There will be a bike swap at 9AM and a day of bicycle racing this Saturday at Chimborazo Park as part of the five-day 2012 North American Cycle Courier Championships.

The NACCC is the premier bike messenger event on the continent:

The hardest working couriers throughout the continent converge to socialize and face off for a chance at the title of Courier Champion. Over the years the championship has been to various major cities with each locale influencing the courses, rules and style of the competition. This year Richmond, Virginia will be showcasing it’s downtown’s inclines and historic cobbled streets for the event. The weekend event will be a grueling logistical challenge of strength, speed, and mental capacity. Open forums, parties, and side events turn the weekend into a true celebration of sport, friendships and culture.

We invite everyone to attend as well as compete. There are several Championship Titles up for grabs. Tons of side events and parties for everyone’s entertainment. All current working messengers and food delivery persons please sign up for the Messenger Category. If you’ve worked in the past (no matter how long) please enter the Ex-Messenger Category. For all commuters, civilians, industry personal and volunteers sign up in our “Open” category. A helmet, bag, and lock are required at all times during competitions. Your event registration signs you up for both qualifiers, all the side events and social gatherings as well as an official T-shirt.

Friends of Chimborazo is proud to announce that the next movie in the park night is May 19th. While we cant announce the film yet, we can say “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball”.

SavingOurSelves: A 5K Walk to Wellness kicks off at Chimborazo Park this coming Saturday, May 19, 2012 from 9AM-noon. There is still time to register.

Friends of Chimborazo Park proudly announces the start of the summer movie series with the romantic comedy Fever Pitch on Saturday, April 21, 7:30PM. The movie will be shown by the gazebo in the back of Chimborazo Park. Admission is free but donations are encouraged.

found large male Rotty (chimborazzo park churchill)
I found a very friendly and lovable fixed male rotty at chimborazzo park in churchill around lunchtime 4/4/12. He followed me home and I dropped him off at the Churchill Animal Hospital on 25th st. He has no id tags. Please contact the churchill animal hosptital where he is staying until they contact the pound.

Life goes up and down, had a serious rough night. Lost all my shit plz if you find it should be around chimborazo park. Plz email me

Unless you drive to the base of Chimborazo Park to use the dog park there, you may not know that there is a fresh water spring in a grotto built in 1895. Today 2 Church Hillians decided they would go tidy up the spring, scrub off the algae, do a little weeding and sweeping.

It was a significant time to perform this small community service as it is February 1 and St Bridgit’s Day. Bridget has a very strong association with springs and wells in Ireland and cleaning such spaces on this day is still done in her land.

Here is what is really significant for Church Hill: within 45 minutes more people and several dogs were helping. One man came up and started doing some of the harder work. Then a family – grandfather, father and son with tools in the back of their truck – drove up and joined in. “We saw you all working and thought we would help.”

This wasn’t planned. No one knew each other but the work went quicker, stories were shared and the spring looks a lot better now.

Sent in by Jan Thomas

Saturday Afternoon Graffiti via The Cheats Movement:

I saw this wall last week in Church Hill; over by Chimborazo Park. So I went about an hour ago and took some shots. Nothing like some Saturday afternoon graffiti.

The rescheduled movie night in Chimbo Park will take place 10/22/2011:

MOVIE NIGHT Under the Stars
Chimborazo Park
10/22/11

Cyclus Bike Shop & QuicknessRVA Present

BREAKING AWAY: an Oscar winning movie about bike racing and coming of age in an Indiana college town.

Picnic under the stars

Order food from participating restaurants and let us deliver it to you in the park:

Alamo BBQ 804-592-3138
Buff’s Corner 804-864-2835
Str8 Out of Philly 804-771-1978

Movie starts at 6:30. Come early, bring a chair or blanket, reserve your seat and wait for your dinner. Movie is shown by the pavilion in the back of the park, next to the Statue of Liberty. Movie night is arranged and organized by Friends of Chimborazo Park. The rain date for this event should it be postponed is 10/23/11.

