From Mark Person GW class of 1974 and Westover Hills Resident: We (Patricia Herrera and Laura Browder) are two University of Richmond professors who are teaching a class on civil rights and education in Richmond—and this year our focus will be on Wythe, a school that has changed a great deal over the decades.
Being a transplant I don’t have anything to scan but hopefully some of my neighbors do. The seemingly unimportant old letters that have been passed down through the generations can help fill in gaps in the story of our country. Details of the event were gleaned from the press release. The Virginia Historical Society is [...]
This map comes from an interesting post discussing the canals in the area. Historic Forest Hill Neighborhood has been updating their site recently. Its definitely worth checking out.
Belle Isle is such a natural oasis now that it is easy to forget the industry on the island as recently as the 70′s. This latest photo from Vintage Richmond really highlights the change from industry to greenery and dovetails nicely with this Belle Isle photo from 1965. Great work as always from Vintage Richmond.
From city documents I learned (thanks to John M.) that the building has been declared and imminent hazard to public safety and would like to proceed with demolition immediately (relatively). Since either the building and/or the neighborhood is historic there has to be a special exemption for this demolition to take place and the city [...]
Earlier this I week had the pleasure of getting a sneak peek at the Virginia Historical Society’s new exhibit “An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia“. The exhibit is a signature program of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. To put it mildly the exhibit is stunning. I do have a [...]
From the Valentine Richmond History Center; Community members are invited to discuss proposed content for a new Richmond History Gallery. Project Manager and Historian Edward D. Ragan will present an update on developing themes, in particular Theme #1 regarding the city’s relationship to the James River, with special guest Chris French from the Alliance for [...]
From the Valentine website; May 2 (2-4pm) Manchster; Located south of the James River, Manchester was once a major port city and for three years was the county seat of Chesterfield. Incorporated into the city of Richmond in 1910, Manchester enjoyed a mid-century heyday and is now undergoing efforts to recapture its roots. Meet at [...]
1 Day – 15 Sites – Priceless ! Civil War and Emancipation Day:the 150th Anniversaries April 17, 2010 * 9:45 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Reposting from Historic Forest Hill; Frederick “Bud” Hyland, a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed a number of houses in the Forest Hill neighborhood. We’ve identified 2 of them; if you know of additional Hyland homes in the community, please let us know so we can include that information in our historic district nomination. Mimi [...]
John Murden over at CHPN is master of maps and has a city wide map of all the Historic Districts in Richmond. I copied our chunk of the city including the area for the proposed Forest Hill Historic District. Full Map and thanks again to John.
Did you know that the Manchester Courthouse is the only surviving public building in Manchester? RTD has pictures and more details: The historic Manchester Courthouse in South Richmond is back in business, after a $23 million, court-ordered expansion. City officials, judges and others gathered in Courtroom 1 yesterday to rededicate the 1872 courthouse as the [...]
John M. from CHPN sent us an ad from the Chronicling of America website with some details on the growth of Woodland Heights. “For safe investments or for ideal homesites, the best are found in Woodland Heights. This is no speculative proposition. It is solid and substantial, and values are based on Present conditions; not [...]
Interesting description and detail about Forest Hill Park from the July 9th 1901 issue of the Richmond Dispatch. [singlepic id=197 w=420 h=340 float=] Full page can be found here: Richmond Dispatch July 9, 1901
I am a big fan of history so I was pleased to read that the Richmond Public Schools were one of six Virginia schools to receive a $1 million dollar grant to be used for a Teaching American History Academy II for K-12 teachers as well some additional programs including partnerships with American Civil War [...]
The city council meets tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. and there is local item that might be of interest to some that live in the Springhill Old and Historic District. The full agenda is here. Res. No. 2009-R83 (Patron: Mayor Jones, By Request) – To reverse the decision of the Commission of Architectural Review denying *** Joseph [...]
K.C. Howell former resident of Woodland Heights has done some marvelous research into a civil war fort that was right in our midst. Italicized text are my additions as are the images. Thanks K.C. for doing the research and letting us share this with the Hills and Heights Community. Click on any of the images [...]
The Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods is sponsoring a Free Renovation Lending Workshop that will give you all of the financial tools you need for the renovation of a old house in a Richmond neighborhood. You will learn About 2 important subjects: Renovation Lending Programs How to Qualify for a Mortgage Date: Wednesday, July [...]
The official word is posted at RTD. Congrats to all those that put in the hard work. The official application is here and worth checking out. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources has added the Woodland Heights neighborhood of South Richmond to the Virginia Landmarks Register. Woodland Heights was among 29 new sites approved by [...]
We covered the final push to get Woodland Heights declared historical here. Today the Virginia Department of Historic Resources will consider the request for historic designation as will Federal authorities. Congratulations to Lee Shewmake and all the others that worked so hard to make this happen. RTD has some information here. Unlike local historic district [...]
One of the few blogs I actually read everyday is The Hat by Harry Kollatz Jr. at Richmond Magazine. It was nice to see a story on the Forest Hill Park lake restoration. J.R. Pope, director of the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities introduced the two firms that will be leading the charge [...]
Richmond’s historic Forest Hill neighborhood owes its unique history to Forest Hill Park, former site of an amusement park, recreational lake and the Forest Hill Trolley. The rides were shuttered in the 1930′s, but the park remained a popular family destination for decades. Learn about current revitalization efforts and explore the beautiful neighborhood around the [...]
Retrace Abraham Lincoln’s steps on his visit to Richmond in April 1865, just a few days after the city’s fall to Union forces. As part of the bicentennial year celebrating Lincoln’s birth, the Valentine Richmond History Center, the National Park Service, the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar, the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, [...]
Test your knowledge of Richmond’s 400 year history. Take the I Know Richmond Quiz 3.0 and earn a free admission pass to the Valentine History Center or a ticket for an Historic Richmond walking tour! I had never seen this before stumbling on it at River City News but being a history geek was excited [...]
That headline is bit misleading in that we don’t need all historians but just one or two who are willing to help Woodland Heights become designated Historical. Lee Shewmake with the help of neighbors has been working very hard to earn Woodland Heights this designation. Just last week she submitted the formal application which was [...]
