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Listed below are other points of interest in the City. We look forward to seeing you in Richmond.
Beth Ahabah Museum and Archives
Located at 1109 W. Franklin Street. Features artifacts of international, national and local Jewish life and history. The highlight is a cornerstone from a German synagogue burned during the 1939 "Kristalnacht." 804-353-2668.
Agecroft Hall
4305 Sulgrave Road. Built in the 15th century, this English manor home was dismantled, transported to Richmond and totally reconstructed in 1928. Note the leaded glass windows, original Tudor and Stuart artifacts, authentic furnishings and formal gardens. Info: 804-353-4241.
American Historical Foundation
1142 W. Grace Street. Restored to its Federal Period grandeur, this National Historic Landmark houses the Monument Avenue Museum, the US Marine Raider Museum and the Military Knife and Bayonet Museum. Info: 804-353-1812.
Black History Museum & Cultural Center
00 Clay Street. Carroll Anderson founded the museum in 1981 before moving the museum to its current location. The museum is a neoclassical style structure built in 1832 and purchased by Maggie L. Walker in 1922. In 1932, it became the African American branch of the Richmond Public Library; in 1991 it was converted to a museum and cultural center for visual, oral and written records and artifacts commemorating the lives and accomplishments of Blacks in Virginia from their arrival in 1619 to present. Artifacts, videos, historical documents, and photographs are used to highlight the achievements of African-Americans in Virginia. Info: 804-780-9093.
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Bell Tower
The Bell Tower is located on the grounds of the State Capitol. This brick tower was built in 1824 to replace a wooden one on this site. It rang in legislative sessions and warned of fires, raids and other dangers. It is now a state visitors' center.
Belle Isle
One-of-a-kind pedestrian suspension bridge starts under the Lee Bridge on Tredegar Street. The one-mile trail around the edge of the 54-acre island includes a walk along the falls of the James and Civil War earthworks. Info: 804-780-5311.
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Monument
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson's statue can be found at Adams and West Leigh Streets in Jackson Ward. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was born on North 3rd Street, he appeared in the first African American talking picture, and achieved his great popularity in movie roles featuring his famed staircase dance routines dancing with Shirley Temple in six films. He was a notable humanitarian. Robinson paid for the traffic light at this intersection after a child was injured crossing.
Canal Walk
Adjacent to north bank of James River from Tredegar Iron Works at Fifth Street to 17th Street, with pedestrian entrances to the walk at Tredegar Iron Works, Seventh, 12th 14th, 17th and Virginia Streets (accessible to the disabled). Markers note people and events associated with the area’s history. Restoration of the Haxall and Kanawha Canals and construction of the Canal Walk provide opportunities for waterfront strolling, canal boat rides and venues for outdoor concerts and special events. Info: 804-358-5511.
Capitol Square and Virginia State Capitol
Located at Ninth and Grace Streets, The Virginia State Capitol is the first public building of neo-classical style in the United States designed by Thomas Jefferson. Free guided Tours.
Capitol Square features several monuments: Jean Antoine Houdon’s life sized statue of George Washington – the only statue in existence for which Washington posed – in the Capitol Rotunda, as well as busts of other Virginia-born presidents. The statue in Capitol Square depicts Washington on horseback.
Carillon
Between 1924 and 1928, the Virginia General Assembly acted to create a War Memorial Commission and build a lasting memorial to the heroic efforts of Virginia's World War I servicemen and servicewomen. The City donated a building site in Byrd Park. The War Memorial Carillon was built by John Taylor Bell Founders of England and contains 53 bells. The carillon is played on special occasions. Carillon concerts are usually played on veteran-related holidays (Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, Flag Day and Labor Day) and a spring series of concerts have been funded in the past by the Carillon Civic Association. Memorial concerts may be arranged by calling 804-646-1437.
To learn more about the Carillon click here. To make reservations for a meeting, wedding or party, please call our scheduling office at 804-646-0037, 646-0036, or 646-0761.
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Church Hill
Bounded approximately by Broad, Main and 21st streets and Chimborazo Park. Early Richmond neighborhood surrounding St. John’s Church, featuring an abundance of restored 19th century residences. St. John's is open daily for tours. Don't miss the 2300 block of East Grace Street or the overlook near the WRVA radio studios. Ante-bellum Greek Revival houses line the 2600 block of East Franklin Street.
City Hall (Old)
Located at 1001 E. Broad Street. This Victorian Gothic building, completed as Richmond's city hall in 1894, is as dramatic inside its 3-foot granite walls as it is outside. Now a private office building, the interior "courtyard" is a three-story painted cast-iron marvel. Troubled from the beginning, with a 400 percent cost overrun during its construction, the building was saved from demolition by the Historic Richmond Foundation. Visitors welcome on the first floor only. The building is open during normal business hours.
