The Source for Richmond Architecture and Design Information

Nonesuch Place: A History of the Richmond Landscape

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 …

Reading List: Genius in the Garden

George C. Longest 1992 Virginia State Library and Archives 218 pages Decades after his death, owning a garden designed by Richmond landscape architect Charles Gillette (1886–1969) is still a marker of status and taste. “Gillette Gardens,” as they are known, pepper the city’s wealthy West End and hide behind some of the architectural treasures of …

Reading List: Spying on the South

Tony Horwitz 2019 Penguin Press 417 pages Few designers in American history have had a greater effect on the nation’s cities than Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903). Olmsted is well known as a pioneer of landscape architecture and for his role in designing New York City’s Central Park, but few know of his stint as a …

Pocket Parks Part III

For Parts I and II of our Pocket Park series, we covered some of the small greenspaces that claim awkward or underutilized sections of the urban fabric in the Fan District. Here are some other examples of the effective landscape technique in Southside Richmond. Recently designed and constructed by ArchitectureRichmond’s own Mario Accordino, Perry Street …

Pocket Parks: Part II

The prequel to this article covered three of Richmond’s pocket parks: Lombardy, Meadow and Harrison Park. Three more in the Fan are visited here, each with their own distinct character. Sydney Park is one of the smallest pocket parks in the city but boasts one of the best locations. Situated at the five point intersection …

Pocket Parks: Part I

  A pocket park can be defined as a small landscaped space that provides a sitting or recreation area, usually constructed on a vacant or underutilized lot. Pocket parks, while little and often hidden, can increase surrounding home ownership values, fill in an irregular plot of infrastructure convergence, and provide a convenient solution to finding …