCU (on the left, house built by architect/builder Gilbert Hunt).

James Branch Cabell Library on the right.

I think I prefer the Then.

- Ray B.

VCU yearbooks and alumni publications from both campuses are now available online.

2011-01-03T08:46:00.003-05:00

Images from the 1968 RPI Cobblestone Year Book.

Here's a blurb from VCU Libraries about a new online resource you may find of interest:

VCU yearbooks and alumni publications from both campuses are now available online. The VCU Libraries has digitized yearbooks and alumni publications published by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) from both the Monroe Park Campus and the MCV Campus and from its predecessors Richmond Professional Institute (RPI) and the Medical College of Virginia (MCV). The original yearbooks are housed in the Special Collections and Archives' departments of VCU Libraries' James Branch Cabell Library (Monroe Park Campus library) and Tompkins-McCaw Library (MCV campus)..

Funded by the VCU Libraries, this exciting project was made possible in part through the LYRASIS Mass Digitization Collaborative, a Sloan Foundation grant-subsidized program that has made digitization easy and affordable for libraries and cultural institutions across the country.

Through the Collaborative's partnership with the Internet Archive, all items were scanned from cover-to-cover and in full color. You can choose from a variety of formats, page through a book choosing the "read online" option, download the PDF, or search the full text version.

Yearbooks in the collection are:
The Wigwam (RPI, 1931-1955)
Cobblestone (RPI, 1956-1968; VCU, 1969-1973)
Cobblestone yearbook, 1956-1973 (VCU, commemorative volume issued in 1974)
Commonwealth (VCU, 1979-1980)
The Rampages (VCU, 1989-1990)
The X-Ray (MCV, 1913-2010)
There were no VCU yearbooks from 1974 to 1978 or from 1981-1988. After 1990, the VCU yearbook was no longer published. The MCV yearbook ceased publication in the spring of 2010.

Alumni magazines in the collection are:
VCU Magazine (1971-1993): alumni magazine for the Monroe Park Campus
Shafer Court Connections (1994-2010): alumni magazine for the Monroe Park Campus
The Scarab (1952-2010): alumni magazine for the MCV Campus
To view the collections, go to http://www.archive.org/details/virginiacommonwealthuniversity. From there, you can browse by subject or keyword to get to the exact publication you want. Additional locally digitized publications are available from VCU Libraries Digital Collections, a growing resource for the VCU and global communities.

Happy Holidays from the Shockoe Examiner.

2010-12-22T12:13:00.003-05:00

Two new exhibits from Special Collections and Archives,

James Branch Cabell Library, VCU Libraries

(thanks to Tom Ray for the Miller & Rhoads boxes

and the Reynolds foil wrapping paper).

The exhibit cases are located on the fourth floor of the Cabell Library.

Double Click on the
Images for a Much Larger View.

Holidays Past –

Ukrop’s, Miller & Rhoads, and Reynolds’s Metals Co.

A grocery store, a retail department store, and a firm that sells aluminum foil. They were all long time Richmond companies that had strong cultural and economic ties to the city. They are all gone now.

Ukrop's

Ukrop’s was the Richmond area’s leading local grocery chain. Established in Richmond in 1937, the supermarket grew to 25 stores in central Virginia by 2000. The store had a reputation for great customer service and community involvement. When the chain began to lose market share the family owned business decided in 2009 to sell its stores to the Giant-Carlisle's Division of the Dutch based conglomerate Ahold. Their former stores now operate under the name Martin’s.

These items were collected by library staff before the store closed in the Spring of 2010.

Miller & Rhoads

Miller & Rhoads was founded in Richmond in 1885. The firm expanded in the first few decades of the 20^th century and by the late 1940s it had become one of Virginia’s most successful retail stores. After just over 100 years of success, competition from other stores forced the chain to close in 1990.

Their large store on Broad Street in downtown Richmond was a key destination point for Richmonders. For many years, Miller & Rhoads' Santa was purported to be "the real Santa Claus." A number of actors, many featuring a snowy white real beard, portrayed Santa.

The Miller & Rhoads green (1970s) and yellow gift boxes (1980s) were donated by a friend of the library in 2009.

Eddie Weaver Plays Christmas Music – Phonograph record produced in 1969 on the Miller & Rhoads Custom Records label. Eddie Weaver (1907-2000) was a well-known local organ player who played at the Lowe’s Theatre (now the Carpenter Theatre) for over twenty years and the Byrd Theatre for many years as well.

The Reynolds Metals Co.

The Reynolds Metals Co., now part of the Alcoa Company, was founded in 1919 in Louisville, Kentucky by Richard S. Reynolds, Sr., a nephew of R.J. Reynolds, the tobacco magnate of Richmond. The company is known primarily for producing Reynolds Aluminum Foil. The company moved to Richmond in 1938 and operated here until 2010.

