Do you remember any of these Richmond places?
This January 1946 image shows Forest Lodge, completed in the early 1880s by Confederate Army scout John Cussons. The six-story resort hotel stood on 1,000 acres in Glen Allen on Mountain Road and boasted more than 100 rooms. It never became the success that Cussons envisioned, and after changing hands and purposes several times, it was razed in 1992. The cupola was saved and can be seen at Mountain Road and Old Washington Highway.
Shown in December 1957, this building at 1600 Chamberlayne Parkway and several others behind it - the former plant of Valentine's Meat-Juice Co. - were slated to be torn down after being sold to the Noland Co. Valentine's Meat-Juice was marketed as a tonic, used for such maladies as cholera and typhoid. It gained attention after Mann S. Valentine Jr. created it in order to cure his wife, Ann Maria Gray Valentine, from wasting away in 1870.
In September 1961, about 25 alumni of Richmond’s old John Marshall High School demonstrated against a plan to demolish the building. After protesting there, the group went to City Hall to discuss the matter with City Council. Despite their efforts, the high school was razed that fall.
In April 1982, preparations for construction of the Richmond Convention Center were underway along East Broad Street downtown. Among businesses that were torn down to accommodate the new facility were Swatty’s Men’s Shop and the Greyhound bus station.
This May 1953 image shows the First Market building, which was razed in 1961. This site now houses the 17th Street Farmers Market, but its history as a public gathering place and market dates to the 1700s. Over time, it hosted Confederate soldiers, Union troops, political speeches, a police station and religious revival meetings in addition to farmers’ wares.
This October 1948 image shows the northeast corner of Third and Franklin streets downtown, where demolition soon made way for the new Times-Dispatch mechanical plant that opened in 1950. In the late 1990s, the site was fully renovated, and The Times-Dispatch building, which had fronted Grace Street, was given its current address of 300 E. Franklin St. 10-1-1948: Building at Third and Franklin to be razed for newspaper mechanical plant. ORG XMIT: RIC1311011539563729
03-22-1962 (cutline): These buildings will be razed for construction of modern ones. Latest in downtown improvement plans announced today.
03-26-1959 (cutline): Home of Maj. Myers, 515 W. Franklin St., before it was razed.
09-15-1959 (cutline): These buildings, in the Pearsall block, bounded by Ninth, Clay, 10th and Leigh Streets, are being torn down to make way for the new Richmond Department of Public Safety Building, the first unit of the Civic Center. The M&M Wrecking Co. has contracted with the city to demolish the buildings and remove all combustible materials by December in return for such materials as it can salvage. When the property is cleared, the city will decide on further use of the area pending construction of the new building. One possible use; parking.
Published Caption Richmond News Leader: Down She Goes - With the rest of the church already knocked down, workmen began yesterday demolishing the Gothic tower of the former All Saints Episcopal Church building in the 300 block West Franklin St. An apartment building is planned for the site, where the church stood for 60 years. Published Caption Richmond News Leader 2-21-91: The All Saints Episcopal Church building at 316 W Franklin St was sold for $85,000. The tower was the last part demolished.
In May 1977, this 150-foot smokestack came down. The smokestack stood behind what used to be Broad Street Station in Richmond; the demolition was part of a contract with the state for removal of the stack and several buildings in the area.
This October 1964 image shows a set of buildings at the corner of 13th and Main streets in Richmond that were due to be demolished to make way for a parking lot. The lot, which was scheduled to be completed in February, was designed to handle about 40 cars.
11-29-1963 (cutline): Downtown traffic -- Both pedestrian and vehicular -- is heavy despite rainy skies. Pace picked up as rain slackened on the traditional first day of Christmas shopping. The Atlantic Life and May Co. building was demolished in the early 2000s.
June 21, 1963 (Photograher Carl Lynn) (cutline) "These houses in the 800 block of West Grace St. are to be razed for a high-rise apartment building in Richmond Va.
In October 1961, a crane swung a wrecking ball against the portico of the old John Marshall High School in downtown Richmond as a nostalgic crowd watched. The building was being razed to make way for development of the new Civic Center; the new high school opened in North Side the previous year.
In May 1954, buildings in the 500 block of Marshall Street in Richmond were soon to be razed to make way for additional parking.
In September 1982, a section of the former Pinnell’s boat and bicycle shop on lay in ruins after demolition the day before. The store was razed to make way for a 3-story medical office building - the new $24 million structure was built between Grace and West Broad streets, close to Richmond Metropolitan Hospital. Today the building serves as a Virginia Commonwealth University dormitory.
This 1957 image shows Pratt’s Castle, built as the Richmond private home of William Abbott Pratt in the 1850s. Pratt used all of his fortune to construct his castle, which was modeled after the estates of his Scottish relatives. The castle sat on the southern tip of Fourth Street on Gamble’s Hill, overlooking the James River. It was demolished in the late 1950s to make way for the headquarters of what became Ethyl Corp.
In September 1954, owners of the old Richmond Tobacco Exchange building at 13th and East Cary streets announced that it would be razed the next year to make way for a parking facility. The exchange opened in 1858 -- formerly, officials inspected tobacco at many warehouses all over the city, and the new building aimed to centralize the process.
This time, proponents of the bill are optimistic it will become law, given the governor's mansion is occupied by a Democrat.Â
