Hathaway Tower

Hathaway Tower
Thomas A. Gresham, Brown and Gresham Associated Architects
1972
2956 Hathaway Road

Deep in southwest Richmond lies the suburban crossroads known as Stratford Hills. Strip malls line the roadside, dotted with shops: a florist, a grocery store, a breakfast spot, a tattoo parlor, check cashing. Silently presiding over the comings and goings is an architectural monolith, Hathaway Tower.

Built in 1972, the condominium tower is heavily marketed towards seniors. The building is within a short drive of churches, hospitals, and a country club. Unusual for a suburban complex, walking is also an option given the amount of retail clustered nearby. For those unable to drive, a bus stop is also a short walk away. The Forest Hill route 70 takes riders Downtown in around a half hour.

The design, supplied by Richmond based Brown and Gresham Associated Architects, is standard suburban condominium fare. At 13 stories, the tower dwarfs any building in the neighborhood. Expansive brick faces are punctured by windows of deep amber glazing, so popular in roadside hotels of the period. Black steel bars and white panels protrude and form broad balconies with a slight angle. This system is wrapped around a three core tower, an arrangement only made feasible by the lack of competition for space in the area. Its connection to the landscape is tenuous though the base employs a rustic stone to smooth the transition from the ground.

Despite its height, Hathaway Tower is curiously in scale with the surrounding shopping centers. Parking lots and multi lane roads open up wide horizontal views of the tower. Often, it is seen from such a distance that it simply fades into the background, the impact of its size lost in the rhythm of everyday commerce. Of course, it is often seen only from the seat of a car. By the time one reaches the base of the building, its verticality is made invisible by the car’s ceiling. The tower’s verdant setback further obscures it.

Hathaway Tower appears most alien from the leafy residential neighborhoods to its immediate north. Behind the squat brick 1960s ranches, its faceted form rises, a more unapologetic expression of the same era. Though it lacks serious competition, Hathaway tower stands as the most enduring monument of Richmond’s southwest side.

D.OK.

Note: A special thank you to Shaahida J. Lewis of Baskervill for her help in researching this piece.