Downtown
Must-See RVA! — Central National Bank
A look into the history of Richmond places that are still part of our landscape.
AKA, Central Fidelity Bank
219 East Broad Street
Built, 1929-1930
Architect, John Eberson
VDHR 127-0309
From the heart of the Great Depression came this Palace of Art Deco.
[NMITS] — Architect John Eberson
The Central National Bank, designed in 1929-30 by the New York architect John Eberson, is an outstanding example of the Art-Deco skyscraper as it was interpreted in the South.
The building is, moreover, a tribute to the successful efforts of Richmond merchants to establish a financial institution sensitive to their special needs. It is to the credit of the bank’s current consulting architect and trustees that a recent major renovation preserved the bank’s original architectural character.
(Fine Art America) — Central hub
The history of CNB begins in 1911 when the merchants on Broad Street decided that they needed a strong bank in the retailing district of Richmond that would serve them directly. The founders included a prominent furrier, a leather goods dealer, and a rising department store owner. The merchants sold stock to fellow businessmen on Broad Street, purchased an existing branch bank, and applied to the Department of the Treasury for a national bank charter.
When the bank’s doors opened in September of that year, CNB became Richmond’s twentieth banking establishment and the first national bank in that area of the city.
(Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffton College) — Main entrance
The new bank proved to be a success, and within six months deposits totaled over a half-million dollars. On November 2, 1914, the bank became a charter member of the Reserve system, two weeks before the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank opened.
November 2018 — Front window detail
By 1921 the bank had grown to become the sixth largest bank in Richmond and a pioneer in many Virginia banking innovations. In 1928 the bank’s directors voted to erect a new bank building, purchased a site at 219 East Broad, and made plans for a ten-story structure. The plans were revised, and ultimately ground was broken in March 1929 for a twenty-four-story structure.
John Eberson, of New York, was the architect working with the Richmond firm of Carneal, Johnston, and Wright. Eberson had designed Richmond’s Loew’s Theatre in 1927-28, soon to be followed by the Broad-Grace Arcade in 1928-29. It was the intention of the bank’s trustees that the arcade would service and be served by the new CNB, which would occupy over one-third of the arcade’s original interior frontage. Doyle and Russell, who later worked on the Pentagon in Washington, were the contractors. They employed steel workers from some of the country’s largest bridge projects to rivet the 1,720 tons of steel.
Despite the Depression, the construction of the bank continued and was finally completed in June 1930. Before the building was finished, it became obvious that the CNB tower was to have a special function in the Richmond business world. An adman in the December 7, 1929, Richmond Leader overwhelmed his notice with praise to the CNB.
The ad read:
A site that overlooks everything in sight.
A building that overlooks nothing in efficiency.
A monumental structure at an active business center.
A background of business and a foreground of Beauty.
A location of horizons for tenants of vision.
November 2018 — Parapet detail
While the ad was obviously attempting to lease rental space in the new building, it may also be understood as a statement of architectural intention. When the bank was built during the twenties, a climate of economic and social prosperity prevailed throughout America bringing with it a “the sky’s the limit” optimism, a sense that was literally understood in the architecture of the time.
(VDHR) — 1979 nomination photo
It was during this period that the skyscraper had come into fruition, the product of American technology and economic growth. Complementing the new building form was a new architectural vocabulary, Art Deco. The new style employed motifs of a highly geometric and sometimes exotic nature that shared a common quality–easy adaptation by the machine.
November 2018
It is significant that, when considered in terms of its rapid growth, CNB would adapt both the skyscraper form and Art-Deco embellishment as symbols of pre-Depression prosperity. It is commendable that the bank, continuing to expand, has restored its building tower and adapted the neighboring Art-Deco Broad-Grace Arcade for additional banking space, thus preserving a Richmond landmark of business prosperity. (VDHR)
And it’s still adapting. Today it’s an apartment building with 200 rooms and goes by the moniker Deco at CNB.
(Central National Bank is part of the Atlas RVA Project)
Source
- [NMITS] Notable Men of Illinois & Their State. Chicago Daily Journal. 1912.
Must-See RVA! is a regular series
appearing on rocket werks – check it out!