Since this event is held in a city park, it is important to remember that all standard park regulations apply, including a prohibition of alcohol.

The Virginia Cyclocross Series returns to Chimborazo Park this Sunday, with a race Saturday in Bryan Park on Saturday.

MOVIE NIGHT Under the Stars at Chimborazo Park 8/27/11

Cyclus Bike Shop & QuicknessRVA Present

BREAKING AWAY: an Oscar winning movie about bike racing and coming of age in an Indiana college town.

Picnic under the stars
Order food from participating restaurants and let us deliver it to you in the park:

Alamo BBQ 804-592-3138
Buff’s Corner 804-864-2835
Str8 Out of Philly 804-771-1978

Movie starts at Dark. Come early, bring a chair or blanket, reserve your seat and wait for your dinner. Movie is shown by the pavilion in the back of the park, next to the Statue of Liberty. Movie night is arranged and organized by Friends of Chimborazo Park.

We hope to clean up the area around the stairs into lower Chimbo and remove some of the dead trees down along the lower road. We will work from 9 am till noonish. Meet at the bottom of the stairs.

Photo_Nerd has been posting great photos to the Church Hill Flickr pool.

Chimborazo Park, by Carl Davis.

Contact Brett if you’ve seen Chase:

I lost him around 3 am Wednesday morning. My # is 678-264-7474. He is super friendly. 2 years. No collar. I live right by Chimborazo Park. Brindle color.

Contact Chris at (804)212-5485 if you recognize this dog:

we found a black dog – appears to be a lab mix today at 5:30 pm in Chimborazo Park. He is about 6 months, 40 lbs, very well behaved and obediant.

The Virginia Cyclocross Series returns to Chimborazo Park on Sunday October 10 (and Northside’s Bryan Park on that Saturday).

Dan writes in to say “I found a pair of poodles roaming up and down Broad Street at Chimborazo.” Send an email or call (804)201-5050 if you know anything about ‘em.

Anybody recognize?

Lost dog found wandering through Chimborozo Park on Friday evening The dog had a collar and leash but no tags. I’ll hold onto the dog for a few days in hopes of locating the owner. The dog is well-behaved and has a great disposition. The owner can call 918-0403 to pick up the dog.

While this event is free, patrons are encouraged to make a small donation to help cover the licensing and other ancillary costs associated with future movie nights in the park.

Note: The park closes immediately after the completion of the movie.

Any Questions, please contact Friendsofchimborazo@gmail.com

Last summer, Friends of Chimborazo Park was able to partner with Yellow House to put on 4 family movie nights in Chimborazo Park (showing Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Goonies, Money Pit, and Casablanca). We are working on scheduling between 4 and 5 films this year, but in order to make that happen, we need sponsorships to cover the licensing cost of showing these films in a public venue. For older films, licensing tends to run between $150 and $200 depending on the film being shown.

Cost is $5/family. Contact Wyatt Kingston at (804)232-1982 for more information.

Wikipedia describes orienteering as:

… a family of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain. Participants are given a map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they use to find control points.

Statue of Liberty by Giarc80HC.

Previously on this statue…

Cyclocross returns to Chimborazo Park this Saturday (and Northside’s Bryan Park on Sunday). Registration starts at 9AM, racing starts at 10AM.

Selden Richardson has put up a nice piece on the hidden beer vaults of Chimborazo Park over at The Shockoe Examiner:

Many Richmonders have probably heard of the “beer vaults” that are somewhere under the park, but few know of their history or how extensive they are. A pencil and ink plan from the City Engineer’s office records in the archives of the Library of Virginia shows the position of the vaults and describes their considerable dimensions: six chambers, ranging from 30 to 60 feet long and arranged in a “L” pattern. The vaulted ceilings are approximately twenty feet tall. Considering a GRTC bus is about forty feet long, the large scale of these underground rooms is truly impressive.

Friends of Chimborazo Park has announced an encore installment of the popular Movie Night in the park series this Saturday October 3 at 8PM, with a presentation of the classic film Casablanca.

