700 block of W. Franklin St. - Then and Now

Great image of the 700 block of W. Franklin St. looking east, ca. 1890s. Check out the horse drawn trolley zipping by on the left going down Laurel St. The three houses on the north side of the street demolished by RPI (now VCU) around 1966 to make way for the Rhoads Hall dormitory. There are now two dorms on that block (the other being Brandt Hall). The church seen in this image was Park Place Methodist Church built by 1886 - designed by architect Albert West. It was lost to fire in 1966. That is Monroe Park on the far right. 

Google Maps image ca. 2012 of the 700 block of W. Franklin St. looking East.

About the only thing left from the 1890s are the stone curbing and Monroe Park.

- Ray.

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.

Your Spring Park Trip, Monroe Park concert, April 5, 1970 - 40 years ago.

(Click on image for larger view)

"Your Spring Park Trip" - advertisement from the April 1970 issue of the Richmond Chronicle, an underground newspaper published monthly in Richmond, Va in the late 1960s/early 1970s. This advertisement is for a free concert in Monroe Park for April 5, 1970 from "noon 'till dusk."

I had assumed that the Family Dog listed here was the "Family Dog Productions" that put on concerts in San Francisco and in California but someone suggested to me that it could also be a band named after the production company. The bands listed here include Zion Crossroads, Past Existence, and Blue Al Furd. I would love to learn more about these bands - were they local or from out of state?

Just over a month later, May 10, 1970, there was another concert in Monroe Park that ended in tragedy. Wilmer C. Donivan, Jr. was killed when the multi-tier, cast-iron fountain broke off and fell on Donivan, 17, crushing his chest and pinning him under about 18 inches of water. The fountain had broke because two youths had climbed it and began shaking it back and forth.

Terry Rea wrote about Monroe Park that weekend at his Fan District Hub site (thanks Terry for helping me with the dates!) - read it HERE.

A Master Plan for Monroe Park, with lots of history and images, can be accessed HERE.

--  Ray B.

Image of Monroe Park, Richmond Dispatch, May 31, 1896.

From the May 31, 1896 issue of the Richmond Dispatch.
The train shown here is on Belvidere. The trolleys are on Main Street.

Click on the image for a larger view.

Check out the entire page of this issue of the Richmond Dispatch
- it includes another image of Monroe Park.