History
Must-See RVA! — Monroe Park
A look into the history of Richmond places that are still part of our landscape.
AKA Western Square, Old Fairgrounds
620 West Main Street
Created, 1851
VDHR 127-0383
Now hear this: Monroe Park is beautiful.
Monroe Park is situated on land acquired in 1851 by the City of Richmond. Planned to serve as a park for the stylish western suburbs. It was first used for the site of an agricultural exposition and later as a camp site for Confederate troops before being developed for recreational use in the 1870s.
August 2019 — looking towards Grace & Holy Trinity Church & Altria Theatre, formerly known as the Mosque
With the rapid growth of the western suburbs of Richmond at the turn of the 20th century, the park provided an ideal setting for the monumental Gothic Grace and Holy Trinity Church, the Italian Renaissance Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, and the Moorish Mosque Auditorium.
August 2019 — looking towards Johnson Hall, formerly Monroe Terrace Apartments
These buildings, along with several late 19th-century townhouses which recall the earlier residential character of the park, and two impressive apartment houses of the 1920s, create an architectural ensemble which is unique in Virginia for its monumental character and stylistic diversity.
(JSTOR) — Charles H. Dimmock — November 5, 1863
In 1850 the only public park in Richmond was Capitol Square. With a population of 30,280 at that time, this single open space was no longer sufficient for the growing city’s needs, and in. 1851, city councilman Charles Dimmock proposed that parks be acquired near future major residential areas. In 1851-52, seven and one-half acres of land were purchased to become Western Square. This square would later become Monroe Park.
(Virginia Memory) — drawing from Richmond Progress article, 1882 — Old Fairgrounds Now Monroe Park
The site being beyond the city limits and to the west of developed residential areas, the park was not developed for two decades. In 1854 the property was used by the Virginia State Agricultural Society for a fair. The fair was vis±ed by President John Tyler and General Winfield Scott and was celebrated as a major civic event in the antebellum period.
August 2019 — looking towards Sacred Heart Cathedral
By the late 1870s residential development had expanded to the west, and the park was indicated on maps of the period with an arrangement of curved paths, similar to those in Capitol Square. By 1889, this original scheme had been replaced by the present configuration of straight walks. The central feature of this design was a tall, granite, rustic pyramid from the apex of which water gushed. The pyramid was similar to the memorial erected to Confederate dead in Hollywood Cemetery in 1869.
August 2019 — looking toward Checkers House
The Monroe Park feature was surmounted by a metal pipe structure supporting an electric light. Adjacent to this odd pyramid was a wooden bandstand. In the first decade of the 20th century the pyramid was replaced with a four-tier, castiron fountain cast by J.W. Fiske. In 1971, the fountain was recast by the Robinson Company. The bandstand was replaced by the Checkers House in 1939.
August 2019 — looking toward VCU’s Lindsay House designed by Marion J. Dimmock
Serving as a residential square from the later 19th century into. the first part of the 20th century, the park by 1930 was surrounded by high rise apartments and major public buildings and churches. As the area aged it became less stylish as a residential neighborhood and the Richmond Professional Institute, the forerunner of Virginia Commonwealth University, expanded into the older houses of the area.
(Library of Virginia) — aerial view, Monroe Park — February 6, 1951 — Adolph B. Rice Studio
By the later 1950s the residential character of the district was lost, and several proposals were made to destroy the park by extending streets through it, converting it to parking space, or erecting a medical center on the site. These proposals were all rejected and the park remains a major public amenity today.
(Library of Congress) — Wickham Statue — photo taken between 1905-1920
As was typical of 19th-century practice, the park became a site for monumental sculpture. The foundation for a huge rotunda dedicated to Jefferson Davis was laid in the park in the 1890s, but this impressive scheme was abandoned in favor of a more modest monument erected on Monument Avenue.
August 2019 — World War II memorial
A bronze statue of General William c. Wickham was dedicated in 1891, and in 1911 a monument to Joseph Bryan was unveiled. Smaller monuments to Fitzhugh Lee and the dead of World War II were erected in the later 20th century. Only the Wickham Statue was related to the park’s axial plan. (VDHR)
August 2019 — looking towards the Prestwould
By the early 2010s, the park was showing its age needed more than just TLC. It was closed to the public in 2017 and underwent a 22-month, 6 million dollar restoration that improved security, added a bioretention wall to make it self-sustaining, 132 new trees, 13,000 new shrubs and plants, and wi-fi (WTVR). A project of that size and duration will always have fault-finders, but on the whole, the Monroe Park Conservancy and the city did good.
(Monroe Park is part of the Atlas RVA! Project)
Must-See RVA! is a regular series
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Events
Free walking tour highlights Ashland Trolley Line on April 29th
A free walking tour on Saturday, April 29 will help people understand the historic Ashland Trolley Line’s impact on the Richmond region today.
A free walking tour on Saturday, April 29th, will help people understand the historic Ashland Trolley Line’s impact on the Richmond region today.
From 1907 to 1938, the Ashland Trolley Line connected the city of Richmond to the town of Ashland. The 14.8-mile streetcar line route played a major role in the development of local neighborhoods.
The corridor represents a significant portion of the upcoming Fall Line trail, a multi-use trail stretching across seven localities from Ashland to Petersburg.