Community
Richmond Folk Festival Announces First Set of Performers
You’ll notice a well-known local band in the list performing at the best festival in the state of Virginia.
The Richmond Folk Festival returns October 13-15, 2023, and celebrates its 19th anniversary, having become one of Virginia’s largest events. The beloved festival draws fans each year to downtown Richmond’s riverfront to celebrate the roots, richness, and variety of American culture through music, dance, traditional crafts, storytelling, and food.
The free event hosts 200,000 people over a three-day weekend. Featuring six stages and showcasing music and dance from more than 30 performing groups from around the nation and the world, the Richmond Folk Festival today announces the first eight artists of what will once again make up a culturally diverse and artistically excellent program.
“We are looking forward to showcasing downtown Richmond’s ever-changing riverfront once again for a beautiful weekend of music, dance, food, and crafts with the James River and our city skyline as the perfect backdrop,” said Stephen Lecky, director of events at Venture Richmond. “This is the 19th year of the festival, and we couldn’t be more proud of its legacy in Richmond and across Virginia.”
The Richmond Folk Festival is presented by Venture Richmond Events in partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), Virginia Humanities, Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Children’s Museum, and the City of Richmond.
Artists to be featured at the 2023 Richmond Folk Festival include:
- Baba Commandant & the Mandingo Band (Mandinka)
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso- Bio Ritmo (salsa)
Richmond, Virginia- Chuck Mead (rockabilly and honky-tonk)
Nashville, Tennessee- Genticorum (Québécois)
Montreal, Québec- Hālau ‘O Lilinoe (traditional Hawai’ian hula)
Carson, California- Kala Ramnath (Hindustani violin)
San Francisco, California- Melody Angel (Chicago blues)
Chicago, Illinois- Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (bluegrass)
Charlestown, Indiana
Community
Activation Capital Announces Plans for Development of Innovation Center – A New Life Sciences Center at Bio+Tech Park
Activation Capital, an innovation ecosystem development organization, announced plans to develop the 102,000-square foot Innovation Center in the Bio+Tech Park in Richmond, Virginia.
The 34-acre Bio+Tech Park is a commercial life sciences hub in downtown Richmond adjacent to the VCU Medical Center at Virginia Commonwealth University and is home to over 70 companies, research institutes, and state/federal laboratories. Activation Capital recently announced Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin awarded Activation Capital a $15 million portion of a total $66.7 million in grant funding for life sciences projects in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Amy J. Broderick and Kate Hosko of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, along with David Thomann of Cushman & Wakefield’s Life Science Group in Boston, MA, have been awarded the exclusive leasing representation for the Innovation Center. Planned for delivery in late 2025, the center will feature approximately 35,000+ square feet of trophy class lab and creative office space for a lead tenant. Approximately 45,000 sf will be dedicated to an incubator operated by Activation Capital and will include shared labs, private offices, and community gathering spaces. The new building will be located at the corner of 8th Street and Jackson Street.
“As part of our strategic plan to create a thriving ecosystem, Activation Capital will build an Innovation Center that anchors downtown Richmond’s innovation hub and serves as a magnet for innovators to build and grow deep tech companies. Once complete, the Innovation Center will catalyze downtown redevelopment around wealth-creating jobs, boost entrepreneurial growth, strengthen the region’s end-to-end pharmaceutical manufacturing cluster, and act as a platform for upskilling community members with STEM programming,” said Chandra Briggman, President and CEO of Activation Capital
“In addition to their strong commercial real estate brokerage experience and national life science expertise, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer was selected due to their alignment with Activation Capital’s values of agility, collaboration, entrepreneurial thinking, future-focus, impact, and inclusion,” said Kipton Currier, Vice President of Operations at Activation Capital. “The teams selected for the Innovation Center understand our commitment to the community, our excellence in execution focus, and our dedication to creating a nationally renowned life science innovation center for the benefit of future generations.”
Downtown
VCU Massey Cancer Center achieves comprehensive status from the National Cancer Institute
Massey’s receipt of the highest level of recognition from the NCI places it among an elite group of cancer centers influencing a new standard of care through research, education and community engagement.
VCU Massey Cancer Center has been designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the nation’s principal authority on cancer research and training. Massey’s receipt of the highest level of recognition from the NCI places it among an elite group of cancer centers influencing a new standard of care through research, education and community engagement.
