Kanawha Plaza is a park built on a deck spanning the Downtown Expressway (I-195) between South 7th Street and South 9th Street. It was conceived in 1972 at the behest of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The bank was planning a new headquarters building overlooking the James River at the same time that Downtown Expressway was being planned. The below-grade highway would have cut the bank off from the downtown (see Architecture Richmond).
The plaza is often used as an event venue. Before One James River Plaza (former Dominion Resources Tower) was demolished, a pedestrian overpass spanned East Canal Street to connect Kanawha Plaza with One James River Plaza.
There have been proposals to further develop Kanawha Plaza: Here’s one. There are also proposals for a similar highway deck spanning I-95.
- Name: Kanawha Plaza
- Location: Kanawha Plaza
- Year Designed: 1972
- Architect: Robert Zion
- Style: Modernist
- The Cultural Landscape Foundation: Kanawha Plaza
- Google Map
Gallery: Hover over photos for captions; click to view images in lightbox
All images copyright © Kenneth Grant / photos taken October 2019 with Canon 5D Mark iv