Neighborhoods of Richmond, Virginia
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(External links for some of the following areas can be found at [1] )
[edit] Carver
The Carver neighborhood, also called Sheep Hill, lies north of Broad Street (Richmond, Virginia) to the west of Jackson Ward and downtown Richmond. Carver was first settled by blue-collar Jewish and German tradesmen, and became a thriving black community in the early 1900s before being cut through by major thoroughfares such as Jefferson Davis Highway, Belvidere Street and Interstate 95. As the years passed, more and more houses became vacant, and the neighborhood declined. By the 1950s, Carver began to sharply decline and was seen as a "dangerous" neighborhood. Today, Carver is predominanty a mix of working class African-Americans and Virginia Commonwealth University students.
[edit] Carytown/Museum District
Carytown is a residential and commercial area that generally consists of 1920s era homes and privately owned shops, clothing stores, cafes, and restaurants along Cary Street. The Byrd Theatre, located in this district, is a historic 1920s era movie palace that shows second run movies and that offers periodic performances of its Wurlitzer organ.
The Museum District is located just west of the Fan district and north of Carytown. Historically, this area was a site where many Confederate Soldiers were trained during the American Civil War. Some large institutions in this district are the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the world headquarters for the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Virginia Historical Society.
[edit] Church Hill
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- See article Church Hill
The historic district of Church Hill encompasses the original land plat of the city of Richmond. There Patrick Henry gave his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech in St. John's Church. Chimborazo Park occupies the former site of the largest American Civil War Hospital. Church Hill is notable as one of the largest extant 19th century neighborhoods in America, with many fine examples of period architecture. This area has undergone significant urban renewal in recent years.
[edit] Court End
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- See article Court End
[edit] East End
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- See article The East End (Richmond, Virginia)
The East End of Richmond is actually a collection of neighborhoods. It is roughly defined as including the area of Richmond east/northeast of Chamberlayne Avenue and the James River, South and west of I-295, and includes neighborhoods such as Church Hill, Fairmount, Union Hill, Fulton, Fulton Hill, Montrose Heights, Fairfield Court, Creighton Court, Whitcomb Court, Mosby Court, Eastview, Brauers, Peter Paul, Woodville, North Church Hill, Chimborazo and Oakwood. These neighborhoods are predominantly African-American.
[edit] The Fan District
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- See article Fan District
[edit] Jackson Ward
See article Jackson Ward
Jackson Ward is an historically black neighborhood that at one time was known as the "Harlem of the South. " A center for black commerce and entertainment, it was frequented by the likes of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole and James Brown. Jackson Ward was also home to Maggie L. Walker, the first woman to charter and serve as president of an American bank. The Maggie L. Walker House is now a U.S. National Historic Site. Jackson Ward is home to the Hippodrome Theater.
During the construction of the Eisenhower Interstate highway system in the 1950s Jackson Ward was split in two, much to the detriment of the neighborhood.
In the early 2000s, the Greater Richmond Convention Center and Visitors Bureau was built at the western edge of Jackson Ward, which may help in the redevelopment of Jackson Ward..
[edit] Manchester
- See also: Manchester, Virginia
Manchester is an industrial area directly south of downtown Richmond across the James River from the Canal Walk. Not to be confused with the Manchester area of Chesterfield County, Manchester (also known as Old Manchester and South Richmond) has a distinguished history of its own.
Originally known as Rocky Ridge, for over 200 years, Manchester was a separate town and later independent city on the south bank of the James River across from Richmond. It was commercially successful due to its agricultural mills and docks, where coal from the Midlothian area 13 miles west was transported on the Chesterfield Railroad, the first in Virginia, beginning in 1831. The City of Manchester merged with Richmond in 1910.
In current times, the Manchester section of Richmond is mostly notable for its development potential. With recent commercial additions such as Overnight Transportation, Legend Brewery, refurbished industrial building loft condominiums, Sun Trust's Riverview Center, and the Plant Zero Cafe and Art Works Studios, it is seen as an area somewhat slummy yet trendy.
The former Richmond and Danville Railroad passenger station in Manchester now houses the Old Dominion Railway Historical Society's museum at 2nd and Hull Streets, near the south end of the Mayo Bridge.
[edit] North Side Neighborhoods
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- See article North Side (Richmond Virginia)
Richmond's North Side is home to many diverse neighborhoods, including Barton Heights, Bellevue, Ginter Park, Washington Park, Hermitage Rd, Highland Park, Sherwood Park, etc. These neighborhoods are made up of houses with a variety of architectural styles, which include Arts and Crafts Bungalows, Victorian, Romanesque Revival, and Queen Anne houses among other styles.
[edit] Oregon Hill
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- See article Oregon Hill
[edit] The River District
In 1999, the City of Richmond completed its canal walk project, a refurbishment of a 1.25 mile segment of the Haxall Canal and the James River & Kanawha canal that had fallen into disuse. Developed as a tourist destination, the area surrounding the Canal Walk was branded by The River District Alliance (RDA) (a 501(c)6 public/private organization) as "The River District." [2].