The Reynolds Gift Wrap displayed here dates ca. 1970 and was a gift to Special Collections and Archives by a donor in 2009.

Wondering what do get someone

special for the Holidays?

Why not recently published works

on Richmond history?

These titles are available in Special Collections and Archives

and at your local bookstore.

Jurgen's Furniture Store - An Envelope Reveals Some Lost History, 1911

2010-12-13T15:08:00.003-05:00

Images of buildings are vital to researchers interested in architectural history. A little known source for images is the stationary used by late 19th and early 20th century businesses. Envelopes and billheads also served as advertisements and were often illustrated with images of store fronts, factories, and warehouses.

This image of an envelope postmarked February 15, 1911 shows the building used by the Chas. G. [Gottlieb] Jurgens’ Son, Furniture and Carpets (established in 1888). The store, located at 27 W. Broad St,. was built 1906-1907. What makes this image especially interesting is that it shows the original top two floors which were lost to fire in 1921. The letterhead image is courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, VCU Libraries.

A search on Chronicling America found an article about the Jurgen's new home

in a March 3, 1907 article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The building today houses the restaurant Bristro 27 - Here's a more recent view from Google Maps:

- Ray B.

The Old Confederate Soldier's Home, Richmond (now the site of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts).

2010-12-06T08:23:00.001-05:00

The image quiz from our last post was generated from this image - page #3 of the Richmond Dispatch, May 31, 1896 that was found on Chronicling America.

Larger view.

The newspaper was highlighting some of the memorials to the Confederate Army because of the reunion of Confederate Soldiers that was taking place in Richmond that week.

Regarding the Soldier's Home - here are some great postcard views:

In the early 1880s an effort to help the plight of a growing number of destitute Confederate veterans was organized in Richmond. In March of 1884 the Robert E. Lee Camp, No. 1, Confederate Veterans was incorporated. In November of that year organizers purchased a 36-acre tract located at the corner of Grove Avenue and the Boulevard, the former property of the Anthony Robinson, Jr. family.

Some of the smaller structures - houses where the old soldiers lived

- can be seen here along Sheppard St. This postcard dates ca. 1910.

The Robinson House, an Italianate-style building built 1851, can be seen here on the left. It is one of two extant buildings of the original Soldier’s Home grounds. The other is the Confederate Memorial Chapel, designed by Marion Dimmock (1846-1908) and built in 1887, located at the corner of Grove Avenue and Sheppard Street. This post card is postmarked 1924. The Robinson House was moved about 200 feet during recent renovations to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Postmarked 1914.

The interior grounds of the Lee Camp Confederate Soldiers’ Home included a number of frame buildings, many built in the Gothic revival style. A cafeteria, hospital, and recreation hall stood on the Boulevard side. At its peak the Soldiers’ Home averaged some 300 residents. In later years the cafeteria was open to area residents for dining.

This postcard has two hand stamp dates - one reads 1912 and the other 1913.

The back of this post card, ca. 1910, reads:

"Situated in a beautiful grove, in the western portion of the City, are the comfortable cottages (several of which are shown in this view) in which reside some 275 Confederate Veterans. Here these honored heroes of a hundred battles, 'by [?] subdued' are spending the evening of life calmly and fearlessly awaiting the inevitable summons to spread again their tents on the eternal campground."

- Ray B.

Where is this in Richmond?

2010-12-03T08:19:00.001-05:00

This image of a place in Richmond dates from 1896.

What is the name of this location and what stands here today?

Answers on Monday.

The Free Public Library in Quincy, Illinois - Why was this building featured in a Richmond newspaper in 1888?

2010-12-02T09:17:00.003-05:00

The Quincy Public Library in Quincy, Illinois as it

appeared in The Daily Times (Richmond, Va) on July 2, 1888.

Why would a Richmond newspaper run an image of a new building in Illinois? While looking for something else I came across several issues of the Daily Times where they published images of newly constructed buildings outside of Virginia. Those same pages had a listing of local Richmond architects and builders. Was one of those architects or builders responsible for calling attention to these out of state buildings? Or was it a case of some sort of wire subscription to provide copy to newspapers nationwide? I do not know the answer, but, as we say at VCU, it is worth pursuing.

The building is in the Richardsonian style. That same year in Richmond construction began on Richmond's first Richardsonian style building, Ginter House, at 901 Park Ave. It actually became the home of Richmond's first public library in 1925. The lasted for five years before the building was purchased by the school that became Richmond Professional Institute (now VCU).

Here's the PDF of that newspaper page - From Chronicling America.

A postcard image of the library - postmarked 1909.

