Valentine Richmond History Center
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The Valentine Richmond History Center is a museum dedicated to the history of Richmond, Virginia in the Court End neighborhood. It started out as an eclectic collection of Mann S. Valentine, Jr., the independently wealthy creator of Valentine's Meat Juice.
The museum is located on Clay Street near the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Campus and Museum of the Confederacy in Court End. In its time Clay Street was a very fashionable address. In the 1990s, the museum, then known as the Valentine Museum, decided to open an annex in the Tredegar Iron Works building due to the perceived increased possibility of foot traffic in this area. The museum on the James River was to be known as "Valentine Riverside." This project was abandoned for lack of interest. In the Early 2000s, the original "Valentine Museum" was renamed "Valentine Richmond History Center" because there was continual confusion about this center's purpose as a center for Richmond History. The center's purpose has nothing to do with Valentine's Day.
The museum's buildings include the former residence of 19th century attorney John Wickham, who represented Vice President Aaron Burr during his trial for treason. The Wickham House, Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities John Marshall House and Historic Richmond Foundation's Monumental Church are part of a joint ticket visitor program for the Court End neighborhood adminstered by Valentine Richmond History Center.
