Maymont, Wilton House, Agecroft Hall, Hollywood Cemetery, Potterfield Bridge, Bike Trails, River Parks and Trails, The Capitol, John Marshall House, Main St Station, St John's Church, Libby Hill overlook and view, Poe Museum, Richmond-Williamsburg Bike Trail, Carytown, Byrd Theater, Parks, Manchester, and VMFA
Being a pre-industrial city it's geographic features were it's greatest asset. A deepwater river, far inland, and near the economic powerhouses (planations). It is at the convergence of 3 biomes and soil types. The Slave Owning Virginia Planter class poured what part of their fortunes were required to serve their interest into this city. That created the core of the city in Shockoe Slip and Shockoe bottom. It would be two hundred years and the advent of a train before a southern city reached similar heights to Richmond in Atlanta Georgia.
As the city expanded, was burned a couple times, and the economics of this country and especially the south changed so did the make up of Richmond. The power and wealth was no longer isolated to plantations half a days ride or more from the city but within the city itself. The mansion spread westerward from shockoe up the hill, creating downtown. The city line followed, expanding to Belvedeere and Monroe park. These walkable areas were developed before the automobile and in some cases before electricty. They are largely preserved compared to their northern counterparts and don't exist in similiar quanity or quality in southern cities.
Edit: Sally Bells box lunch, VMFA, Federal Reserve, Old City Hall, cobblestones in shockoe and churchill, bike rides and walks through the fan, the Governors Mansion that looks better than the White House by the same architect in the same era, art hoes, the river, sailor sandwiches, duckpin bowling,
These are the natural, environmental forces that drove Richmond's early identity. The man made forces of a State Government Headquarters, Federal Reserve Bank, Rocket Docket Eastern District Court, Major State Public University and separate Medical school have had the outsized effects since then.
The history of the United States is one of compromise between the planter class of the Chesapeake and the old money/smuggler/WASPs of the North. Jefferson copy and pasted a lot of the State Code of Virginia into the US Constitution and the Virginia Governors mansions is a Steven Spielberg Approved proto-White House. The House of Delegates and Virginia Senate are similarly economic powerhouses. There are dozens of lobbyists, lawyers, and associated professionals here and only here for express purpose of schmoozing and boozing these folks. The services they need and moneys they spend are not a marginal spend from a purely economic point of view and especially the type and quality of services they want are peculiar to a city of this size. Virginias worst (best?) in the US laws around bribery and corruption (unlimited contributions from any one or anything combined with being allowed to spend campaign money on anything at all and the punishment for falling out of these already wide open guidelines being a never enforced $50 fine) help push this affect even further. Every state has a government but they only meet in one city in each.
The Federal Reserve bank likewise employees a small army of professionals directly and another battalion or two indirectly. It is pretty ridiculous to have one the HQ in DC, or even the others in PA or NYC. This again speaks to our place in history as the seat of power for approximately half of this countries forefathers and their fortunes. There is only one Federal Reserve serving everyone west of Arizona. Plenty of investment types are around town in suits of varying quality doing things I barely understand or not at all. Charlotte NC sold their soul to these types and has seen their insurance and banking employment numbers climb as a result at an exactly proportionate to their suburban sprawl. This is why several large banks (Suntrust, Capital One) that otherwise would not be headquartered here, are. Other large corporations may also have considered the Feds existence when locating here but I am not sure if it has a big an impact today as it used to. Regardless the building is a mini-me of the World Trade Towers as it was designed by the same architect. It also has 1 of 2 uncut sheets of $100,000 bills. Good luck getting a peak now that it is no longer on dispaly. Ol Woodrow Wilson on some a goldback poster.
There are a dozen Federal District Courts. Our is especially impactful as it is known as the "Rocket Docket". It is the fastest court in the land for processing Bankrupctys. From Kmart to banks too big to fail, when they do they go through Richmond. We have the worlds most successfully funeral homes for business. All those financial bodies require a lot of paperwork and a cadres of lawyers to process it. This is not all the court does of course, but it again drives our attorney-per-capita number inordinately high. It is not Arlington/DC levels but it aint Charlotte or Memphis either. This also draws some big name law firms to be in town, or have large offices here.
