Monthly Archives: February 2012

The Jefferson Hotel

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Architect: Carrère and Hastings

Dates: 1892-1895


Address: 101 West Franklin Street, Richmond, VA

The Jefferson Hotel is one of the finest examples of Beaux Arts Richmond architecture and certainly one of the grandest. Conceived and funded in 1892 by Gilded Age Richmond business leader Lewis Ginter, the design was carried out by the very best from New York, Carrère and Hastings.John Mervin Carrère and Thomas Hastings were both trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Both apprenticed with the firm of McKim, Mead and White, the most influential and sought after firm in America in the Beaux Arts period. Carrère and Hastings founded their own firm and designed projects such as the New York Public Library main branch and the Standard Oil Building. In addition to work in New York, the firm designed across North America and in Europe.

Even given the scope and scale of their works, The Jefferson Hotel was by no means a minor project. Carrère and Hastings drew largely from Italian Villa typology especially on the building’s north facade. This faces Franklin Street which is largely composed of brownstones and townhouses with projecting bays and turret elements. The tuscan towers of the Jefferson’s north facade break up the monotony of the broad Street frontage and relate to the composition of Franklin Street.The building’s south face is perhaps even more grand though certainly less inventive. Columns and entablatures frame massive arched windows to grand interior ballrooms. Ornamental swag and massive, exuberant cartouches (a trademark of the firm) decorate the face.  Above the first few levels the detailing falls sharply which makes the upper facade appear unresolved. Even so, the Jefferson is a more than a valuable asset to Richmond’s urban fabric and history.Unfortunately, the Jefferson is currently fronted on almost three full sides by surface parking lots. Nowhere is this condition more egregious than on the south facade (facing Main Street) where the grand columned facade is met with an entire block of parking. This block is one of the places most needing of thoughtful infill in all of Richmond. While many structures surrounding the hotel have been destroyed the Jefferson itself was saved; demolition was considered in the 1970s.

Today, the Jefferson remains the finest hotel in Richmond, holding both the coveted AAA Five Diamond rating and the Mobil Five Star rating. There is little doubt that it will serve as a key anchor point for the development of the surrounding Monroe Ward and as a Richmond landmark for decades to come.

D.OK.

Old City Hall

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Architect: Elijah Myers
Dates: 1886 – 1894
Address: 1001 East Broad St

Occupying an entire city block on Broad St between 10th and 11th streets, Old City Hall stands powerfully with one side to the historic capitol grounds, and the other side catty-corner its functional replacement. Impossible to miss, a proud juxtaposition to the radically different styles and technologies around it, Old City Hall exists as a gem of craft and preservation, a true architectural indulgence.

In 1883, Elijah Myers, the architect responsible for the capital designs of Michigan, Colorado and Texas, won a national competition for a redesign of Richmond’s original city hall, which was a product of Robert Mills in 1814 and rested on the eastern side of the current day lot. Although the building was finished in 1894, only eight years after breaking ground, the final budget figure of $1.3 million more than quadrupled the original estimate, an unheard of amount of money for the time. However the construction process itself was one of the most positive results to come of the building for Richmond. “Petersburg” granite, mined from along the James River, was hauled up Broad St in what was one of the last appearances of railroads in Richmond. The castle-like exterior was then constructed with the hands of several local craftsmen. The general labor work, as well as skilled technical positions such as carving stone and casting iron, were largely carried out by Richmond natives.

Four uniquely designed towers stand at the four corners of the building, with a clock placed on the tallest northwest tower. Although the gravity of the thick exterior stone conveys an impenetrable quality, the center of the building reveals a large interior skylit court, surrounded by an arcaded gallery of ornately adorned Corinthian capital columns and pointed arches. A warm (restored) polychrome scheme glows brightly with natural light, a connecting bridge overhead. Most fixtures found inside are original, a rare condition for similar buildings of the time.

Threats of demolition in 1915 and 1970 were both met with major preservation efforts and success, and the building remains as a premiere example of Gothic Revival in Richmond, both a wonderful period piece and a lasting iconic image for the city. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and is currently used for state offices.

M.F.A.
Sources:
nps.gov. (n.d.). Old city hall. Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/richmond/OldCityHall.html

Opinion: ChildSavers Building

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Architect: Philip Johnson, renovation by Baskervill
Dates: 1968, renovation in 2007
Address: 200 North 22nd Street

Philip Johnson’s WRVA radio station, now the ChildSavers building, goes beyond padding Richmond’s architectural resume with an illustrious name. The building functions as a beacon of creativity and innovation in one of Richmond’s oldest neighborhoods. The materiality of concrete and glass along with broad and uninterrupted faces have a classically modern identity but the irregularly spaced rounded windows and triangular patio reveal the mind of an architect in a state of flux.

Johnson is a famously eclectic architect. Looking over his oeuvre at random might make him come off at stylistically schizophrenic, however, when understood chronologically, there is a steady and almost methodical progression to his work. In the ChildSaver’s building, one catches Johnson in a key exploratory period between his Mies van der Rohe influenced International style phase and his later forays into postmodernism.