Organized by PlanRVA and its partners, the walking tour starts at the L. Douglas Wilder Library & Learning Resource Center on the Virginia Union University campus at 9 a.m.
On-campus parking is available by the library or the Perkins Living and Learning Center. VUU is also accessible by GRTC bus route 1 Chamberlayne/Downtown. Registration is encouraged.
Experts will discuss the Ashland Trolley Line’s impact on the development of communities in North Richmond and northward through Henrico and Hanover counties to the town of Ashland.
Presenters will include Bill Martin of The Valentine, historian Kim Chen of the City of Richmond Department of Planning and Development Review, radio personality and historian Gary Flowers and staff members from PlanRVA and the National Park Service’s Rivers Trails and Conservation Assistance Program.
The event supports a public history project by PlanRVA and the National Park Service, which is working to collect stories about the historic streetcar line and the neighborhoods that emerged around it. Collected stories will be featured along the Fall Line route.
PlanRVA representatives will also participate in an informational booth at the 19th annual Ashland Train Day festival on the same day, which runs from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
To contribute stories to the Ashland Trolley Line history project, contact [email protected].
Downtown
Share Your Stories: PlanRVA launches public history project for Ashland Trolley Line
To honor the Ashland Trolley Line’s history and integration into the Fall Line trail, PlanRVA, and its partners are launching a public history project to solicit stories and memories about the historic streetcar line and the neighborhoods that emerged around it.
For over three decades, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Ashland Trolley Line connected the city of Richmond to the town of Ashland. From 1907-1938, the streetcar line played a major role in the development of neighborhoods along its 14.8-mile route that took 40 minutes for a one-way trip.
Today the corridor represents a significant portion of the upcoming Fall Line trail, a multi-use trail stretching across seven localities from Ashland to Petersburg.
To honor the Ashland Trolley Line’s history and integration into the Fall Line trail, PlanRVA, and its partners are launching a public history project to solicit stories and memories about the historic streetcar line and the neighborhoods that emerged around it. Collected stories will be featured along the Fall Line route.
Local historians and experts will talk about the Ashland Trolley Line’s impact on the region’s past, present, and future at Virginia Union University’s Wall Auditorium on February 23 from 6-7:30 p.m. The event is a kick-off for a series of public meetings along the historic corridor. Anyone interested in the history of the Ashland Trolley Line is invited to attend. Registration is free.
Presenters will include Bill Martin of The Valentine and staff members from PlanRVA and the National Park Service’s Rivers Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, along with others.
The event is organized by PlanRVA, Virginia Union University, and the National Park Service’s Rivers Trails and Conservation Assistance Program.
PlanRVA organizers have begun to compile history and stories on the project’s website.
Community
Library of Virginia celebrates Black History Month with Panel Discussion on Black Political Activism After Claiming Freedom
Editors of the Library’s Dictionary of Virginia Biography joined this project in 2011 in collaboration with the commonwealth’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission to research and write about the 92 African American men who served in the General Assembly from 1869 to 1890.
In honor of Black History Month and as part of its 200th anniversary activities, the Library of Virginia will present a panel discussion on Thursday, Feb. 23 to celebrate the completion of a signature project that documents the lives of Virginia’s first Black legislators. Titled “The First Civil Rights: Black Political Activism After Claiming Freedom,” the free panel discussion, offered in partnership with Virginia Humanities, will be held 6-7:30 p.m. in the Library’s Lecture Hall. Advance registration is required at https://lva-virginia.libcal.com/event/10200777.
Editors of the Library’s Dictionary of Virginia Biography joined this project in 2011 in collaboration with the commonwealth’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission to research and write about the 92 African American men who served in the General Assembly from 1869 to 1890. Their stories are now available online as part of Virginia’s collective digital story thanks to a collaboration with Encyclopedia Virginia, a rich online resource sponsored by Virginia Humanities.
Black Members of the Virginia General Assembly, 1887-1888.
Front row, left to right: Alfred W. Harris (Dinwiddie), William W. Evans (Petersburg), Caesar Perkins(Buckingham).
Back row, left to right: John H. Robinson (Elizabeth City), Goodman Brown (Surry), Nathaniel M. Griggs (Prince Edward), William H. Ash (Nottoway), Briton Baskerville Jr. (Mecklenburg).
“We’re proud to celebrate such a meaningful project to document early African American representation in our commonwealth’s legislature,” said Librarian of Virginia Sandra G. Treadway. “We encourage the public to join us at what will be a very insightful discussion examining the contributions of early Black legislators and their enduring legacy today.”
Panelists for the program, moderated by Virginia Humanities executive director Matthew Gibson, will include the Honorable Viola Baskerville, one of the founders of the project; Lauranett Lee, public historian and University of Richmond adjunct assistant professor; Ajena Rogers, supervisory park ranger at the National Park Service’s Maggie L. Walker Historic Site and a descendant of Black legislator James A. Fields; and historian and author Brent Tarter, a retired editor with the Library of Virginia.
For more information on the panel discussion, contact Elizabeth Klaczynski at 804.692.3536 or [email protected]. Learn more about the Library’s anniversary events at www.lva.virginia.gov/200.
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