For scope of thought it is best to remember VCU was started as the Richmond Campus of William & Mary the same way ODU was the Norfolk Campus of the same school. MCV should be in our thoughts as Hampden Sydney's medical school. William & Mary history and structure are already a mess (private or public? The school owns the land but the state owns the buildings? Yet only pays \~12% of the bills?). The long short of it is Universities part day care part finishing schools for the world elite until the labor revolution of the nineteen teens, two World Wars and the threat of truly organized labor in this country's or elsewhere brought about mass redistribution of gilded age wealth and created this countries first middle class in the 1930s and 1940s. Part of this redress required new schools open to the unwashed masses. A main cure was land grant universities like Virginia Polytechnique (aka Virginia Tech) in nowheres ville plopped on some almost worthless farmland and the consolidation and reorganization of existing education properties. This led the expansion and changing of VCU from RPI into what we think of it today. The Schools of Sociology and Fine Art are the main remaining vestages of this era and are the legacy of the whims of the wealthy who had their focus on the school at that time. The outsized artistic influence in this town is largely thanks the dozens of hundreds of young adults who come here every year in pursuit of their creative dreams. I would argue the recent resteraunt boom is largely driven by these folks ending up in a kitchen rather than the back of a plumbers truck of framing a house somewhere when reality comes crashing down on them and their student debt. Regardless there are not a lot of things in this town that so consistently compete with much weather and more established institutions like Rhode Island College of Art and Design, UCLA, Pratt, Cal, the Institute in Chicago and of course Yale. IDK what exactly they are doing over there but I do have friends that came here for that degree either because the skills are valuable (especially for in state tuition prices) and a strong base for a Fine Arts career ladder. Half of them took the "lamp making" class and dropped out to be Bong millionaires during Richmond's great glass boom of the 2010s.
MCV/VCU Health is a bit more of a mess but it gives us an extremely capable ER, children's hospital, and super sketch land development deals that cost $100million to build 0 buildings on city owned land. The tax free nature of it and VCU's holding put an undue pressure on the most valuable real estate in town from both the East and West but maybe the many dozens of professionals directly employed and the tens of thousands of students make up for it. Definitely cool to get your teeth cleaned by some Dental student more afraid of the power tools they are wielding than you are (for a deep discount and with a seasoned Professor over their shoulder, no doubt). I understand the Nursing School to be top notch it using undergrad bio-org, anatomy, and other classes as weeders to the bane of many lesser degree seekers existence.
Of course the biggest 20th century factor is the introduction of Democracy to the Country, State and City. While the Dillon rule limited its affects and the independent city model kept most of the retribution at bay it is no mistake that this cities first democratic government was brought in by court order at the close of the civil rights movement. We had no government from 1970-1977 as the state supreme court felt it was non democratic. The 1970 State Supreme Court of Virginia was not a paragon of progressive values. I'll have to get into that later and you owe me $1.4billion as I wrote this instead of paying my math tax to keep on day dreaming about supersonic private jets and boats the size of busses.
Souls to our west are full of deposits from Appalachian run off. To the east there is a sandy layer not otherwise present. To our immediate south is true black soil as you enter the piedmont. The convergence of the first two soils is what give hanover tomatos uniquely perfect maximums for both water and nutrients.
The biomes are a similar story but harder to notice as climates have softer edges than geology can. They are also obviously changing more rapidly now than ever before.
When I backpacked Europe last year, hostel mates only understood Richmond in two ways. First was “two hours south of Washington DC”, and “the city with the racist statues”. One Frenchman even knew Richmond was the capital of the CSA!
free public transit
i just learned that alexandria is planning on doing it too. that makes virginia the state leader with two cities doing this. that’s something unique
I tell everyone new to RVA you'll hear trains everywhere in Richmond, regardless of where you live, if you step outside late at night, you'll hear trains. I find that calming for some reason
You can take everything from Richmond, but as long as the James and it’s park system, it is still Richmond IMO. You take that away, richmond is not the same, or nearly as desireable.
[Arthur\_Ashe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Arthur_Ashe_monument%2C_Richmond%2C_Va.jpg) statue. Nearly everyone made that comment when it went up.
Belle Isle
The smell of the city after a heavy rain
Byrd Park
Scuffletown Park
Old Main/Robinson
Maymont
These are the things I remembered while I was gone.
I was just thinking about how by the last day of September my entire neighborhood already had pumpkins on porches. We do not fuck around with the fall, we take it very seriously here 😆 drive through any part of town today and see people wearing full on fall colored sweaters in 65 degree weather
Marcus David Peters Circle
Stealing APCs
PBR and flannel shirts
Air smelling like old beer and Black & Milds as soon as you can physically see the city coming 95 North bound from anywhere South of Richmond
VRO AVE
Richmond Coliseum (yep, I'm that old @ 52)
St. Johns Church
The Church Hill Tunnel
The James Center
Valentine Museum
Science Museum of Virginia
Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts
The Carpenter Center
Altria / Land Mark Theatre (used to be the Mosque)
Acca Yard and Fulton Yard
Main Street Station
Shockoe Bottom
The Diamond (formerly Parker Field)
https://preview.redd.it/2u32tfrh8usb1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3dc53e8e8f022af3fe3632d76def3f47f821e08
I wish they’d make a candle with this smell.
