T. Tyler Potterfield2009The History Press157 pages All cities are shaped by the landscapes on which they are built. The great harbors of New York and Hong Kong made those cities into the hubs of international trade we know today. Istanbul’s position on the Bosporus strait has made it a meeting point of cultures for nearly …
The Department of Architecture at Virginia Tech is amongst the most well known in the country, but it isn’t as well known in Richmond as one might expect. Over the past month, an exhibition at the Branch Museum has helped to change that. The latest in a series of ambitious shows staged by the museum, …
Ryan K. Smith2020Johns Hopkins University Press328 pages Asian, Latin American, Islamic and other growing Richmond communities “will navigate anew the panorama of revolution, war, gender, art, industry, race, environment, and memory at this fateful city on the James.” This is how Ryan K. Smith, a professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University closes his …
Images captions in order: Beckerdite Scholley House, Campbell Hall at the University of Virginia, Middleton Inn, W. G. Clark House, Croffead House floor plan, Croffead House Earlier this month, W.G. Clark, one of Virginia’s most accomplished architects, was honored with the 2023 Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. …
Springhill is a tightly-configured, intown enclave of topographical and architectural contrasts. Tree-shaded streets lined with modest-sized cottages and bungalows meld counter-intuitively with riverside cliffs and modern high rise apartment towers. The neighborhood, which contains the only Old and Historic District in Southside Richmond, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. …
Since January 2021, a fence has surrounded Lee Circle on Monument Avenue, blocking access to the once-vital center of public demonstrations sparked by the murder of George Floyd. Local and national media attention was lavished on the paint-covered base of the Lee Monument, which was rightly hailed as among the greatest works of protest art …
One of the glories of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is the American Wing. A highlight of the collection is its fully-furnished period rooms that range from the simplicity of a Shaker retiring room to the elegance of a Frank Lloyd Wright living room. Among the 30 period rooms (that are arranged contiguously in …
Every February since the 1970s, Black History Month has been observed nationwide. It is a time for reflecting on the struggles of Black people in America, and recognizing their many accomplishments, contributions, and innovations. Black History Month is also a celebration of victory over the many oppressive institutions and practices that have shaped American history. …
M.M. Wignor with Inosuke Yoshida, builder1904 Postcards is a new series of articles on ArchitectureRichmond that examines buildings outside of the Richmond area that are of special interest and relevance to our city. Most Richmonders will be familiar with the Branch House, a stately gothic mansion that was once the largest home on Monument Avenue. …
Charles Duff 2019 Bluecoat Press 279 pages Richmond, like its near neighbors Washington and Baltimore, is a city of row houses, at least in its inner neighborhoods. This urban building block sets Richmond apart from cities like Phoenix, which are almost entirely suburban, and places like Paris, which are composed mostly of multi-family dwellings. In …