And what happened to this interesting building? I emailed the library at Quincy, Ill. and asked - here's the response I received:

The old Free Public Library was built in 1888 by F. W. Menke Co. [a stone company]. The building has not been demolished. It still stands on 4^th and Maine, and is now the Gardner Museum of Architecture and Design.

Thanks for asking, and for the postcard image.

Sincerely,
Nancy Dolan
Quincy Public Library

I think it is great their building is still around. I wish Richmond kept more of its old buildings! Check out the link to the Gardner Museum - it has more images of this building and mentions the architectural firm.

- Ray B.

Where in Richmond? It is Shafer Court, 1967.

2010-11-24T09:22:00.006-05:00

We have some winners of our image "contest." What do they win? The Glory to brag! Thanks for participating.

So what image is that and where and when - the answer is Shafer Court in front of the old section of the Hibbs Building - a new addition is being built. This image is from the 1967 Cobblestone - the yearbook for Richmond Professional Institute (now VCU). So what is Shafer Court?

Shafer Court (the image above by Ken Hopson) is the 200 block of North Shafer Street. It has been the main thoroughfare on the Monroe Park campus since 1930 - when VCU was RPI. Closed to automobile traffic in 1967, the court was enlarged in 1981 when the 800 block of Park Ave. was also closed to traffic. In the late 1990s, the pavement was replaced with cement and bricks and a large black and gold compass created a focal point on the Monroe Park Campus.

Want to see more groovy images from the 1960s or even further back? VCU Libraries has worked with the Internet Archive to provide all of the RPI, MCV, and VCU student yearbooks (or student annuals) online. Also available are the alumni magazines for VCU and MCV. Enjoy!

- Ray B.

Where is this in Richmond?

2010-11-22T10:55:00.000-05:00

Can you name the location and year for this scene in Richmond?

What is being constructed on the left?

Answers will appear on Wed.

Two New Image Sites on Richmond.

2010-11-18T16:32:00.006-05:00

Postcard image - "THE HOUSE OF BRUCE" at 3500 [Chamberlayne Ave]. On the back of this post card is printed: The House of Bruce, Modern and Distinctive Guest Accommodations, Excellent Meals, Private and Connecting Baths, Steam Heat and Garage. A guest wrote simply "Picture of the place we stayed in Richmond."

I came across these two new image web sites today (one of them thanks to Libby the Cataloger):

Vintage Richmond: The History of Richmond, Virginia in photos.
[who uses a healthy dose of images from this site and VCU Libraries]

AND

Chamberlayne Ave.: Brief illustrated history of Chamberlayne Avenue
as a tourist stopover on historic US Route 1.

Edgar Allan Poe, Richmond, Sept. 1849 - Daguerreotype by William Abbot Pratt.

2010-11-18T14:31:00.010-05:00

From this site (Columbia University Library) we learn:

"William Pratt opened the Virginia Sky Light Daguerrean Gallery in Richmond in 1846, seven years after the daguerreotype was introduced into the United States. As Pratt related the history of this portrait to the St. Louis writer Thomas Dimmock, [Edgar Allan] Poe had never fulfilled a promise he had once made to pose for Pratt until writer and photographer encountered one another on the street in front of the latter's shop in mid-September 1849. Poe, arguing that he was not suitably dressed, was coaxed upstairs and photographed.

The image shows a man, as disheveled as he claimed to be, with a haggard face which betrays the steep decline in his emotional and physical condition; Poe died in Baltimore three weeks later. The enterprising Pratt held a patent on a daguerreotype coloring process, used to impart the faint flesh tone to Poe's face and hand."

Many know Pratt as the man who lived in Pratt's Castle.

More about that Here.

Another image of the castle - seen in the ruins of Richmond after the war.

- Ray B.

James Branch Cabell and Ellen Glasgow, 1928.

2010-11-18T08:37:00.004-05:00

Though they had shared the same city their entire lives, it was not until the 1920s, when they had become two of Richmond's most successful and respected writers, that James Branch Cabell (1879-1958) and Ellen Glasgow (1873-1945) became true friends.

The only known photograph of Ellen Glasgow and James Branch Cabell together was taken at the Cabell home (3201 Monument) on June 1, 1928 by Richmond's Dementi Studio for the Richmond News Leader. From left to right are Burton Rascoe, a literary critic from Chicago, Ellen Glasgow, James Branch Cabell, Priscilla Bradley Shepherd Cabell (Cabell's first wife), and Elliott White Springs, a short story writer.

If you click twice on the image it will get much larger and you can see that Glasgow is hiding most of her body with a very large feather.

To learn more about the relationship

between Cabell and Glasgow click HERE.

- Ray B.