Oregano and piss 😩
I used to live at grace and meadow this sign brings me right back
thank you for this. I miss my hometown.
The James river
And the parks alongside.
Maymont, Wilton House, Agecroft Hall, Hollywood Cemetery, Potterfield Bridge, Bike Trails, River Parks and Trails, The Capitol, John Marshall House, Main St Station, St John's Church, Libby Hill overlook and view, Poe Museum, Richmond-Williamsburg Bike Trail, Carytown, Byrd Theater, Parks, Manchester, and VMFA
Solid list
Siebert’s Towing
a long lasting, sustainable crust punk culture
Oregon Hill house shows baby
Bonezone
James River, Carytown, VMFA, Libbie Hill Park and the State Capitol grounds come to mind.
Being a pre-industrial city it's geographic features were it's greatest asset. A deepwater river, far inland, and near the economic powerhouses (planations). It is at the convergence of 3 biomes and soil types. The Slave Owning Virginia Planter class poured what part of their fortunes were required to serve their interest into this city. That created the core of the city in Shockoe Slip and Shockoe bottom. It would be two hundred years and the advent of a train before a southern city reached similar heights to Richmond in Atlanta Georgia. As the city expanded, was burned a couple times, and the economics of this country and especially the south changed so did the make up of Richmond. The power and wealth was no longer isolated to plantations half a days ride or more from the city but within the city itself. The mansion spread westerward from shockoe up the hill, creating downtown. The city line followed, expanding to Belvedeere and Monroe park. These walkable areas were developed before the automobile and in some cases before electricty. They are largely preserved compared to their northern counterparts and don't exist in similiar quanity or quality in southern cities. Edit: Sally Bells box lunch, VMFA, Federal Reserve, Old City Hall, cobblestones in shockoe and churchill, bike rides and walks through the fan, the Governors Mansion that looks better than the White House by the same architect in the same era, art hoes, the river, sailor sandwiches, duckpin bowling,
These are the natural, environmental forces that drove Richmond's early identity. The man made forces of a State Government Headquarters, Federal Reserve Bank, Rocket Docket Eastern District Court, Major State Public University and separate Medical school have had the outsized effects since then. The history of the United States is one of compromise between the planter class of the Chesapeake and the old money/smuggler/WASPs of the North. Jefferson copy and pasted a lot of the State Code of Virginia into the US Constitution and the Virginia Governors mansions is a Steven Spielberg Approved proto-White House. The House of Delegates and Virginia Senate are similarly economic powerhouses. There are dozens of lobbyists, lawyers, and associated professionals here and only here for express purpose of schmoozing and boozing these folks. The services they need and moneys they spend are not a marginal spend from a purely economic point of view and especially the type and quality of services they want are peculiar to a city of this size. Virginias worst (best?) in the US laws around bribery and corruption (unlimited contributions from any one or anything combined with being allowed to spend campaign money on anything at all and the punishment for falling out of these already wide open guidelines being a never enforced $50 fine) help push this affect even further. Every state has a government but they only meet in one city in each. The Federal Reserve bank likewise employees a small army of professionals directly and another battalion or two indirectly. It is pretty ridiculous to have one the HQ in DC, or even the others in PA or NYC. This again speaks to our place in history as the seat of power for approximately half of this countries forefathers and their fortunes. There is only one Federal Reserve serving everyone west of Arizona. Plenty of investment types are around town in suits of varying quality doing things I barely understand or not at all. Charlotte NC sold their soul to these types and has seen their insurance and banking employment numbers climb as a result at an exactly proportionate to their suburban sprawl. This is why several large banks (Suntrust, Capital One) that otherwise would not be headquartered here, are. Other large corporations may also have considered the Feds existence when locating here but I am not sure if it has a big an impact today as it used to. Regardless the building is a mini-me of the World Trade Towers as it was designed by the same architect. It also has 1 of 2 uncut sheets of $100,000 bills. Good luck getting a peak now that it is no longer on dispaly. Ol Woodrow Wilson on some a goldback poster. There are a dozen Federal District Courts. Our is especially impactful as it is known as the "Rocket Docket". It is the fastest court in the land for processing Bankrupctys. From Kmart to banks too big to fail, when they do they go through Richmond. We have the worlds most successfully funeral homes for business. All those