The 1886-1887 Richmond YMCA building.

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