Ginter House, 1891

From Picturesque Richmond. Richmond, Virginia and Her Suburbs,

Richmond, Va., J.L. Hill Printing Company, 1891.

Ginter House, 901 W. Franklin St., corner of Shafer and W. Franklin Streets, was completed in 1892 for cigarette magnate Major Lewis Ginter (1824-1897), one of Virginia’s wealthiest men. Ginter was responsible for developing Richmond’s Ginter Park neighborhood and commissioning the Jefferson Hotel. The building, designed by architects Harvey L. Page and William Winthrop Kent, is one of Richmond's most architecturally significant structures and is considered the finest example of Richardsonian architecture in Virginia.

From 1924 through 1930, the former mansion served as home to the City of Richmond's first public library. The Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health (later Richmond Professional Institute - RPI) purchased the building in 1930,  As the school grew (RPI became VCU in 1968), it became exclusively an administrative building for the offices of the provost, vice presidents, and other school officials.