From the announcement:

Patrons are invited to bring food & drink, friends, and something to sit on and join us.
 
This event is Sponsored by Friends of Chimborazo Park and Yellow House.
 
Patrons are asked to make a small donation to cover the cost of licensing this film as well as to pay for security.  If enough funds are raised, Family Movie Night in the park will become a regular occurrence in Chimborazo Park.
 
Note: The park closes immediately after the completion of the movie.

Festivities begin around 7:30PM and the movie starts when dark. Patrons are invited to bring food & drink, friends, and something to sit on and join us.

This event is Sponsored by Chimborazo Dog Park and Yellow House.

Patrons are asked to make a small donation to cover the cost of licensing this film as well as to pay for security. If enough funds are raised, Family Movie Night in the park will become a regular occurrence in Chimborazo Park.

Please note that the park closes immediately after the completion of the movie.

The Ghost Hunting workshops are back and this time we’re going to visit Chimborazo, possibly the most ill-fated site in Richmond.

Here Native Americans aligned forces with Colonists against the Brittish and were slaughtered in what became known as the Bloody Run Massacre. A century later, the site was used for the largest tent-hospital in the Civil War. The Church Hill Tunnel, which we visited last time, runs through the hill as well.

We’ll meet at the Aquarian [The Aquarian Bookstore in Carytown Shopping Center] to discuss the history of the site and then go to Chimbarazo for ghost hunting! Hopefully we’ll be joined again by members of the Richmond Paranormal Society and they’ll bring their cool ghost detecting equipment.

Definitely bring your camera!

Not to be outdone by our neighbors to the west in Jefferson Park, Friends of Chimborazo Park is proud to announce the upcoming showing of THE GOONIES on Saturday July 11.

Festivities begin around 8 PM and the movie starts when dark. Patrons are invited to bring food & drink, friends, and something to sit on and join us in the watching of this family friendly adventure movie.

This event is Sponsored by Chimborazo Dog Park and is being staged as a collaboration by Friends of Chimborazo Park and Yellow House.

Patrons are asked to make a small donation to cover the cost of licensing this film as well as to pay for security. If enough funds are raised, Family Movie Night in the park will become a regular occurrence in Chimborazo Park.

Note: The park closes immediately after the completion of the movie.

Any Questions, please contact Friendsofchimborazo@gmail.com

On Sunday, July 5th, from 1-5PM, WRIR invites you to a community picnic and kite fly in Church Hill’s historic Chimborazo Park. There will be plenty of space to lay down a blanket and put a kite in the air. Frisbees, hula hoops, and acoustic instruments are also welcome!

The Tuskegee Airmen Motorcycle Club of Virginia‘s Fourth Annual Ride for ChildSavers brought hundred of motorcycles through the area today, winding down Mosby to Venable to 25th and Broad Streets to end up at Chimborazo Park.

More photos of the bikes from around the neighborhood….

The Fourth Annual Ride for ChildSavers, an event that has drawn hundreds of motorcyclists in past years, is this Saturday. Look for the parade to arrive at Chimborazo Park at 11AM.

(Richmond, VA) – ChildSavers, Central Virginia’s premier community-based mental health provider for children, is partnering with the Tuskegee Airmen Motorcycle Club of Virginia to sponsor the Fourth Annual Ride for ChildSavers on May 30, 2009. Open registration and staging will be between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. at Cloverleaf Mall, 7201 Midlothian Turnpike, Richmond, Va. The motorcyclists will depart from Cloverleaf Mall at 10:00a.m. and ride through the city with a police escort, arriving at Chimborazo Park at 11:00a.m. (located atop historic Church Hill at 32nd Street to 36th Street & Marshall Street). So far, 39 Motorcycle Clubs have registered to participate! Individual riders are welcome. Generous support has been given from Cedar Street Baptist Church

Richmond Police Chief Brian Norwood will be riding his motorcycle along with an estimated 500 riders. Keynote speaker will be Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones

The Tuskegee Airmen Motorcycle Club of Virginia was founded in May 2006 and has 24 members whose mission is to assist with maintaining the legacy of the original Tuskegee Airmen heroes from WWII, and to be a positive entity in our community by nurturing families, promoting academic performance, building community awareness, participating in fundraising activities, and supporting various charities within our communities.

