Where in Richmond? It is Shafer Court, 1967.

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?

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.

 

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.

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."

- Ray

James Branch Cabell and Ellen Glasgow, 1928.

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

“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

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.

"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!

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.

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

Post card image of 200 E. Franklin, corner of Second and E. Franklin St.

In an earlier Post we showed a rare postcard view of 200 E. Franklin St. (see the image above). After recently coming across a newspaper article ["Richmond's Growth" - Richmond Dispatch, April 27, 1890] on building in Richmond in 1890, we have documentation that the Richmond architectural firm headed by Marion J. Dimmock (1842-1908) was responsible for its design - along with three other buildings directly to the west - 202, 204, and 206.  

The article is quite long and quotes several builders and architects in the city - all talking about how much building is going on in Richmond. 

Here is the section quoting Dimmock:

From Richmond Dispatch, April 27, 1890.

The William Henry Jones house he mentions is 800 W. Franklin Street - it is now owned by VCU and a photograph of the Oscar Cranz house (now demolished) was published in an 1892 edition of the American Architect and Building News (we will add that image after we acquire it).  Dimmock had published a house design for the T. C. Leake family in the 1880s in American Architect and Building News so this may be a new discovery as well. The other four patrons he mentions all had their houses built in a row - see below.

  Marion J. Dimmock (1842-1908). 

Kerri Culhane described Dimmock in her 1992 thesis,"The Fifth Avenue of Richmond": The Development of the 800 and 900 Blocks of West Franklin Street, Richmond, Virginia, 1855-1925."    She wrote:

"Second to the elder [Albert L.] West (1825-1892) in seniority [of practicing architecture in Richmond] was Captain Marion J. Dimmock (1842-1908). The 1893 Chamber of Commerce book attested that "the architecture of [Richmond], indeed, bears everywhere the impress of his constructive and artistic talent."

Dimmock's work included buildings of ecclesiastical, civic, commercial, industrial and residential use. Dimmock was made a Fellow of the AIA [American Institute of Architects] in 1888, and was elected to serve a one-year term on the board in 1891. The Jones-Williams House at 800 West Franklin Street (1890 -1891) was designed by Dimmock.

Dimmock is one of the most important figures in late nineteenth-century Richmond architecture. His influence was felt not only through his own work, but for his role in training younger architects, such as C.K. Bryant (c. 1872-c. 1935) and Duncan Lee (1884-1952). Dimmock was the only Virginia architect whose work was published consistently in the trade journal, American Architect and Building News."

Click on the image twice for a much larger view.

The row of four houses on the left, 200, 202, 204, and 206, located on the north side of the street, were built in 1890 and designed by the Richmond architectural firm of Marion J. Dimmock. These Richardsonian style buildings are long demolished. Many more of this style in Richmond, most built in the 1890s, survive west of Belvidere, along W. Franklin Street and on streets in the Fan District. This image is from Art Work of Richmond published in 1897.  This block is just east of Lindon Row.

From the 1892 Richmond directory we learn:

200 E. Franklin St. -  Dr. Joseph A. White, Jr., physician and senior surgeon to the Richmond Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Infirmary. 

202 E. Franklin St. - Robert G. Rennolds, secretary and treasurer of the Richmond Stove Co. 

204 E. Franklin St. - Dr. Robert B. Stover, physician.

206 E. Franklin St. - Dr. Charles W. P. Brock, physician.

Here is the 200 block of E. Franklin St. today - from Google Maps.

-- Ray B.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.