VCU's 18th Annual Symposium on Architectural History and the Decorative Arts, Friday, November 19th, 2010, Va. Historical Society

2010-11-17T11:20:00.000-05:00

“Traditions--II,” Virginia Commonwealth University's 18th Annual Symposium on Architectural History and the Decorative Arts

The conference, directed by Professor Charles Brownell, will have four sessions. They will deal with the story of the Ionic Order from the ancient Mediterranean world through the Colonial Revival in Richmond’s Fan District; Jefferson’s transformation of Virginia architecture; the Classical country house in the Chesapeake region; and the early twentieth-century renewal of Classicism from the Jamestown Tercentennial Exposition through the original building of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Center for Palladian Studies in America and a dozen other cultural institutions join in sponsoring the Symposium.

Admission is free to students, $8.00 per person for members of sponsoring institutions, and $10.00 per person for others. Reservations are necessary for a post-conference reception, at an additional charge of $15.00.

To register, please send checks, payable to VCU Symposium, to Symposium, Department of Art History, Virginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 843046, 922 West Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23284-3046, by November 12th 2010. Brochures will be available in early Fall 2010. For a brochure or other information, please call 804/828-2784 or email Courtney Culbreth at .

Friday, November 19th, 2010
9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Virginia Historical Society

Click twice for a much larger view.

Click twice for larger view.

Richmond Comprehensive Planning Slide Collection

2010-11-15T17:04:00.000-05:00

The old Sixth Street Marketplace, mid 1980s.

New Online Collection - contains over 8,000 images primarily depicting the city of Richmond - compiled by the staff of the Planning and Preservation Division of the City of Richmond's Department of Planning and Development Review. Date range is primarily 1970s-1990s. The images serve as a record for properties which have since been either renovated or demolished. The collection is part of VCU Libraries' Digital Collections.

"The Burial Ground: An Early African American Site in Richmond, Virginia." Notes On Its History and Location by Jeffrey Ruggles.

2010-11-11T13:01:00.004-05:00

"The Burial Ground: An Early African American site in Richmond.

Notes on its History and Location."

By Jeffrey Ruggles.

We have another submission from Jeffrey Ruggles. He has provided us with a PDF of his article about the "Negro Burial Ground" in Richmond. Here is some background about Jeffrey:

"Although not born in Richmond, Jeffrey Ruggles has lived in the Richmond area since high school. He received his B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.F.A. in design/photography from Virginia Commonwealth University. In the 1980s, Ruggles worked as a photographer for the 1708 Gallery and Anderson Gallery and assisted with text, illustrations, and the design of 32 Canal Walk Historical Marker panels installed between downtown Richmond and Brown’s Island.

Ruggles recently left the Virginia Historical Society (VHS) where he was Curator of Prints and Photographs. While at the VHS, he curated two online exhibitions and four physical exhibitions. Ruggles also helped organize "Hidden Things Brought to Light: Finding Lumpkin's Jail and Locating the Burial Ground for Negroes," a conference at the Virginia Historical Society in February 2009. In addition to his work at the VHS, Ruggles is the author of The Unboxing of Henry Brown (2003) and Photography in Virginia (2008)." - from: http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/apr/13/richmond-neighborhoods-community-conversation/

You can read Jeffrey's article HERE.

Some links on the topic:

Preliminary Archaeological Investigation of the Lumpkin's Jail Site (44HE1053), Richmond, Virginia - Prepared For the City of Richmond by Matthew R. Laird, Ph.D., James River Institute for Archaeology, Inc., Willimsburg, Virginia, May 2006.

Burial Ground for Negroes, Richmond, Virginia: Validation and Assessment Research Summary - A 16 page report prepared by the Department of Historic Resources, June 25, 2008.

Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project is a citizens group affiliated with the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, an all-volunteer community organization based in Richmond, Va. Both groups are involved in helping to document and educate the public about Richmond's slave history.

--

Come and Get Some History!

2010-11-10T10:18:00.002-05:00

Main Street Grill, 17th and Main, Richmond, Virginia, USA
'Convenient to the James River

Postcard image of the Main Street Grill. Located at 1700 E. Main Street, this image was taken by the owner of the establishment after the building was submerged by the flood of November 4-7, 1985. Grillcard #1, copyright 1991, Photo: Ruggles 11-85

The 33rd Annual Postcard Show and Sale, sponsored by the Old Dominion Postcard Club, will take place on Friday, November 12, 2010 - 10am - 6pm AND Saturday, November 13, 2010 10am - 4pm. The event will be held at the Holiday Inn Central, 3207 N. Boulevard, Richmond, VA

In close proximity to Interstates 64 and 95.

Donation is $3.00.

More than 25 postcard dealers! Millions of Postcards!

For additional information about the show, please contact Ernie White at qrstuv@mindspring.com, or Mike Uzel at uzelsells@comcast.net.

Visit the Old Dominion Postcard Club web site at:

http://www.olddominionpcc.com/index.html

Here's a chance to own some history - acquire Rare views of Virginia localities and from all over the U.S. and the World.

