Downtown
RVA Legends — Murphy’s Hotel
A look into the history of Richmond places and people that have disappeared from our landscape.
Murphy’s Hotel
717-719, 801-803, 807 East Broad Street
Built, 1886, 1902, 1907, 1911
Demolished, 2000 (Annex), 2007 (1911 Building)
Architect, John Kevan Peeples (1911)
The sprawling grand hotel of yesteryear.
The principal houses at present are Murphy’s, Ford’s, the Exchange and Ballard, the Dodson, American, Davis and Commercial; the first named and last two, especially commercial travelers’ resorts.
Murphy’s Hotel, corner of Eighth and Broad streets, Richmond, is situated on one of the highest points in the city, with both a southern and eastern exposure. It is the leading and best hotel in Richmond.
[RVCJ03] — original hotel building, circa 1903
This house, so well and favorably known to commercial travellers, as well as tourists, has been materially enlarged and greatly improved by the addition of two adjoining buildings. Its rooms are elegantly furnished throughout in a manner to contribute to the ease and comfort of all those who occupy them, and are provided with electric bells, steam heat, etc.
[RVCJ03] — original hotel interior, circa 1903
In connection with the hotel is conducted the finest restaurant and cafe in the city, where every delicacy of the season can be obtained ; and the billiard parlors are equal in every respect to those of the largest cities.
[RVCJ03] — Colonel John Murphy
Murphy’s was established about six. years ago by its popular proprietor, Colonel John Murphy, and is conducted under his able management. Colonel Murphy was originally a caterer here, and has worked his way up from small beginnings until he has attained prestige as one of the most successful hotel men of the South.
(Out of the Box) — Murphy’s Steamed Oysters, NE corner of Eighth & Main Streets
He is one of the representative business men of- the city. Many visitors to the city in former years will remember the old tumbledown building at Eighth and Broad streets, in which he commenced; there making a specialty of oysters and serving only the best, he made the dingy looking old structure familiar in a few years to all sojourners here as the oyster house of the city.
But the old house is gone. It fell before the march of improvement, and in its stead there rises a stately and imposing brick building, five stories high, covering a quarter of a square, and known to the travelling public as Murphy’s Hotel.
(LOC) — Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Richmond (1905) — Plate 4
This house was commenced on the site of the old one about six years ago, and has been furnished from top to bottom with the most modern improvements, in the shape of furniture and other hotel belongings. An elevator affords access to the top of this building, from which vantage one of the most charming views of Richmond and the adjacent country is unfolded.
(Out of the Box) — hotel interior, 1913
Looking east can be seen Drewry’s Bluff, Powhatan and points on the James ; looking west, Belle Isle, Hollywood Cemetery and intervening points, forming, as a whole, a delightful picture of this city on the James.
This house will accommodate four hundred guests. Rates on the European plan are one to three dollars per day, and on the American plan three to five dollars per day. [RVCJ93]
(Flickr)
That was in 1903.
Murphy eventually added two annexes, building one on the lot across 8th street in 1902 and another on the block between Broad and Grace Streets in 1907. In 1913, Murphy demolished the brick building at 8th and Broad, and hired John Kevan Peebles, the architect who designed the 1905 additions to the State Capitol Building, to design an 11-story, H-shaped building.
(Flickr)
Robert Winthrop observed that the Classical ornament and detail of the new building was elegant and that the base and top of the building were treated with great elaboration. [ADR]
(Out of the Box) — hotel bridge, 1939
A pedestrian bridge over 8th Street connected the main building to the annex; it served not just as a connection between the two buildings but as a lounge or sun-room. After the sale of part of the hotel property in 1939, the bridge was eventually dismantled so that its steel could be used in the war effort.
(Rocket Werks RVA Postcards) — the rebranded hotel
John Murphy died in 1918 and management passed to his son-in-law, James T. Disney, who ran the hotel until his own death in 1933. By 1939, the Board of Directors of The Richmond Hotels, Inc., had taken control of the Murphy Hotel, changing its name to the King Carter Hotel in 1949. The hotel was purchased by the state in 1966 and converted to offices in 1969.
September 2016 — Spotswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige Jr. Federal Courthouse
However, by the late 1990s the condition of both the original building and the Annex had deteriorated significantly. The Annex was condemned and demolished in 2000; it was replaced by the Spotswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige Jr. Federal Courthouse, completed in 2006. (Out of the Box)
{Flickr}
The end of the 1911 building followed in 2007, not long after the courthouse was completed. The thinking was the empty lot would be filled with another modern building that would connect with the recently renovated Ninth Street Office Building, formerly known as the Hotel Richmond, and coincidently, another work of John Kevan Peeples.
