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Photos: Maggie Walker Statue Unveiling

Hundreds gathered in Jackson Ward to see the Maggie Walker statue for the first time.

Published

9 years ago

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Hundreds gathered early on a muggy Saturday morning to watch the unveiling of the Maggie Walker statue. Crowds began to gather an hour before the scheduled start of the ceremony. Large groups of Maggie L. Walker High School alumni proudly wore tee shirts and hats from the school that bears Maggie Walker’s name.

Speakers included: Liza Mickens (great-great granddaughter),(G.Toby Mendez (sculptor), Melvin Jones (longtime advocate), Mayor Levar Stoney, and other city officials.

Mayor Levar Stoney stated, “This will be my favorite monument in the city.”

Liza Mickens, Maggie Walker’s great-great-granddaughters, posed for pictures after the ceremony.

Closeup of the statue show the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank book. The bank was started by Maggie Walker in 1903.

Shortly after the ceremony the National Park Service began guided tours of Jackson Ward and Maggie Walker’s nearby home.

More photos of the statue from Instagram:

If The Dude’s rug really tied his room together, then the new Maggie Walker Monument REALLY ties Downtown Broad Street together. A day after it was unveiled the theatre goers, restaurant and retail customers, hotel guests, visitors and locals all buzzing around it on a humid Sunday afternoon in an area of town that was left for dead just a few years ago. This statue is the star, the spoke in the wheel that will make that neighborhood thrive for many years to come. People sitting, people posing for pictures, people reading about her legacy or just hanging out and spending time with Maggie. This statue is part of the Richmond fabric, it’s not forced as it simply fits in ascetically with our city. It’s not just another statue to speed past on your way from point A to point B and glance at for two seconds, risking either an accident if you look for too long or getting hit standing in an intersection if you want a picture. Well done RVA, Mrs. Walker will once again serve this city and that neighborhood well! I’m proud, The Dude might also approve as this statue will abide. #RVA #MaggieWalker

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Richard Hayes is the co-founder of RVAHub. When he isn't rounding up neighborhood news, he's likely watching soccer or chasing down the latest and greatest board game.