Thousands and thousands of locations, thousands and thousands of topics.

Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery by John O. Peters, 2010

2010-11-05T10:29:00.001-04:00

Haxall family plot, Hollywood Cemetery.

The digital scan of this image does not do it justice to how it appears in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery. Author John O. Peters, who photographed the many color and black and white images in the book, has done an excellent job at telling the story of Hollywood Cemetery. The book (which also contains numerous historic images) was published by the Valentine Richmond History Center earlier this year. If you are interested in Richmond history, this book is a must to own. You will find it in your local book shop and at the Valentine Museum.

-- Ray B.

Chamber of Commerce Building, Richmond, Va., 1912.

2010-11-04T15:25:00.003-04:00

Post card image of the Chamber of Commerce Building, postmarked 1912.

The Richmond Chamber of Commerce building, 823-827 E. Main Street, was built 1891-1892 and designed by architect Marion J. Dimmock (1846-1908). Considered one of the most impressive buildings of its time in Richmond, this Richardsonain style building was sixth-stories high, used local Petersburg granite, included numerous offices and an auditorium. Despite its many features, the building was only in use for ten years. It was demolished in 1912 to make way for the First National Bank building. Granite from the building was salvaged and used in the construction of a building at 203 Governor Street.

I found the two articles below at Chronicling America - seems that other Richmond architects and their own designs were considered before Dimmock's design was finally accepted. Those other architects included Charles H. Read, Jr.(1846-1904) and the firm of Egerton S. Rogers (who would design the Dooley Mansion at Maymont) and Walter. R. Higham. Rogers and Higham designed Cavalry Armory in Richmond, which Selden wrote about in an earlier blog entry.

Check out the nom de plumes that the architects used. Read, as Johnny Reb, was a VMI graduate and fought in the Battle of New Market.

Feb. 8, 1891, Richmond Dispatch

Click here to see the PDF of the page shown above - has details about Read's plan - the article is near the top of the second column.

-- Ray B.

Annual Postcard Show and Sale, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 12-13, 2010 - Holiday Inn Central, 3207 N. Blvd. Richmond

2010-11-02T08:31:00.003-04:00

In close proximity to Interstates 64 and 95.

Donation is $3.00.

More than 25 postcard dealers! Millions of Postcards!

For additional information about the show, please contact Ernie White at qrstuv@mindspring.com, or Mike Uzel at uzelsells@comcast.net.

Visit the Old Dominion Postcard Club web site at:

http://www.olddominionpcc.com/index.html

Here's a chance to own some history - acquire Rare views of Virginia localities and from all over the U.S. and the World.

Thousands and thousands of locations, thousands and thousands of topics.

Want an idea of the kinds of cards you can buy? Visit this site on Richmond postcards for an idea of the scope of postcards you'll find at the Postcard Show and Sale.

"Democrats Sweep Country" - One Hundred Years Ago, Times Dispatch, Nov. 9, 1910.

2010-11-01T15:56:00.002-04:00

This year's mid-terms elections are slated to be a bust for the Democratic Party. 100 years ago things were just the opposite. It was the GOP that took a beating.

Read about the elections that took place in the United States 100 years ago in the Richmond Times Dispatch, Nov. 9, 1910. In congressional elections, Democrats win control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1894, gaining a 228 to 162 to 1 majority. They pick up several governor seats as well. In the Senate, Republicans hold on to a 51 to 41 advantage. More here.

Search Richmond, Virginia Newspapers at Chronicling America.

- Ray B.

Richmond -- The Open Door to the South, from the Washington Herald, March 2, 1913.

2010-10-29T13:50:00.004-04:00

Found these images online at Chronicling America:

Click here for Larger PDF View

“You are a part of all of us”: Black Department Store Employees in Jim Crow Richmond" - by Beth Kreydatus, University College, VCU.

2010-10-27T14:27:00.004-04:00

Just found this online - what an interesting topic - the PDF file of her paper can be accessed HERE.:

“You are a part of all of us”:
black department store
employees in Jim Crow Richmond
Beth Kreydatus
University College, Virginia Commonwealth University,
Richmond, Virginia, USA

Abstract:

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of a significant group of retail employees, specifically the African-American operations and service workers that worked behind the scenes in department stores during the Jim Crow era, defined here as 1890-1965.

Design/methodology/approach – Department stores have rightly occupied a prominent place in business historiography. This wealth of scholarship can be explained partly by substantial archival resources, but especially by department stores’ significance to US business, cultural, and social history. Yet, despite this rich historiography, a significant number of department store employees have been overlooked, and this omission has distorted the picture of the work culture and marketing strategies of these massive and influential retail institutions. Department stores employ a large number of operations and service staff, such as delivery people, housekeeping and maintenance workers, elevator operators, stock workers, packers, and warehouse workers. These positions make up roughly one-fifth of all department store work.