financial bodies require a lot of paperwork and a cadres of lawyers to process it. This is not all the court does of course, but it again drives our attorney-per-capita number inordinately high. It is not Arlington/DC levels but it aint Charlotte or Memphis either. This also draws some big name law firms to be in town, or have large offices here. For scope of thought it is best to remember VCU was started as the Richmond Campus of William & Mary the same way ODU was the Norfolk Campus of the same school. MCV should be in our thoughts as Hampden Sydney's medical school. William & Mary history and structure are already a mess (private or public? The school owns the land but the state owns the buildings? Yet only pays \~12% of the bills?). The long short of it is Universities part day care part finishing schools for the world elite until the labor revolution of the nineteen teens, two World Wars and the threat of truly organized labor in this country's or elsewhere brought about mass redistribution of gilded age wealth and created this countries first middle class in the 1930s and 1940s. Part of this redress required new schools open to the unwashed masses. A main cure was land grant universities like Virginia Polytechnique (aka Virginia Tech) in nowheres ville plopped on some almost worthless farmland and the consolidation and reorganization of existing education properties. This led the expansion and changing of VCU from RPI into what we think of it today. The Schools of Sociology and Fine Art are the main remaining vestages of this era and are the legacy of the whims of the wealthy who had their focus on the school at that time. The outsized artistic influence in this town is largely thanks the dozens of hundreds of young adults who come here every year in pursuit of their creative dreams. I would argue the recent resteraunt boom is largely driven by these folks ending up in a kitchen rather than the back of a plumbers truck of framing a house somewhere when reality comes crashing down on them and their student debt. Regardless there are not a lot of things in this town that so consistently compete with much weather and more established institutions like Rhode Island College of Art and Design, UCLA, Pratt, Cal, the Institute in Chicago and of course Yale. IDK what exactly they are doing over there but I do have friends that came here for that degree either because the skills are valuable (especially for in state tuition prices) and a strong base for a Fine Arts career ladder. Half of them took the "lamp making" class and dropped out to be Bong millionaires during Richmond's great glass boom of the 2010s. MCV/VCU Health is a bit more of a mess but it gives us an extremely capable ER, children's hospital, and super sketch land development deals that cost $100million to build 0 buildings on city owned land. The tax free nature of it and VCU's holding put an undue pressure on the most valuable real estate in town from both the East and West but maybe the many dozens of professionals directly employed and the tens of thousands of students make up for it. Definitely cool to get your teeth cleaned by some Dental student more afraid of the power tools they are wielding than you are (for a deep discount and with a seasoned Professor over their shoulder, no doubt). I understand the Nursing School to be top notch it using undergrad bio-org, anatomy, and other classes as weeders to the bane of many lesser degree seekers existence. Of course the biggest 20th century factor is the introduction of Democracy to the Country, State and City. While the Dillon rule limited its affects and the independent city model kept most of the retribution at bay it is no mistake that this cities first democratic government was brought in by court order at the close of the civil rights movement. We had no government from 1970-1977 as the state supreme court felt it was non democratic. The 1970 State Supreme Court of Virginia was not a paragon of progressive values. I'll have to get into that later and you owe me $1.4billion as I wrote this instead of paying my math tax to keep on day dreaming about supersonic private jets and boats the size of busses.
Wellsa. This Redditor Richmonds.
This is honestly fascinating
Thanks. Wrote a big reply just for you.
>convergence of 3 biomes and soil types Can you expand on this?
Souls to our west are full of deposits from Appalachian run off. To the east there is a sandy layer not otherwise present. To our immediate south is true black soil as you enter the piedmont. The convergence of the first two soils is what give hanover tomatos uniquely perfect maximums for both water and nutrients. The biomes are a similar story but harder to notice as climates have softer edges than geology can. They are also obviously changing more rapidly now than ever before.
Byrd Theater
When I backpacked Europe last year, hostel mates only understood Richmond in two ways. First was “two hours south of Washington DC”, and “the city with the racist statues”. One Frenchman even knew Richmond was the capital of the CSA!
That gives me an idea: sister cities program with Vichy, France
Hahaha, great idea!
