[So I’ve been meaning to put together this post for quite some time, but I wanted to make sure I did the city justice. Richmond deserves that. Considering I’ve lived here 3 months now, I think I’ve educated myself on enough points to do it some justice, but not enough. This post will be about my first few months here and what I’ve been introduced to through research, classes, and just exploring my own neighborhood. That said - I realize there is much more to learn and say about this amazing city. So I’ll continue to post blogs on Richmond, my time at VCU, and my new home in Virginia.]
I’ve never once heard someone say, “Yeah, let’s go to Richmond for vacation!” Unless you’re a Civil War enthusiast or from some state along the central-east coast, you may not even be able to locate Richmond on a mental map of the U.S. Nonetheless; this city has big history, big culture, and big business.
Richmond is a bustling city with a metropolitan area of over 1,200,000 people. It is the third largest metropolitan area in Virginia (Virginia Beach and Norfolk take the lead) and the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia is the 12th most populous state in the country with a population of just over 8,000,000 people. That’s almost double the population of my home state, Louisiana. The city was formally founded in 1737, but has settlement histories dating back to 1609 in English history, and even earlier by Native Americans. This is one of my favorite aspects of Richmond, the history. I live on the border between two neighborhoods, Shockoe Slip and Shockoe Bottom. The Bottom is the location of the original city grid laid out during the founding of the city, and is home to some of the best and worst histories, all of which shaped American history on whole.
Just a few blocks from where I write, one of the most famous American writers found his home – Edgar Allen Poe. His history in Richmond is prevalent but scattered. Though he was not born here, nor did he die here, he did spend a great deal of his life here being educated, falling in and out of love, and working for a local editorial. You can find his full biography here.
Another important, but somewhat overlooked (until recently), piece of history in The Bottom is the international and American slave trade. The Bottom was home to multiple slave jails and auction houses. One of which I live next door to today. The building directly north of Smokehouse Lofts (where I live) is the last known building to be used in the slave trade. During the 1830s Davenport built this building (photographed below. credit: hmbd.org) which is today being renovated into apartments. [Side note: I did a little research on my building. (you see it to the left in the photo - with the banners) It was built post civil war, 1880s to be exact, and housed the Kingan&Co. Smokehouse. Not quite as interesting as my neighbor, but still cool to know.]
Davenport Trading Company
Aside from the history of my neighborhood, other Richmond neighborhoods – The Fan, Jackson Ward, Church Hill, Oregon Hill, Old Manchester (to name a few) – are just as rich in history. I could write for days on the histories of these places, but I’ll move on.
As a new resident to the river city, I quickly found it was much more interesting than my research prior to moving here had found. Richmond is a vibrant city, full of culture, educational tools, and research facilities. The city is home to the largest university in the Commonwealth – Virginia Commonwealth University. Until I did my research on graduate schools, I had never heard of VCU. I’m not alone, either. VCU (until the final 4 hype this year) was largely a university for the Commonwealth. The vast majority of its students are from Virginia. I was taken aback when I started my research to find that the student body is thriving at over 32,000 students. Currently VCU dates its history back to the founding of MCV in 1838. VCU has two campuses in downtown Richmond. The Monroe Park Campus is primarily an academic campus that dates back to 1917, and along the line became a satellite campus to William and Mary. The MCV (Medical College of Virginia) campus is a medical campus, which houses hospitals, research facilities, and classrooms for the medical students. The two merged to form VCU in 1968. A full history can be found here. Aside from VCU, Richmond is also home to the University of Richmond and Virginia Union University.
VCU Monroe Park Campus
Considering the amount of young people here attending these universities, Richmond has to provide a reason for these people to stay here. I read an article on richmond.com in which the writer stated, “Richmond doesn’t exactly have bells and whistles to impress visitors; it’s more the ebb and flow of living and breathing in this city that has made me fall in love with it.” To me, and I’m sure to many other residents, this is 100% true! The city as a whole isn’t exactly beautiful. You have to know the right places to go. There aren’t districts infamous to the population of the world such as Bourbon St. and the French Quarter back home. Richmond is ‘just another city’ to the passerby. But once you stay here for a while, or even a weekend with a resident, you can really get a feel of all the great things RVA has to offer. I won’t list each of those places, I’ll let you read the previously mentioned article, but I’ll post a few photos below of my favorite places in the city.
The Canal Walk starts at the end of my block and ends at Brown Island.
Brown Island is situated between the Kanawha Canal and the James River. This is definitely my favorite park in Richmond with great views of the skyline and access to the James River.
Probably one of the largest parks in Richmond, Belle Isle is in the center of the James and provides great access to the river. The photo below is the main walking path to Belle Isle.
Belle Isle walking bridge.
The Virginia State Capitol building is just a few blocks from my apartment. I just recently explored Capitol Park. It’s beautiful, but undergoing a few updates right now.
As a new resident of Richmond, I invite any of my friends and family from back home to come visit! It really is a wonderful city with so many things to offer. It may not be as infamous as New Orleans, or as glamorous as New York, but it’s a vibrant, cultural city with its own distinct identity.
Pingback: Did you know? | Modern JAC