January 2014 — empty NE corner of Eighth & Broad Streets
That was 12 years ago, and still, nothing has happened to change the location’s fate as a parking lot. Today it houses construction offices, vehicles, and equipment for the rebuilding of the General Assembly Building across the street.
(Murphy’s Hotel is part of the Atlas RVA! Project)
Sources
- [ADR] Architecture in Downtown Richmond. Robert P. Winthrop. 1980.
- [RVCJ93] Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James: The Book of Its Chamber of Commerce and Principal Business Interests. G. W. Engelhardt. 1893.
- [RVCJ03] Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James: The Book of Its Chamber of Commerce and Principal Business Interests. G. W. Engelhardt. 1903.
RVA Legends is a regular series
appearing on rocket werks – check it out!
The stuff dangling off the osprey’s talon is trash that some human left. The bird is getting around fine now and hopefully the string will break off before the bird becomes entangled. Don’t litter, pickup what you can and for god’s sake don’t release balloons.
This article is 5 years old and the situation hasn’t improved.
More Plastic in the World Means More Plastic in Osprey Nests – National Audubon Society
Human waste routinely finds its way into birds’ nests, and it is especially common with Ospreys. The birds use a huge variety of materials to build their nests, including sticks, bark, sod, grass, vines and algae. Plastic items mimic the appearance of many of these natural building supplies, and Osprey find plastic trash mixed in with their natural nesting materials in beach wrack lines, making it hard for them to distinguish what’s what, Wurst says. “While Osprey see plastic as a useful resource for them to build their nests from, they don’t see the potential danger.”
By 2012, Wurst realized the problem was worsening, so he began removing the trash and collecting it to raise awareness of the issue. Wurst’s Osprey nest-trash collection includes all kinds of plastic items, including unusual finds such as plastic shovels, flags, and polyester hats. But he believes the most dangerous and deadly items are the most common ones he finds in nests: plastic ribbon from balloons and monofilament fishing line. “Trash like monofilament, ribbon, and string can easily entangle a foot, leg, or wing of an adult or young Osprey,” he says. In addition, “single use plastic bags or other plastic sheeting can choke or smother them.”
Community
Library of Virginia Honors Deaf History Month With a Talk and Exhibition on the History of a Shenandoah County Deaf Village and Shared Signing Community
Between 1740 and 1970, Lantz Mills, Virginia, was home to many families with a mix of hearing and deaf parents and at least one or more deaf siblings.
In honor of April as Deaf History Month, the Library of Virginia will present a talk on April 22 and a traveling panel exhibition running April 1–30 on the history of the Lantz Mills deaf village and shared signing community in Shenandoah County, Virginia. Both are free.
Between 1740 and 1970, Lantz Mills, Virginia, was home to many families with a mix of hearing and deaf parents and at least one or more deaf siblings. When both the hearing and deaf members of a locality use a shared visual language to communicate, that is known as a shared signing community. Those familiar with deaf culture may know that Martha’s Vineyard, the island off Massachusetts, was home to a shared signing community where 25% of the population was deaf. But few know that Virginia had a deaf village and shared signing community in Shenandoah County.
The Lantz Mills Deaf Village panel exhibition has appeared at Shenandoah County Public Library and the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People. It will visit the Eastern Shore Public Library in June. The exhibition is available for display at public libraries and other cultural facilities. For more information, contact Barbara Batson at [email protected] or 804.692.3721.
The talk and exhibition are made possible in part with federal funding provided through the Library Services and Technology Act administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information about the commonwealth’s deaf culture, visit the Virginia Deaf Culture Digital Library at https://deaflibva.org.
DEAF HISTORY MONTH TALK | The Lantz Mills Shared Signing Community
Saturday, April 22, 2023 | 10:00–11:00 a.m. | Free
Place: Lecture Hall, Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219
Registration suggested: https://lva-virginia.libcal.com/event/10478065
In honor of Deaf History Month, the Library presents a talk exploring the history of the Lantz Mills deaf village in Shenandoah County, Virginia, by deaf historian and advocate Kathleen Brockway, who is also a Lantz Mills deaf village descendant.
