The Howitzer Monument, Park Ave. and Harrison St., Richmond, Va., ca. 1915.

The Howitzer Monument, unveiled December 13, 1892, is located in a small park at the corner of Park Avenue and Harrison Street, opposite VCU's James W. Black Music Center and W. E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. The statue is dedicated to the Richmond Howitzers Artillery Battalion which originally organized as the Virginia Howitzers Artillery Battery in November of 1859. 

The statue was designed by William Ludwell Sheppard (1833-1912) who served during the Civil War as a second lieutenant in the Richmond Howitzers. Sheppard was a long time Richmond resident who studied art in New York before the war and later in Paris. A landscape artist and illustrator of many books, Sheppard is primarily remembered for his numerous engravings that appeared in Harper's Weekly and other national magazines during and after Reconstruction. 

The inscription on the front of the base of the statue reads: "To Commemorate the Deeds and Services of The Richmond Howitzers of the Period, 1861-1865."

VCU students often decorate the statue, which many refer to as the "Q-Tip Man", with a scarf and hat.

Grace Hospital, ca. 1920

Postcard image of Grace Hospital, ca. 1920.

The reverse of the postcard reads: "This beautiful building is
thoroughly equipped with all the latest appliances for the alleviation of the sick."

Located at 401 W. Grace Street, Grace Hospital, built 1911-1912, was one of ten new hospitals built in Richmond between 1900 and 1920, an example of the city’s growth during that time period.

Grace Hospital was built as a three-story modern hospital designed by Charles M. Robinson (1867-1932). It opened in May of 1912 with 47 patient beds and had the distinction of being the first fire-proof hospital building in the city. Its Colonial Revival design included a large portico with paired Ionic columns. In this postcard view the classical balustrade, long since removed, can be seen.

The building tripled in size with additions in 1930 and in 1964. It had a nursing program that operated from 1912 to 1932 and 1942 to 1975. Grace Hospital merged with St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, 617 W. Grace Street, in 1979 to become Richmond Metropolitan Hospital, 701 W. Grace Street, now a VCU dormitory.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Grace Hospital served as an adult retirement home. Most of its residents were indigent patients, many with mental health issues.They were often characterized as being among Richmond's "homeless." The facility closed in the late 1990s. In 2004 the building was remodeled into an apartment building.

Two notable Richmonders from different social ranks died at Grace Hospital. Major James H. Dooley (1841-1922), whose large estate, Maymont, was later given to the City of Richmond, died here on November 16, 1922. Benjamin F. Mosby, a C&O Railway employee, died here after injuries he sustained from the famous Church Hill Tunnel collapse in 1925. 

For more on Grace Hospital, check out this wonderfully

researched Registration Form for the National Register of Historic Places. 

Research more Richmond postcards HERE.

- Ray B.

The 600 block of W. Franklin Street, ca. 1900.

The 600 block of W. Franklin Street (Monroe Park is across the street) - where the Prestwould Apartment building stands today. Image courtesy of Richard Bland. Image by Cook Photographers. Click on images twice for much larger views.

608 W. Franklin Street, ca. 1900 - image by Cook, courtesy of Richard Bland.

Do you have old images of Richmond you would like to share?

Email Ray B. at rfbonis@vcu.edu

Laurel Street, ca. 1900.

Laurel Street (that's Floyd Ave. veering off to the right) from the

National Hardware Convention Booklet, Richmond, Virginia, ca. 1900.

Notice there is no Mosque building (today's Landmark Theatre, built 1925-1927)

and the top section of the tower of Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church,
built 1894, is still intact. It was destroyed by the 1951 Richmond tornado.

Ray B.

Main and Laurel St., 1951

Corner of Main and Laurel Streets, 1951

Image looking east taken from the second floor
of the Richmond Mosque (now the Landmark Theatre)

We see here Monroe Park on the left. This image was just taken days after the famous 1951 tornado that went through Richmond taking off roofs and tearing down trees. The tracks of the streetcar system can still be seen. VCU's Gladding Residence Center now occupies the right side of Main St.

Click on the image Twice to see a much larger view.

More images documenting the 1951 tornado event are available in Special Collections and Archives (SCA), VCU Libraries. The images were lent to SCA by the Richmond Dept. of Parks and Recreation and digitally scanned.

- Ray B.

Shockoe Hill Cemetery - Renewal?

Some Are Dead, Some Are Living

[Check out this very recent article on Shockoe Hill Cemetery by Harry Kollatz at Richmond Magazine.]

Shockoe Hill Cemetery, the city’s history etched in its gravestones, languished for years, but today, through the efforts of volunteers and preservationists, the final resting place of John Marshall is in the process of renewal. Still, much more needs to be done at Shockoe and elsewhere to preserve the city’s historic cemeteries.

Read the Rest of the Article Here.

Visit Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery.

Historic information about
Shockoe Hill Cemetery from
the Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

Image on the left from 

Rarely Seen Richmond

part of the VCU Libraries' Digital Collections.

27th and Marshall St., Then (1960) and Now (2010-ish)

Title: Marshall Street at 27th Street;

Creator: Adolph B. Rice Studio, Richmond, Va; Date: 1960 July 26

From the Library of Virginia's photostream on Flickr

Same corner, from Google Maps. 

50 years later - not so good!

- Ray B.

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.