City Hall Observation Deck
Offers impressive views of the James River from 18 stories above Richmond’s downtown district
Edgar Allan Poe Museum
Five small buildings and enclosed garden house the poet’s possessions and memorabilia.
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Executive Mansion
Capitol Square, Richmond – America’s oldest, continuously occupied governor’s residence, this National Historic Landmark displays silver, china, carpets and furnishings donated by the citizens of Virginia. Both the bodies of Stonewall Jackson and Arthur Ashe, Jr. laid in state at the mansion. 371-2642
Fan District
Bounded by Broad and Main streets, Monroe Park and the Boulevard. Traversed by West Franklin Street and Monument Avenue, the Fan is one of Richmond's first suburban neighborhoods. It grew up around a late 19th century trolley line. Most buildings were constructed 1880-1925. It's said to be the largest intact Victorian neighborhood in the country with approximately 2,000 townhouses and other structures housing small shops and restaurants. It's called the Fan because the streets "fan" out from Monroe Park, on its eastern border.
17th Street Farmers' Market
Located at 17th and Main Streets. This marketplace, spruced up in recent years, is said to be one of the oldest such places in the country. Shockoe Creek once ran adjacent to the site used by Indians to trade in produce. Colonial use dates to the 1740s when the area was designated for fairs. In 1779 the place officially became a market and has continued as such ever since.
Great Ship Lock Park
Located at Dock and Pear Streets. The great lock built here 1850-1854 connected the James River with the Richmond dock, completing the James River and Kanawha Canal system that bypassed seven miles of falls and continued 197 miles through Virginia’s western mountain ranges.
Historic Court End
Named for the early state and federal courts that sat here, this neighborhood begins at the State Capitol. One 6 block section holds 7 National Historic Landmarks and 12 buildings listed on the National Register. 804-649-0711
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Historic Monument Avenue
Along Monument Avenue, grand homes and apartment buildings, some architecturally significant, most architecturally interesting, date primarily from the first two decades of the 20th century. Tree-lined hand-paved boulevard with statues honoring heroes such as:
- Arthur Ashe, Jr
. Tennis great, author, Richmond favorite son. Located at Monument and Roseneath Road.
- Jefferson Davis
. First and only president of the Confederate States of America. The columns behind his statue represent the confederate states and those that contributed soldiers. Located at Monument and Davis.
- General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
. Given the nickname "Stonewall" at the first battle of Manassas, Jackson died as a result of "friendly fire" at the battle of Chancellorsville. Located at Monument and the Boulevard.
- General Robert E. Lee.
The only person ever offered the command of two opposing armies, Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia from June 1, 1862, to its surrender at Appomattox. Located at Monument and Allen.
- Matthew Fontaine Maury
, known as the father of modern oceanography, this confederate naval officer is credited with inventing the electronic torpedo. Located at Monument and Belmont.
- General J.E.B. Stuart
. Dashing confederate cavalry commander who died just a few blocks from this site of wounds suffered at Yellow Tavern, north of the city of Richmond, in 1864. He was 31 years old. Located at Monument and Lombardy.
Historic Shockoe Slip
Bounded by 12th and 14th, Main and Canal Streets
One of Richmond’s most fashionable shopping and entertainment areas, Shockoe Slip is the City’s oldest mercantile district. Called "the slip" because of its proximity to the once bustling Great Turning Basin on the James River canal system (no longer in existence), this area had been the site of warehouse and tobacco manufacturing since the 17th century. Burned to the ground in the Great Evacuation Fire April 2-3, 1865, Shockoe rebuilt rapidly. Most of the structures now house shops and restaurants dating back to 1868-1888. The site of the first Virginia capitol building located in Richmond is marked in a parking lot at 14th and Cary Streets.
Hollywood Cemetery
Located at Cherry and Albemarle Streets. Richmond's most spectacular burial ground, established in 1847. U.S. Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler are here as is Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Gens. J.E.B. Stuart and George Pickett are joined by 18,000 less illustrious Confederate soldiers including more than 2,000 removed from the Gettysburg battlefield. The southern section of Hollywood overlooks the James River and affords some of the best views of the river and the city skyline. Maps are available at the office just inside the gate. There is only one entrance to this private cemetery. Take Belvidere Street (U.S. 1) south toward the river, turn right on Spring Street, go three blocks to Cherry Street then turn right. The entrance is on your left at Albemarle. 804- 648-8501.
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Jackson Ward National Historic District
Bounded approximately by Belvidere, Marshall and Fourth Streets, and I-95/64
Many of the city's finest residential buildings and some of the finest ornamental iron work anywhere can be found in this historically African-American neighborhood. Famous on the East Coast for its fraternal organizations, insurance companies, banks and churches, Jackson Ward flourished in the early 1900s and is being restored. The Maggie L. Walker House, the Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Monument and the Black History Museum are located here.
