Richmond, VA
Richmond’s Old City Hall is an architectural and, to a degree, governmental landmark. The winning design was scrapped because the $300,000 cost was deemed too expensive. The city then accepted a more modest proposal from a different architect, only to reverse course again to build Elijah Myers’ Gothic design. The actual cost wound up more […]
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VCU Children’s Pavilion got mixed reviews (see links below), but I was fascinated by the way it reflected and fractured the sky and neighboring buildings. It’s dynamic abstract art that changes with the sun, clouds and your own motion. Do the top and bottom clash? Do the odd angles annoy? You be the judge. Name:
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Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is among Richmond’s tallest buildings, and visually a near-twin of Dominion Energy’s One James River Plaza building, which was demolished in 2020. The skyscraper was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect who designed New York’s ill-fated World Trade Center towers. Interesting factoid: Almost half of the building’s total square footage,
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Virginia Housing is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing affordable housing. I haven’t found any details about their headquarters on Gambles Hill. Name: Virginia Housing Location: 601 South Belvidere Street Style: Postmodern Google Map All images copyright © Kenneth Grant / photos taken October 2019 with Canon 5D Mark iv
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Institute for Contemporary Art, aka Markel Center, is part of the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Monroe Park Campus. The ultra-modern design is also ultra-environmentally conscious, with green roofs, geothermal heating and cooling, and glass insulating walls combined with recycled metal panels. Name: Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU, Markel Center Location: 601 West Broad Street
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Railroad Branch YMCA was built by the railroads, next to the Main Street Station, to give railroad workers a wholesome alternative to the flop houses and bordellos of what was then a red light district. It has been converted to a pub/restaurant (City Bar & Chop House) and apartments (Railroad-Y Lofts). Name: Railroad Branch YMCA
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First National Bank Building was Richmond’s first high-rise building, according to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Surprisingly (to me, at least), this 1913 landmark was built as a bank but commissioned by a railroad, Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company. The massive brick-and-stone building is an example how architects originally envisioned high-rise buildings – as
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Gateway Plaza is an aluminum and glass high-rise office building overlooking Kanawha Plaza. Visually, the building appears to be three stacked boxes, each with a different façade treatment. Along South 9th Street, the slim office tower has a retail and lobby base. The western section has a metal-skinned parking garage base, surmounted by an office
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American Tobacco Company built this Colonial Revival-style research lab in 1939; additions were made in 1955 and 1992. Name: American Tobacco Company Location: 400 Richmond Highway Year Completed: 1939 Architect: Francisco and Jacobus Style: Colonial Revival Virginia Department of Historic Resources: American Tobacco Company South Richmond Complex HD National Register of Historic Places: Registration Form
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Ethyl Corporation headquarters, atop Gambles Hill, fools many Richmond visitors. It looks like a capitol, or at least a governor’s mansion, and it looks to be about a century older than it actually is. After all, how many office buildings are designed in Colonial Revival style, or have ancient cannon parked on the front lawn?
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