This paper presents a close study of the two most prominent department stores of early and mid-twentieth century Richmond, Virginia – Thalhimers and Miller and Rhoads – to offer insight into the work culture and workplace experiences of these employees. Findings – Ultimately, this paper shows that African-American employees played an important role in the maintenance and image of Richmond department stores. Store managers place high demands for “loyalty” and “faithfulness” on their black staff to demonstrate their lavish services to the buying public. For black employees, this means that the work environment can be highly stressful, as they seek to meet competing demands from customers and co-workers. However, department store work offers opportunities, in particular, steady employment among a close network of African-American coworkers. Finally, the presence of segregated black employees undermines managements’ attempts to convey their workforce as one “happy family.”

Research limitations/implications – The research is entirely based on two high-end department stores, Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers, both based in Richmond, Virginia. Two store archives – available at the Valentine Richmond History Center and the Virginia Historical Society – are the primary resources for this project. Because, the papers in these archives are donated by store managers, a limitation to this study is the dearth of unmediated voices of the employees themselves.

Originality/value – This research adds to the historiography of department stores by shedding light on employees who are expected by employers to remain nearly invisible in their jobs, and unfortunately, have been fairly invisible in the historical record as well.

The paper can be accessed HERE.

Grave Robbing, Goblins, and Ghouls: Anatomical Education in 19th Century Richmond on Thursday, October 28th, 2010.

2010-10-27T11:05:00.001-04:00

Join Tompkins-McCaw Library's Jodi Koste for a lecture on Grave Robbing, Goblins, and Ghouls: Anatomical Education in 19th Century Richmond on Thursday, October 28 from 4 to 5 p.m. in Sanger Hall, Room 4-026. Anatomical instruction has been integral to medical education for centuries. Discover how anatomy was taught in Richmond during the 19th century and why students and faculty were involved in procuring cadavers for this important educational experience.

A brief walking tour of the MCV Campus highlighting stories about grave robbing, goblins, and ghouls will follow the presentation.

Seating is limited; advanced registration is encouraged.

Visit this site to register.

Rosa Stone Forced to Sit with Negroes, Suffolk, VA, Sept. 5, 1907

2010-10-25T17:02:00.000-04:00

Here is an odd entry from the Sept. 5, 1907 issue of the Times Dispatch - Not Rosa Parks but Rosa Stone, a white woman, has racial problems on public transportation.

Read the article Here.

Richmond City Parks - A Snapshot, September, 1907.

2010-10-25T16:48:00.002-04:00

From the Editors of the Times Dispatch, Sept. 1, 1907.
Click on the image for a larger view.

From the Times Dispatch, Sept. 5, 1907 -
A reply to the editorial from earlier in the week. This letter
written by Marion J. Dimmock (1824-1908), Richmond architect.

Click on image for a larger view.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shafer Court, VCU, April 14, 1989.

2010-10-21T09:19:00.002-04:00

Red Hot Chilli Peppers, from left to right, John Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis, and Flea, April 14, 1989.

The drummer is not shown in the image - it was either D.H. Peligro or Chad Smith.

Friday night rock concerts in Shafer Court at VCU were free. The beer truck was about 20 feet away from the stage. A glass of beer was a buck in the 1980s (students could drink beer at 18 then). The concerts began with set up around 4 pm and the music began at 5 or 6 - lasting until about 8 pm when people headed off to parties in the Fan or in the VCU dorms. Most of the concerts were organized by the student concert committee which began in the late 1960s bringing local and national acts to not only Shafer Court but to the Franklin Street Gym and the Mosque (now the Landmark Theatre).

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, who played here on April 14, 1989, were one of hundreds of local and nationally known bands who performed on the brick stage in Shafer Court. That stage stood about where the elevator is in the "new" VCU Shafer Court Dinning Center. The stage was built in 1960 and was demolished in 2002. There is a historic marker on the ground commemorating the stage and the concerts that took place there - its about 30 feet back from Shafer Street just to the right of the Shafer Street Playhouse.

The 1980s were the peek years for the Friday night rock concerts with local bands like the Awareness Art Ensemble, The Good Guys, Death Piggy, and The Bobcats playing often to large crowds.

The Richmond music scene needs to be documented - if you are interested in learning more about its history, VCU Libraries' Special Collections and Archives' holdings include a full run of Throttle and the Richmond Music News and other alternative publications documenting Richmond's music scene through the decades.

- Ray B.

Rare view of 200 E. Franklin Street, Richmond, Va., ca. 1915

2010-10-18T15:12:00.000-04:00

Rare postcard image, ca. 1915.

