Night Scene on Franklin Street, 1938.

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"Night Scene on Franklin Street" from the February 13, 1938 issue of the Richmond Times-Dispatch's Sunday Magazine and Book Review section. The view is from E. Franklin Street looking down Third Street.

The color illustration by John W. De Groot (1915-1995). De Groot worked for the Richmond Times-Dispatch in the late 1930s as an illustrator and writer. He provided many of the illustrations for the TD's Sunday Magazine section at that time period. This issue is courtesy of Richard Bland. I will be posting more on De Groot and his great illustrations of Richmond scenes in future posts.


-->The Central National Bank Building, built 1929 at 219 E. Broad Street, was known for decades to Richmonders as the Central Fidelity Bank building. At twenty-two stories it was the tallest building in the city for decades. The Art Deco skyscraper was designed by John Eberson (1875-1964), a noted New York architect best known for his design of movie theaters. Local architects Carneal and Johnston shared in the work and design of the building. The large neon sign that stood on the top of the building changed colors according to the weather forecast for the next day.