The actual boundaries of the River district are not defined, and include some businesses commonly thought to belong to other districts, like Shockoe Bottom and Shockoe Slip. [3]
Similar Canal Walks were built in San Antonio, Texas, and Indianapolis, Indiana.
[edit] Shockoe Bottom
This area, just east of downtown along the James River, became a major nightlife, dining, and entertainment center in the last two decades of the 20th century. After centuries of periodic flooding by the James River, development was greatly stimulated by the completion of Richmond's James River Flood Wall in 1995. Ironically, the next flooding disaster came not from the river, but from Hurricane Gaston which brought extensive local tributary flooding along the basin of Shockoe Creek and did extensive damage to this area in 2004, with businesses being shut down and many buildings condemned. The city of Richmond has had serious discussions about moving the Richmond Braves baseball stadium from its current location at The Diamond to Shockoe Bottom or Tobacco Row.
[edit] Tobacco Row
Just east of Shockoe Bottom, Tobacco Row is a collection of tobacco warehouses and cigarette factories adjacent to the James River and Kanawha Canal near its eastern terminus at the head of navigation of the James River. Beginning in the 18th century, many growers and shippers of Virginia's major cash-crop of tobacco maintained facilities there, as well as directly across the river at Manchester. Substantial multi-story brick buildings were constructed to protect the contents from loss due to fire.
During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Tobacco Row was the site of infamous Libby Prison and nearby Castle Thunder, detention facilities of the Confederate government.
The area was vacated by the tobacco companies by the late 1980s. Led by Richmond developer William H. Abeloff, many of the old warehouses of Tobacco Row were modernized and converted into developments of loft apartments, condominiums, offices, and retail space along part of the restored canal system.
[edit] Shockoe Slip
Shockoe Slip is a collection of tobacco warehouses in which are located shops, restaurants, and offices. The name "slip" refers to the canal boat slips nearby where goods were loaded and unloaded. Shockoe Slip became developed as a commercial and entertainment district in the 1970s.
[edit] Southside
See full article: Southside (Richmond, Virginia)
[edit] The West End
See full article: The West End (Richmond, Virginia)
[edit] Union Hill
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- See article Union Hill
The Union Hill area of Church Hill is located on the high western bluff above Shockoe Valley. Houses of a remarkable mix are balanced along the irregular, picturesque and sometimes narrow streets that follow the curve of the hill. Those homes that line Jefferson Park have a clear view of downtown Richmond. Union Hill is bordered on the south by Jefferson Avenue, on the north by Venable Street, on the west by 25th Street, and by Mosby on the east.
[edit] Westover Hills
Westover Hills, one of Richmond's more established neighborhoods, is located directly south of the James River via the Nickel (Boulevard St.) Bridge from the City’s Fan District, and spans the east and west sides of Westover Hills Boulevard in that area. This location makes it near the geographical center of the City. Most of the homes were built during the 1920-1940 period. The styles are highly varied, with Cape Cods located next to Spanish Colonial and Tudor Revival, with the odd farmhouse or Arts and Crafts thrown in. Many of the houses were first built to be near the terminus of the trolley line at then amusement park, Forest Hill Park. Locations feature large lots and a generally suburban feel. Some homes are located overlooking the banks of the James River, Westover Hills Boulevard, Forest Hill Ave. and Forest Hill Park. The neighborhood features well established restaurants and businesses, along with churches and some arts establishments.
The neighborhood was also home to Frederick William Sievers, sculptor of the Matthew Fontaine Maury and Stonewall Jackson monuments on Monument Avenue as well as the Virginia Monument at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There is a historical marker commerating his workshop in the yard of a home on W. 43rd St.
For more information see the Westover Hills Neighborhood Association website Westoverhills.net
[edit] Randolph
This is a residential area bounded on the south by the James River, on the north by I-195, on the east by several historic cemeteries and on the west by Byrd Park and Maymont park. Randolph is notable for its access to the historic and scenic areas of Maymont and Northbank parks and Hollywood cemetery. Randolph is an area of relative obscurity in urban Richmond as it is separated from the high traffic thouroughfares on Randolph's northern boundary. The neighborhood is home to many blue-collar families, and is troubled by drug activity. Many of the streets are named after US states, causing some to call the area " THE USA."
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The Greater Richmond Region |
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| Regional Divisions |
The West End | The Fan | Downtown | Southside | North Side | Mechanicsville | The East End | Tri-Cities / Petersburg | Varina-Enon |
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| Surrounding Counties: |
Chesterfield | Hanover | Henrico | Goochland |
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| Other Counties: |
Amelia | Caroline | Charles City | Cumberland | Dinwiddie | King and Queen | King William | Louisa | New Kent | Powhatan | Prince George | Sussex |