Built in the 1890s, this house at 200 E. Franklin Street was one of a number of Richardsonian style houses built east of Belvidere but few remain. Variations of these dark brownstone buildings, many with large arches over the doorways and corner towers, were more popular in what is now Richmond’s Fan District where many survive.

Mrs. “Fannie” M. Horace Wellford Jones ran a boarding house at this address. She later would own the “Rosegill Tea Room” at 20 W. Franklin Street, the forerunner to Morton’s Tea Room which operated at that address from 1952 through 1991.

- Ray B.

Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James, 1902-03

2010-10-18T09:30:00.001-04:00

The cover of Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James: The Book of its Chamber of Commerce and Principal Business Interests. Richmond, Va. : G. W. Engelhardt, 1902-3.

Not the most original title but the book contains some great information and images. The cover image seen above is from an original copy held in Special Collections and Archives at the James Branch Cabell Library, VCU Libraries.

This great resource is now available on Google Books.

Some examples of what you'll find inside:

-- Ray B.

"Oregon Hill" - by the Cowboy Junkies, 1992.

2010-10-15T09:30:00.008-04:00

A few years ago I asked the Cowboy Junkies if they had the original lyrics to their song "Oregon Hill" (released in 1992 on their album Black Eyed Men) and if they would be willing to donate them to VCU Libraries. As you may know, Oregon Hill is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Richmond sitting just north of the James River and south of the Fan District. Their song invokes the sites and sounds of Oregon Hill.

I received this letter back - see below (click on images for larger views):

Wasn't that very nice of Michael Timmins? Thanks again Michael.

Here are the handwritten lyrics:

They got their directions wrong once or twice. The prison they refer was the State Prison which stood east (not north) of Oregon Hill on Belvidere and the college they mention is VCU which is north (not east). Or maybe they did have it correct? You decide.

"Oregon Hill" by the Cowboy Junkies
from the album Black-Eyed Man (1992)
Oregon Hill

"The hoods are up on Pine Street,
rear ends lifted too
The great-grandsons of General Robert E. Lee
are making love with a little help from STP
Their women on the porches comparing alibis

Greasy eggs and bacon,
bumper stickers aimed to start a fight,
full gun racks, Confederate caps,
if you want some 'shine
well, you can always find some more,
but what I remember most is the colour of Suzy's door

And Suzy says she's up there
cutting carrots still
And Suzy says she's missing me
so I'm missing Oregon Hill

A river to the south
to wash away all sins
A college to the east of us
to learn where sin begins
A graveyard to the west of it all
which I may soon be lying in

'Cause to the north there is a prison
which I've come to call my home,
but some Monday morning no country song
will sing me home again

And Suzy says she's up there
cutting carrots still
And Suzy says she's missing me
so I'm missing Oregon Hill

Sunday morning, eight A.M.,
sirens fill the air
Sounds like someone made the river
Sounds like someone being born again
Me, I'm just lying here in Suzy's bed

Baptists celebrating with praises to the Lord,
rednecks doing it with gin
Me and Suzy, we're celebrating
the joy of sleeping in
because tomorrow I'll be home again

But Suzy says she'll wait there
cutting carrots by the window sill
And Suzy says, 'Always think of me
when you think of Oregon Hill"

-----------------------

Listen - Get a taste of the song here.

So what is Oregon Hill?

Oregon Hill - This website focuses on activities and events

at the neighborhood level, and on larger events with direct impact on their community.

“The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA)"

"Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council, Inc. (OHHIC)"

VCU's 18th Annual Symposium on Architectural History and the Decorative Arts, Friday, November 19th, 2010, Va. Historical Society

2010-10-14T12:53:00.004-04:00

“Traditions--II,” Virginia Commonwealth University's 18th Annual Symposium on Architectural History and the Decorative Arts

Friday, November 19th, 2010
9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Virginia Historical Society

Click twice for a much larger view.

Click twice for larger view.

The Shockoe Examiner

34th Annual Postcard Show and Sale, Friday, Nov. 11th and Sat. Nov. 12

Image Challenge - What Street Is This? What Block? And When?

"Lewis Ginter" author speaks and signs books 2 pm - Oct. 28, 2011 - James Branch Cabell Library, VCU Libraries

Punishment of a Negro at Richmond, VA., and New Market, Corner of Market and Sixth Street, Richmond, VA, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, August 10, 1865,

Richmond’s Lost Skyway: The Marshall Street Viaduct

Riverfront Plan, Richmond, Virginia - Public Forum, October 18, 2011.

The Mosque - Part of the "Arabesque" in Richmond

What building is this in Richmond, Virginia?

The Jefferson [Hotel], Richmond, Virginia (1890) - Online book

The Jefferson, Richmond, Virginia (1890)

Read it online - has some wonderful images of the Jefferson Hotel.

- Ray

Name this Richmond street.