ChildSavers: Founded in 1924, ChildSavers has 36 staff members, including a board-certified child psychiatrist, master’s-level clinicians, and childhood development specialists who provide outpatient mental health treatment and education/training services for children in need, their families, and childcare providers throughout the Richmond metropolitan area. These professional services help to strengthen the spirit, skills, and confidence of children and families. ChildSavers is licensed by the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services, is a member of the Child Welfare League of America, and is accredited by the Council on Accreditation.

The Statue of Liberty in Chimborazo Park is one 200 replicas in 39 states erected in the 1950s by the Boy Scouts:

The project was the brainchild of Kansas City businessman, J.P. Whitaker, who was then Scout Commissioner of the Kansas City Area Council. The copper statues were manufactured by Friedley-Voshardt Co. (Chicago, IL) and purchased through the Kansas City Boy Scout office by those wanting one. All were erected in the early 1950′s by Boy Scout troops and others to celebrate Scouting’s 40th anniversary theme, “Strengthen the Arm of Liberty.”

The statues are approximately 8 1/2 feet tall without the base, constructed of sheet copper, weigh 290 pounds, and originally cost $350 plus freight.

Photo by Neil Cowley.

A conversation with Fulton’s Carl Otto left me reeling from his idea of what could be something very cool in the East End.

Mr.Otto shared the idea of a connected greenway that spans the East End. Not very clear from the street, satellite photos make apparent a continuous greenspace from Oakwood and Evergreen Cemeteries to Briel Street, around or across the East End Landfill, through to Gillie’s Creek Park, connecting to the bottom of Chimborazo Park and on to the river. Already in varied use, imagine this stretch with bike and walking paths looping from Richmond Road down to the James River and connecting to the Virginia Capital Trail and the existing network of bike trails in the city.

Richmond Marching Band held their monthly practice this hot afternoon in Chimborazo Park.

Apparently someone called the cops. I guess Monroe Park gets all the good free music from now on.

Photos via rvajazz:

“We are delighted to be one of the beneficiaries of this amazing regional volunteer effort,” said J. R. Pope, director of Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. “By volunteering a few hours of their time and working together, the Hands On volunteers are helping to change the face of this park, and helping to make Richmond a great place to live.”

The volunteers will be putting in new landscaping on the lower eastern edge of the park where the new dog park is located, uncovering and repairing one of the park’s old cobblestone pathways, and helping to renovate the Chimborazo Park House.

“The City’s parks really represent the best of what is public in shared space, and what better way to gather community together than by helping to repair and build a park so that everybody can enjoy it,” said Vanessa Diamond, director of Hands On Greater Richmond. “The parks department has been a great partner to work with in helping us to develop meaningful projects that have a significant impact on the community.”

This is the first Hands On Greater Richmond Day for the non-profit organization that aims to inform, inspire and engage volunteers in meaningful service and leadership to create positive change in the community. On Oct. 18, about 500 volunteers will be working on approximately 30 projects throughout the City and surrounding counties. They will kick off the day from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. with remarks from community leaders during a morning rally at RIR hosted by Julie Bragg and Greg McQuade of WTVR’s “Virginia This Morning.” At 10 a.m. they will disperse to their various projects throughout the area.

Citizens of all ages are encouraged to “Be the Change” and get involved in any one of the Hands On Greater Richmond Day projects. To register or learn more, visit the Hands On Greater Richmond website at www.HandsOnGR.org or call 804-330-7400.