James River and Kanawha Canal
Maps, photographs and artifacts help explain the Richmond canal system and the two stone locks restored here by Reynolds Metal Company. The locks, finished in 1854, completed the connection between the Great Shiplock below the James River fall line and the rest of the James River and Kanawha Canal system that extended into the western Virginia mountain ranges. Richmond’s floodwall construction could disrupt this park but it’s well worth the effort to see it. It’s located on the southern end of 12th Street near Byrd Street.
Jewish Cemetery
Located at 21st and Franklin Streets. Believed to be one of the first Jewish cemeteries in America, dating from the 1790s, this burial ground was established by Isaiah Isaacs for German and Dutch Jews who were early settlers here. By the time of the Civil War, most of the graves had been moved to the newer Hebrew Cemetery established in 1817 at Fourth and Hospital Streets above Shockoe Cemetery.
The Jefferson Hotel
Located at 100 W. Franklin Street. Originally built in 1895, this grand Richmond hotel was damaged severely by fire in 1901 and reopened only months later. Edward Valentine's statue of Thomas Jefferson stands in the upper lobby over a pool that once was the home of live alligators. A staircase offers a first-class view of the opulent lower lobby.
John Marshall House
Located at Ninth and Marshall Streets. For 45 years the home of John Marshall, pioneer chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Built in 1790, it is the oldest brick house surviving the city. Restored as a house museum, it contains artifacts from Marshall’s home and professional life.
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Maggie L. Walker
The Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site commemorates the life of a progressive and talented African American woman. Despite many adversities, she achieved success in the world of business and finance as the first woman in the United States to found and serve as president of a bank. The bank she founded, now Consolidated Bank & Trust, is the oldest surviving black-operated bank in the United States. The site includes her residence of thirty years and a visitor center detailing her life and the Jackson Ward community, in which, she lived and worked. The house is restored to its 1930’s appearance with original Walker family pieces. Located at 110-1/2 East Leigh Street. 804-780-1380.
Maymont House and Park
This 100-acre Victorian estate, once home of Major James H. Dooley, features include: a children’s farm, nature center and gardens, and the restored mansion. 804-358-7166.
Richmond National Battlefield Parks
Between 1861 and 1865, Union armies repeatedly set out to capture Richmond, capital of the Confederacy, and end the Civil War. Three of those campaigns came within a few miles of the city. The park commemorates eleven different sites associated with those campaigns, including the battlefields at Gaines’ Mill, Malvern Hill and Cold Harbor. Established in 1936, the park protects 763 acres of historic ground. Begin with an explanatory film, then tour the well-preserved sites of the Civil War battle years. There are history programs and more at the Chimborazo Park Visitors Center.
Saint John’s Episcopal Church
One of the oldest wooden buildings standing in Virginia and the oldest church in Richmond, it is the site of Patrick Henry’s "Give me Liberty or give me Death" speech. 804-648-5015.
Shockoe Bottom
Roughly bounded by 15th and 21st, Dock and Broad streets. This area is a former warehouse district turned restaurant, residential and entertainment area. It offers many interesting historic sites which include the old Masonic Hall, Main Street Station, the 17th Street Farmers' Market, the site of the first Jewish Cemetery in Virginia and the Edgar Allan Poe Museum. Civil War hospital buildings are located at 12 N. 19th St. (General Hospital 11, Globe or Florida Hospital); 20 N. 20th St. (General Hospital 14); southwest corner 25th and Franklin streets (2nd Alabama Hospital); and northeast corner of 19th and Franklin streets (General Hospital 12). All these buildings are privately owned.
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Soldiers & Sailors Monument
South end of 29th Street. The base of this monument, dedicated in 1894 to the common Confederate soldier and sailor, affords one of the best views of the James River. Below, the Confederate Naval Yard and the Richmond port of Rocketts were located. It is said that William Byrd II stood on this spot and found the view similar to one in Richmond on the Thames and therefore gave our city its name.
Virginia Historical Society
Headquarters offers comprehensive collection of Virginia History. Seven museum galleries exhibit rarely seen Virginia treasures; library for historical and genealogical research 804-358-4901.
Virginia House
This reconstructed English manor was home to Alexander Weddell, former US Ambassador to Spain, and reflects his fascination with England and its history. The gardens are one of the highlights of the tour. 804-353-4251.
Virginia War Memorial
Honors Virginias in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. 804-786-2050.
Wilton House Museum
215 South Wilton Road off Cary Street, fine interior paneling accented with exquisite period furnishings complete this impressive mid-18th century example of Georgian architecture.
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