While the building is rarely included in lists of Johnson’s most famous work, I believe it is an invaluable and singular piece in the scope of his architecture. The building does not expose a  structural skeleton or include transparency effects typical of earlier projects like the glass house or Seagram building. Instead, openings punched through solid walls anticipate the developments of his postmodern works without including the often clumsy ornamental forms that came along with them

Despite the vast stylistic gaps between the 1800th century homes in Church Hill and the ChildSavers building, Johnson managed to tie his structure to the urban fabric. The relationship to the site harmonizes with the city in an oddly southern manner. Its broad lawn facing the city sets the building back gracefully. The facade on N. 22nd Street does not meet the side walk but instead retains a small strip of green space as most homes in Church Hill do. Even the blank faces are not as stark as those of early international style buildings. The worn and richly textured concrete accented by the swaying shadows of the trees planted close by recall the reserved southern homes of A. Hays Town more than Corbusier’s Villa Savoye. The building reaffirms its surrounding environment without being overly referential and without compromising the vision of the clients and architect.

From the rooftops of Church Hill both the steeple of St. John’s Church and the broadcast tower of the WRVA building can be seen, inviting comparison. One the beacon of religion and a symbol for the center of a community; the other an expression of modern times and modern interests. I could think of no better pair of buildings to represent the neighborhood.

D.OK.

Landmark Theater

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Architects: Marcellus Wright Sr., Charles Custer Robinson, and Charles M. Robinson
Dates: 1925 – 1927
Address: 6 N. Laurel Street, Richmond VA

Conceived in 1918, what is now Richmond’s Landmark Theater was built as the city’s largest Shriner meeting house. Created largely through the work of Clinton L. Williams, the chapter’s potentate, the building’s program originally included not a pool, gymnasium, hotel, ballroom, restaurant, offices, and bowling alley in addition to the 4,600 seat theater.

Due to the inventive use of neo-Islamic form by architects Marcellus Wright Sr., Charles Custer Robinson, and Charles M. Robinson, the building was and often still is colloquially refereed to as ‘the Mosque.’ Minaret like structures flank the central pointed arch entryway. The lobbies, lounges, and window niches feature arabesque or geometric tile work in rich middle eastern color. The grand theater is decorated with murals of scenes of middle eastern antiquity. Lavish materials were not spared with marble and tile from Italy, Spain, and Tunisia and 75,000 square feet of gold leaf on the central dome alone. The overall effect is one of opulence and romanticism; an effect no doubt cherished by the original Shriner occupants as much as the theater’s current patrons. The Landmark’s conversion to a city operated theater came in 1940. It has served as one of Richmond’s most important venues ever since. Along with it’s bombastic architecture, it’s prominent location on Monroe Park and it’s continuing reputation as a center for performance has made it a destination worthy of it’s name.

D.OK.

More information of the Landmark’s performances and facilities can be found here: http://www.landmarktheater.net/

ChildSavers Building

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Architect: Philip Johnson, renovation by Baskervill

Dates: 1968, renovation in 2007

Address: 200 North 22nd Street

 

Serenely rested on top of Church Hill, tucked into a small row of trees is the work of one of the most renowned architects to ever build in Richmond, Phillip Johnson. Johnson’s work can be found across the globe, with the Lincoln Center and Sony Headquarters in New York City and the famous Glass House in Connecticut are only some of the buildings in a vast resumé. Built in 1968 to house WRVA, one of Virginia’s first broadcast radio stations, the 18,000 square foot structure has a beautiful view of the skyline to the west.

Identified by large apertures in concrete walls, round edged squares or thinner rectangles give the structure a space age feel. This and the stripping of ornament to the bare essentials as well as the geometric abstraction of the structure further emphasizes the modernism and polarity of style that much of historic Richmond architecture doesn’t identify with. It was this exploration that characterized Johnson’s career, one of always trying new forms and identities. The broadcasting tower, free standing on the small plot of flat grass behind the one story main building, appears as a vertical representation of the latter, the same concrete with round rectangular punctures running up its sides.One architectural critic compared the building’s placement and organization to that of a Greek temple front facing the public on top of an acropolis, and deemed the structure “one of the city’s most visible and important mid-20th-century architectural landmarks.”WRVA moved to West End in 2000. After a renovation by local firm Baskervill, the non-profit organization Childsavers assumed occupancy and remains there today.

M.F.A.

Virginia Center for Architecture

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Architect: John Russell Pope
Dates: 1919
Address: 2501 Monument Avenue

One of the most impressive mansions on the already extravagant Monument Avenue, the Branch House was commissioned in 1916 by John Kerr Branch, a wealthy stockbroker and bank president, with enough space to house his extensive collection of Italian Renaissance items, including tapestries, furniture, woodwork, and armor. A popular style for the wealthy in the early 20th Century, the Tudor Jacobean mansion’s brick and sandstone castle-like exterior shields an impeccably preserved interior, from the elaborate furniture and lighting fixtures to the carefully crafted wood detailing. Other examples of thoughtful handiwork are found all over the building: the three uniquely laid brick chimneys, fireproof concrete floors, and exterior sculpted stone motifs to name just a few. A generous amount of light permeates the building through large warped glass bays, from the back gallery space to the cozy library on the third floor, so that the building maintains a warmness even through its imposing size. A brick wall lining the other side of the lot contains a courtyard, stepped down from the back gallery space in a private retreat, overlooking Fan houses through a screen of trees.