Sept 16 – CHA Meeting – quick presentation about proposed redesign of the recreation/playground area

Sept 30, 6:30 pm – Focus Group Meeting at St. John’s Parish Hall- BAM Architects will present the proposed park redesign at the third and last focus group meeting. The meeting is open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend and ask questions, share feedback and make suggestions about the design.

Sept 30, 6pm – A Friends of Chimborazo Playground membership meeting at St. John’s Parish Hall. Membership is free and open to anyone interested in making the park a safer, more beautiful place. Membership meeting starts at 6pm; focus group meeting begins at 6:30pm.

The schedule for the rest of August is as follows:

August 10 East End Fellowship worship gathering
Time: 4pm
Place: Chimborazo Park Gazebo

August 17 East End Fellowship worship gathering
Time: 4pm
Place: Chimborazo Park Gazebo

August 24 East End Fellowship worship gathering
Time: 4pm
Place: Chimborazo Park Gazebo

August 31 Church Hill Block Party!!!
Time: 4 – 6pm
Place: Corner of Oakwood Ave. and Q St.
Food, music and fun

Beginning September 7th, EEF will be back in Franklin Military Academy as normal.

A recent visit to Chimborazo Park left me astonished that the Old Weather Station is still being used as a visitor’s center. The park is a disgrace. The streets are in disrepair and apparently are never cleaned. The hillsides appear not to have been cut in 30-40 years. I suppose the old playground and Horseshoe Bend curve are still there but because of the undergrowth, I couldn’t tell. There once was a horizontal walkway going down the hill, but I couldn’t see if it was there or not. The steps going to the bottom were overgrown with vines, etc. and impassable and the spring is in accessible.

The Chimborazo Park playground at North 29th and 31st Streets is a neighborhood gathering space where you can regularly find children enjoying the play equipment, kids and adults involved in a game of basketball, teenagers skateboarding, and adults playing pétanque.  It’s also a place where you can regularly find discarded condoms, broken bottles and even crack bags littering the playground where children play. Graffiti covers the jungle gym and transients urinate on the storage facility. Lack of lighting transforms the playground into a nighttime haven for prostitution, drug use and potential assaults.

To turn around the decline and safety issues at the playground and recreational area, neighbors have organized a new Friends of Chimborazo Playground group.  This group aims to improve the safety and quality of the playground and recreational area and provide a safe, beautiful place for community members of all ages to play, gather and enjoy.

Concerned individuals worked with local police and park officials to increase patrols, remove tree debris and clean up litter. Problems, however, continued and neighbors saw the need to organize efforts.

To turn around the decline and safety issues at the playground and recreational area, neighbors created a new Friends of Chimborazo Playground group.  This group aims to improve the safety and quality of the playground and recreational area and provide a safe, beautiful place for community members of all ages to play, gather and enjoy.

The Friends of Chimborazo Park seeks new members and community input on park improvements. The group is new partner of the Richmond Recreation & Parks Foundation.”¨”¨“Geographically, Chimborazo Playground sits in the very heart of our community, so it should be as vibrant, diverse and beautiful as our community, and a place where neighbors of all ages can gather,” said Bridgette Huff, a founding member of Friends of Chimborazo Playground.”¨”¨The group is partnering with the Richmond Dept. of Parks & Recreation (RDPF) for the new redesign of Chimborazo Park.

An upcoming focus group meeting with the RDPF will be held on May 5 at 6:30 pm in St. John’s Parish Hall.”¨ “We want the community to share their ideas for how to improve the park.” Some ideas include better lighting at night to address crime, water fountains, public art, a community garden and benches for pétanque players. The group will share the community’s ideas with the RDPF at the next focus group meeting.”¨”¨

The group also plans to work closely with the Church Hill Pétanque Club. Nearly 50 pétanque players gather at the Chimborazo Playground & Recreational area two to three times a week to play.”¨”¨To learn more about becoming a member or how you can help, contact bridgette@imaginechimbo.org or visit imaginechimbo.org.

from The Friends of Chimborazo Park

photography by Phil Hunnicutt, edited by chpn

Pictures from the event are available here and here, results are available here.