November Theatre is a century-old landmark in the Broad Street Commercial Historic District, originally known as the Empire Theatre. It was advanced for its time: air conditioned – by fans blowing over blocks of ice! A mere three years later, the Empire was converted to film and vaudeville under a new name, The Strand. A […]
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Masonic Temple is considered Virginia’s largest and finest example of Richardsonian Romanesque construction, according to landmark documents. Originally, the building housed a department store on the ground floor, ballrooms on the second and third floors, and Masonic Lodge meeting rooms on the fourth and fifth floors. Now known as the events venue Renaissance, the landmark
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American Heritage Apartments is proof positive that you should always look up. At street level, my only interest was visiting the 7/11. From the State Capitol grounds, I found this view of the building, over the roof of the U.S. Court of Appeals on Bank Street. Marvelous cornice, terra cotta, balconies – not to mention
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The Virginia State Capitol core – the building minus the wings that were added in 1906 – was designed by Thomas Jefferson and Charles-Louis Clerisseau in the image of a Roman Temple, Maison Caree. The neo-Classical temple form is said to have set a design precedent for public buildings in the United States. In keeping
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Broad Street Station, aka Union Station of Richmond, was on the verge of destruction in 1976 after Amtrak abandoned the transport hub. The State of Virginia planned to demolish the building and erect an office park on the site. Preservationists and the Science Museum of Virginia – which had been looking for a home for
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Navy Hill is the name given to a redevelopment scheme for the area east of the Greater Richmond Convention Center, which would encompass at least two dormant Richmond landmarks: Richmond Coliseum and Richmond Light Infantry Blues Armory. Blues Armory, one-time home of the Richmond Light Infantry Blues, was converted to a shopping mall and food
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Model Tobacco Building, aka Model Tobacco Apartments, is a sleek red brick Art Deco factory built by the United States Tobacco Company in 1940. The long sides, parallel to Richmond Highway (formerly Jefferson Davis Highway) feature six tiers of windows set in grey brick ribbons. At each end, “MODEL TOBACCO” is spelled out in nine-foot-tall
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Hotel John Marshall opened in 1929 as “The Finest Hotel in the South,” and for decades reigned as the premier venue for political events. Seven presidents, from FDR to Ronald Reagan, attended functions at the John Marshall. Virginia’s outgoing governor traditionally met the governor-elect at the hotel on inauguration day. In 1985, L. Douglas Wilder
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Berry-Burk Building, once home of Berry-Burk clothiers, has been converted to rental apartments and a ground floor restaurant. The four-story limestone structure has a colorful terra cotta crown and fourth floor, and impressive main entry. As a bonus, the building is cater-corner from the stunning Dominion Energy Center Carpenter Theatre and just four blocks west
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Historic Main Street Station was built in 1901 by Seaboard Air Line Railroad* and Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Seaboard shifted service to the Broad Street Station (now Science Museum), but C&O service continued until Amtrak took over. Main Street Station was closed after flooding by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and fires in 1976 and 1983.
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