DEAF HISTORY MONTH PANEL EXHIBITION | Lantz Mills Deaf Village
April 1–30, 2023 | Monday–Saturday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. | Free
Place: Lobby & Pre-function Hall, Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219
In honor of Deaf History Month, the Library presents a panel exhibition exploring the history of the Lantz Mills deaf village in Shenandoah County, Virginia. This six-panel traveling exhibition features the history of prominent deaf villagers such as the Hollar and Christian families, deaf members’ involvement in local businesses, and even a budding romance within the community. Each panel includes a QR code that links to ASL interpretation of the text featured. A booklet about the topic written by deaf historian and Lantz Mills deaf village descendant Kathleen Brockway will be available to exhibition visitors while supplies last.
Downtown
Feds identify ‘significant’ ongoing concerns with Virginia special education
After failing to meet federal requirements to support students with disabilities in 2020, the Virginia Department of Education will remain under further review by the federal government after continuing to fall short in monitoring and responding to complaints against school districts, according to a letter from the U.S. Department of Education.
By Nathaniel Cline
After failing to meet federal requirements to support students with disabilities in 2020, the Virginia Department of Education will remain under further review by the federal government after continuing to fall short in monitoring and responding to complaints against school districts, according to a letter from the U.S. Department of Education.
“We have significant new or continued areas of concerns with the State’s implementation of general supervision, dispute resolution, and confidentiality requirements” of IDEA, stated the Feb. 17 letter from the Office of Special Education Programs.
The U.S. Department of Education first flagged its concerns in a June 2020 “Differentiated Monitoring and Support Report” on how Virginia was complying with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, following a 2019 visit by the Office of Special Education Programs.
IDEA, passed in 1975, requires all students with disabilities to receive a “free appropriate public education.”
The Virginia Department of Education disputed some of the federal government’s findings in a June 19, 2020 letter.
Samantha Hollins, assistant superintendent of special education and student services, wrote that verbal complaints “are addressed via technical assistance phone calls to school divisions” and staff members “regularly work to resolve parent concerns” by providing “guidance documentation” and acting as intermediaries between school employees and parents.
However, some parents and advocates say systemic problems in how the state supports families of children with disabilities persist. At the same time, a June 15, 2022 state report found one of Virginia’s most critical teacher shortage areas is in special education.
“Appropriate policies and procedures for both oversight and compliance, and their implementation, are crucial to ensuring that children with disabilities and their families are afforded their rights under IDEA and that a free appropriate public education (FAPE) is provided,” said the Feb. 17 letter from the Office of Special Education Programs.
While the U.S. Department of Education wrote that it believes the Virginia Department of Education has resolved some of the problems identified in 2020, including resolving complaints filed by parents and creating a mediation plan, it said it has identified “new and continued areas of concern” and intends to continue monitoring Virginia’s provision of services for students with disabilities.
Among those are ongoing concerns over the state’s complaint and due process systems that “go beyond the originally identified concerns” originally found. The Office of Special Education Programs writes it has concluded Virginia “does not have procedures and practices that are reasonably designed to ensure a timely resolution process” for due process complaints.
The department also said it has concerns over the practices of at least five school districts that are inconsistent with IDEA’s regulations.
The decision comes after the U.S. Department of Education announced in November that Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia’s largest school district, failed to provide thousands of students with disabilities with the educational services they were entitled to during remote learning at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virginia is also facing a federal class-action lawsuit over claims that its Department of Education and Fairfax County Public Schools violated the rights of disabled students under IDEA.
Parents involved in the case said the Virginia Department of Education and Fairfax school board “have actively cultivated an unfair and biased” hearing system to oversee challenges to local decisions about disabled students, according to the suit.
Charles Pyle, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education, said in an email that “VDOE continues to work with our federal partners to ensure Virginia’s compliance with all federal requirements, as we have since the ‘Differentiated Monitoring and Support Report’ was issued in June 2020.”
The federal government said if Virginia could not demonstrate full compliance with IDEA requirements, it could impose conditions on grant funds the state receives to support early intervention and special education services for children with disabilities and their families.
Last year, Virginia received almost $13.5 billion in various grants linked to IDEA, according to a July 1, 2022 letter to former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, who resigned on March 9.
James Fedderman, president of the Virginia Education Association, blasted Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration after the findings were released.
“While the Youngkin administration has been busy waging culture wars in schools, his administration has failed to meet basic compliance requirements with the U.S. Department of Education for students with disabilities,” Fedderman said. “This failure threatens our federal funding for students with disabilities and is a disservice to Virginia families who need critical special needs support.”
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