The 27,000 square foot mansion was designed by John Russell Pope, most well known for the Jefferson Memorial and the National Gallery of Art in D.C, but whose work is also found two blocks north at the Science Museum of Virginia. Unlike the architect’s other well known classical style buildings, the Branch House employs a Tudor Jacobean style, influenced by the famous Compton Wynyates mansion in Warwickshire, England.

After passing through other owners twice after the Branch family, the house found a well suited occupant in the Virginia Center for Architecture, one of the few architectural museums in the country, whose exhibitions and event hosting allow the architectural prize to be observed and celebrated. Located along the already historic Monument Avenue, it was independently listed on the National Register of Historic places in 1984.

M.F.A.
More information about the Branch House and the Virginia Center for Architecture’s events and galleries can be found at:
http://www.virginiaarchitecture.org/vca_index.html

Sources:
nps.gov. (n.d.). Branch house. Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/richmond/BranchHouse.html

Leigh Street Armory

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Architect: Wilfred Emory Cutshaw
Dates: 1895
Address: 122 West Leigh Street

The Leigh Street Armory (or the First Battalion Virginia Volunteers Armory as it was known upon its completion) was built in 1895 as the home for the African American Military Battalion of Richmond. The building was designed by Wilfred Emory Cutshaw who used the turrets and crenelation typical of a medieval fortress to evoke the building’s purpose. Cutshaw was Richmond city’s chief engineer and architect at the time and was responsible for such important projects as the current layout of Monroe Park and the pump house in Byrd Park. The building is among the most monumental remaining in Jackson Ward after the construction of I-95 ravaged the neighborhood in the 1950s. It stands as the oldest surviving Armory in the state of Virginia and possibly the oldest African American Armory in the nation.

The armory served as a major center for African American culture in Jackson Ward. In his insightful guide to African American Architectural history in Richmond, Selden Richardson explains that the armory hosted events such as “balls, displays, banquets, and fairs” and was “a major achievement for blacks in Richmond.” Clearly, the building functioned as a social hub and an icon of equality and progress for the city’s African American population.

The African American battalion was established in 1876 but had no permanent home until the completion of this building which put the organization of par architecturally with the four white battalions in Richmond. While the armory was largely funded by the city government, this funding was secured through the influence of prominent black businessmen such as John Mitchell Jr., the editor of the Richmond Planet. Armstead Walker (husband of noted African American bank president Maggie L. Walker) was hired as contractor for the project.

In 1899, during the wake of the Spanish American War, the city of Richmond had the armory converted into a school. Monroe Elementary operated from this building for a 40 year period which was followed by several decades of annex classroom space for other area schools. The armory has been in total disuse since that time. The building received federal grant money in 2002 to stabilize the building’s structure and exterior under the Save America’s Treasures program.

In December 2011, a $600,000 grant from the state of Virginia was given to the city of Richmond to revitalize the Leigh Street Armory. When complete, the building will serve as the new home for The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, currently located on 3 East Clay Street. The Leigh Street Armory will once again play a vital role in the rebirth and life of Jackson Ward

D.OK.

Richmond Ballet Building

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Architect: BCWH
Date: 2000
Address: 407 East Canal Street

One of the creative and culture hubs of Richmond exists in an awkward spot of Canal St, immediately bordered on three sides by parking and the Downtown Expressway on the other. Yet the quality of design doesn’t suffer from it. A marvelous 52,000 square foot renovation to a 1928 concrete factory houses the Richmond Ballet.

The design philosophy, according to the architect, was “a new lightweight structure of steel and glass designed to literally hang off, or ‘dance’ on, the face of the existing concrete frame, embodying the motion, tension, energy and dynamic of dance.” It certainly maintains an aesthetic of a factory through exposed duct work and gray stone. The building uses an innovative method of shifting practice spaces into performance spaces, utilizing square footage as much as possible. The practice spaces open up not only to the outside in order to receive light but also to the interior bent halls, enlivening the whole building with the movement of the dancers within. The mostly transparent structure enables passers-by to visually participate in the inherently performative quality of dance, the practice and exhibition spaces on the top floors slightly leaning out from the building, announcing themselves. An angled entrance awning suspended by cables on the northern side of the pre-existing structure externally alludes to the new intervention, as a similar angling appears on the roof of the south end of the building.

With construction funds provided by Reynolds Metals Company, state of the art technology was installed such as cushioned flooring and sound-proof walls and ceilings. Other amenities of the new structure include six dance studios, a library, box office, freight elevator and set and costume design studio.

M.F.A.
BCWH. (n.d.). Richmond ballet. Retrieved from http://www.bcwh.com/work/categories.asp?categoryID=D1E21CBA-695C-495E-A1FC-8DB51E6A0CC0Richmond Ballet. (2008). History and mission. Retrieved from http://www.richmondballet.com/aboutrb/historymission.aspx