Dr. Edgar E. MacDonald (1917-2011) - Scholar, Co-worker, and Friend.

Rare view - 818 W. Main St., Richmond, Va - What is now the Main Street side of the Landmark Theatre, ca. 1870-80s??

Rare view of "The Capital, Richmond, Virginia," from Ballou's Pictorial (Boston) newspaper dated February 27, 1858.

First Psychedelic Rock Concert in Richmond (and Virginia) took place 44 years (& 2 days) ago on W. Broad Street, August 4, 1967.

Clarence Clemons (1942-2011)

The 1886-1887 Richmond YMCA building.

What 1886-1887 building was this?

Multiple Exposure: Catablog of the Prints and Photographs Collection at the Library of Virginia

New Web Site on Richardsonian Architecture of Richmond

Neil Young visits Plan 9 Music in Richmond's Carytown, April 16, 2011.

ThroTTle Magazine - 30 Years Later and Counting.

Civil War Richmond (Civil War started 150 years ago today)

Image of Old City Hall, 1909.

So where was that image?

What block in Richmond was this and what is the date range?

W. H. Eanes - Tinning, Plumbing and Gas Fitting, 1307 W. Main St., Richmond, ca. 1905

We have a new look - what do you think?

"New View of A Western Section of Richmond..." - 1906 view of the Fan with Richmond College in Background.

Monument Avenue Wiki

Looking for Photographic Images of the Ellett House, or the 800 block (south side) of W. Franklin St.

Suburban Reflections: A Review of the Attractive Suburban Property Belonging to the Estate of the Late Major Lewis Ginter, ca. 1900.

Willie, the Six Year Old Richmond Newsboy, and the Photographs of Lewis W. Hine, June 8, 1911.

Profile of Richmond, Va, Jan. 1917 - from the NAACP's The Crisis

RICHMOND COOKS 1898-2010: A sampling of cookbooks in the Library of Virginia collection

Historic Images found in Richmond Magazine.

Border Cafe, 1992.

Shockoe Valley slums, 1913.

Can you name this location in Richmond?

Sixty Grand in Sixty Seconds: One of Richmond’s Great Unsolved Robberies

A Little Mystery - Richmond Goes Electric

Grace Place - Demolished.

Grace Place, Richmond's first vegetarian restaurant, 826 W. Grace St., image from 1992.

Panorama of Richmond by Alexander Gardner, April 1865.

Richmond from Church Hill, April 1865.

Floyd Ave. - Then and Now.

VCU yearbooks and alumni publications from both campuses are now available online.

Happy Holidays from the Shockoe Examiner.

Jurgen's Furniture Store - An Envelope Reveals Some Lost History, 1911

The Old Confederate Soldier's Home, Richmond (now the site of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts).

Where is this in Richmond?

The Free Public Library in Quincy, Illinois - Why was this building featured in a Richmond newspaper in 1888?

Where in Richmond? It is Shafer Court, 1967.

Where is this in Richmond?

Two New Image Sites on Richmond.

Edgar Allan Poe, Richmond, Sept. 1849 - Daguerreotype by William Abbot Pratt.

James Branch Cabell and Ellen Glasgow, 1928.

VCU's 18th Annual Symposium on Architectural History and the Decorative Arts, Friday, November 19th, 2010, Va. Historical Society

Richmond Comprehensive Planning Slide Collection

"The Burial Ground: An Early African American Site in Richmond, Virginia." Notes On Its History and Location by Jeffrey Ruggles.

Come and Get Some History!

More Dimmock Buildings Documented: The North Side of the 200 Block of E. Franklin St.

Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery by John O. Peters, 2010

Chamber of Commerce Building, Richmond, Va., 1912.

Annual Postcard Show and Sale, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 12-13, 2010 - Holiday Inn Central, 3207 N. Blvd. Richmond

"Democrats Sweep Country" - One Hundred Years Ago, Times Dispatch, Nov. 9, 1910.

Richmond -- The Open Door to the South, from the Washington Herald, March 2, 1913.

“You are a part of all of us”: Black Department Store Employees in Jim Crow Richmond" - by Beth Kreydatus, University College, VCU.

Grave Robbing, Goblins, and Ghouls: Anatomical Education in 19th Century Richmond on Thursday, October 28th, 2010.

Rosa Stone Forced to Sit with Negroes, Suffolk, VA, Sept. 5, 1907

Richmond City Parks - A Snapshot, September, 1907.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shafer Court, VCU, April 14, 1989.

Rare view of 200 E. Franklin Street, Richmond, Va., ca. 1915

Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James, 1902-03

"Oregon Hill" - by the Cowboy Junkies, 1992.

VCU's 18th Annual Symposium on Architectural History and the Decorative Arts, Friday, November 19th, 2010, Va. Historical Society