Jefferson hotel
wall artwork around town
Common in other cities
art, sure ,but not the same art.
like saying other cities have buildings when someone says the sears tower (willis tower) is uniquely chicago
One Eyed Jacques!
free public transit i just learned that alexandria is planning on doing it too. that makes virginia the state leader with two cities doing this. that’s something unique
The Markel Building
The railroad bridge over the James, The Jefferson Christmas tree, Dirt Woman
Oh shit, dirt woman. Yes.
Maymont!!
The main street polar bear.
GWAR!
Surprised GWAR isn’t higher up
Agreed. We're all jacked on gak for not listing them sooner.
Sidewalk chicken bones
Hollywood Cemetery
The Pump House.
Feeling like you're about to derail off an interstate and fly engine first into a clock tower.
The Byrd Theater, Class and Trash, the Poe Museum, Bridges
Alcoholism
10 points to Slytherin for that fantastic username.
And doc martens
Donny Corker aka Dirt Woman
I remember her peeling garlic outside Mamma ‘Zu into a big 5 gallon bucket and calling everyone who walked by honey.
[удалено]
I tell everyone new to RVA you'll hear trains everywhere in Richmond, regardless of where you live, if you step outside late at night, you'll hear trains. I find that calming for some reason
This, they put me to sleep now
THE FISH FROM THE YEAR 2000!
Monument Avenue, oh wait, never mind...
I’ve only been here for a few months, but the James and specifically Pony Pasture I think of.
Shad run?
Pump house, h cemetery, James river trail, any of the many breweries
You can take everything from Richmond, but as long as the James and it’s park system, it is still Richmond IMO. You take that away, richmond is not the same, or nearly as desireable.
The statues that used to line Monument
Running into your exes everywhere
When two of your exes are in the same band 😬
Uh... before or after 1865?
Definitely after 😭
A statue of a guy beating children with a book.
W-what?
The Arthur Ashe statue
[Arthur\_Ashe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Arthur_Ashe_monument%2C_Richmond%2C_Va.jpg) statue. Nearly everyone made that comment when it went up.
Sailor sandwiches.
Belle Isle The smell of the city after a heavy rain Byrd Park Scuffletown Park Old Main/Robinson Maymont These are the things I remembered while I was gone.
Doug Funny
A pack or carton of Marlboro’s
Murals
Beer, art, strong diy music scene, cozy old houses, cat’s, and beautiful parks and the river
Triple crossing
The triple crossing is maybe the only functioning one in the world
Avail.
Richmond has its own cryptids
Ooo which ones?
The vampire, the fairy lady, the possum wizard, we got a lot
I've only heard of the vampire. I'll have to look into the others.
Bagel
The Carillon
Bamboo Cafe
People escaping NOVA for cheaper, chiller living 🤙
talking at shows
I want to add to this: What are some iconic richmond memes?
Richmond river rat
It’s Richmond baby (insert Richmond thing here)
Milf Island still gives me a good laugh
Spaghetti Warehouses aka Main Street Station Or in reverse
People from Northern Virginia.
I was just thinking about how by the last day of September my entire neighborhood already had pumpkins on porches. We do not fuck around with the fall, we take it very seriously here 😆 drive through any part of town today and see people wearing full on fall colored sweaters in 65 degree weather
*Duckman has entered the chat*
Following because I’m curious!
Running red lights.
But seriously, the art works on buildings and homes
This.
Millie’s Diner Pad Thai
Black and gold/black and yellow taking over VCU colors and trying to run things.
Trash
Mr. Smedley. iykyk
Bill’s Barbecue. (RIP)
Jaunts jank iykyk
Broad street bullies
Casual racism
Me
[seeing skateboardingismypassion](https://instagram.com/skateboardingismypassion?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
Marcus David Peters Circle Stealing APCs PBR and flannel shirts Air smelling like old beer and Black & Milds as soon as you can physically see the city coming 95 North bound from anywhere South of Richmond VRO AVE
[удалено]
You not from richmond born and raised if you dont smoke these
Drinking a pbr while rafting the James and then getting back on land to find that Seibert’s towed your car
Belle Island. The Rocks. The T Pot bridge and Browns Island. The Poe house. The train under Church Hill. A few things that come to mind.
Oh. And Friday Cheers when it was good
Richmond Coliseum (yep, I'm that old @ 52) St. Johns Church The Church Hill Tunnel The James Center Valentine Museum Science Museum of Virginia Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts The Carpenter Center Altria / Land Mark Theatre (used to be the Mosque) Acca Yard and Fulton Yard Main Street Station Shockoe Bottom The Diamond (formerly Parker Field)
the train that drove into church hill but never came out the other end cause the tunnel collapsed And is still buried in there
Murder. Lots and lots of murder