Massey’s director, Robert A. Winn, M.D., is the first African American to lead a cancer center to comprehensive status. Under Winn’s leadership, Massey has effectively championed a community-centered approach, recognizing community members as equal experts and strategic partners in its research efforts.
“We are so proud to reach this milestone, and to be leading the charge not just in research but in building trust and breaking down barriers between medical institutions and communities,” said Winn, who also holds the Lipman Chair in Oncology at Massey. “We are truly the first of a new generation of community-focused cancer centers, where world-class science and research is informed by the people we serve, and accessible for all.”
Since beginning his tenure as director of Massey in December 2019, Winn has focused on taking Massey’s mission into the 66 contiguous localities in central, eastern and southern Virginia comprising Massey’s catchment area. With the community’s involvement, Massey has successfully increased clinical trial enrollment, expanded its transdisciplinary research collaboration and strengthened its cancer research training activities.
The NCI commended Massey for its significant strengths in the full spectrum of cancer research, robust pathway for cancer research training and education and plans to further enhance the diversity of its trainees and faculty.
The renewal of its Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) provides Massey with funding for its cancer research programs over five years and makes the cancer center eligible for additional information-sharing and resources reserved for the top institutions that demonstrate superior research capabilities.
The road to comprehensive status
Massey was one of the earliest cancer centers designated by the NCI in 1975, just four years after the NCI Cancer Centers Program was created as part of the National Cancer Act of 1971. The comprehensive designation is earned through a peer-review process demonstrating excellence in laboratory research, population science and clinical research.
NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers must conduct transdisciplinary research that bridges those three scientific areas, show that they are effective in addressing cancer concerns in their catchment area through effective community outreach and engagement, and that they integrate cancer training and education of biomedical scientists and community health care professionals.
“This important national designation reflects our mission and our commitment to the highest levels of treatment, research, prevention and control as we focus on improving and saving even more people’s lives,” said VCU and VCU Health President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “VCU and Richmond were among the first in the country to establish an NCI-designated Cancer Center, and I have pursued this comprehensive status for Massey soon after I came to VCU. During that time, we have taken our efforts to extraordinary levels to benefit all patients in need and the many communities we serve throughout our diverse Commonwealth. This comprehensive designation demonstrates that we put the needs of patients and our communities first. I am particularly grateful to my dear colleague, Rob Winn, for his extraordinary work in the last few years that catalyzed our ability to achieve this pinnacle level with the National Cancer Institute.”
Reducing the cancer burden in Virginia
With Massey’s new comprehensive status, those living in its catchment area are promised even greater access to life-saving cancer screenings and clinical trials offering leading-edge treatments, more resources for critical education about cancer risk and prevention, and care informed by the top scientific minds brought to Massey through recruitment as well as its training of the next generation of physician-scientists.
“This is an incredibly exciting moment for Massey and VCU Health, and for the patients and families who come through our doors,” said Paula Fracasso, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, deputy director of Massey and senior vice president of the cancer service line at VCU Health. “With the increased funding from our CCSG, we will have additional research dollars to extend our reach into the forefront of science and translational work, that will provide better ways to predict, prevent, diagnose and treat our patients with cancer.”
“We celebrate Massey’s achievement as a huge win for our entire institution, and one that will help us continue to raise the bar for excellence at VCU Health,” said Marlon Levy, M.D., FACS, interim senior vice president of VCU Health Sciences and CEO of VCU Health. “The dedication to innovative research and education and to advancing health equity is a clear reflection of our health system’s core values.”
Richmond Folk Festival Announces First Set of Performers
Activation Capital Announces Plans for Development of Innovation Center – A New Life Sciences Center at Bio+Tech Park
Photo of the Day: Tiny Turtle
Photos and Game Summary: Kickers Get Sweet Revenge on Chattanooga, Barely
Photo of the Day: Petersburg
Virginia’s medical cannabis program has ‘improved’ but more needed to meet expectations
Richmond Needs This: Surfing
Renderings: James River Association breaks ground on James A. Buzzard River Education Center
Science Museum of Virginia offering special $10 admission days on 10 separate dates this year
