Bob Lanum (BobLImages.com) got this great photo over the weekend.

This was sent in after Friday night’s rain:

Historically, this alley has periodically flooded during very heavy rain storms. Chimborazo playground, the entire playground, drains to this drain. It’s a bad city design, now made worse because of the new plaza/patanque courts. They seem to have eliminated the drain that used to run around the park house.

In addition, the city has blocked off the drain in the alley. They used a metal plate and cement to block the drain, apparently to prevent the debris from the construction of the patanque courts from getting into the storm drain system.

Attached are two images, one from midnight, and one from 8 a.m. this morning. The water is receding, but very slowly.[...] Obviously they knew better than to park there last night, but basements and cars have been flooded in the past.

The workshop will include an informational session, demonstrations and hands-on techniques that can help you save valuable gardening time and water resources. The workshop will begin at the Tricycle Gardens HQ and will finish at the Tricycle Gardens Farm so that workshop participants can view water conservation and irrigation techniques being used at both locations.

Taught by Chris Hale, owner of BioForm Landscape Architecture. Water Conservation & Efficient Garden Irrigation Workshop: Sunday, June 26th 9am – noon

Join us and the local residents and kids in planting flower bulbs in Union Hill. Bring study shoes, gloves, a small shovel (trowel) & a large shovel or hoe if you have them. We will have a limited number of extra garden tools to share.

Free snacks & water provided. If you have any extra plants you aren’t using that are drought tolerant & low maintenance, feel free to bring them to plant. This is a family friendly event – feel free to bring your kids to help beautify RVA!

“The East End Landfill– TEEL– is using a very toxic substance, coal ash, to cover their mountains of debris to keep rubbage from blowing away, stinking, etc… The black coal ash itself blows away. There is video of it being blown toward our neighborhoods, less than a mile away. We, citizens, have been to court twice now to ban its use. Twice our side won. Now twice they have appealed. It is still there. The Department of Environmental Quality will have a rep. there and Delores McQuinn has committed to being there. Please come if you can.”

Richard sends in photos and an explanation:

What appears to be an immature northern goshawk perched in a tree in the 2400 block of E. Grace St. Monday evening. This one had a squirrel in his talons. He flew to the tree from the area of St. John’s Church and spent close to an hour slowly enjoying his dinner and seemingly oblivious to the passers-by and spectators.

Goshawks are rather scarce and not usually seen. This is the extreme southern limit of their range.

Moonrise over Richmond by Henry Stern.

We picked up 19 bags of trash, 15 bags of can/bottle recycling, and numerous large items including 2 tires, a weed whacker, and a chair! Thanks to everyone who pitched in!

Come out to support our second Adopt A Block clean up in Union Hill. We will be picking up trash and recycling from 2-4 PM on Saturday March 5th. Snacks will be provided, but please bring your own drink (preferably in a reusable bottle). We will be meeting in front of the community house at the intersection of North 20th St. and O St.

No wonder the James River and the Chesapeake Bay are overburden with nutrient and sediment pollution! Sediment from construction sites like the one pictured at 20th and Broad St. in Church Hill are a big part of the problem.

Just for the record, there are plenty of options for developers to make sure sediment stays on site during construction instead of flowing into our streets, stormdrains, and waterways everytime it rains.

Sent in by Kristin.

I thought you might be interested in the attached image- a red-tailed hawk disassembling a squirrel at the corner of 23rd and M.

Come to “Cleanup in Church Hill!” Sunday, November 21 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Hey everyone we’re going to be doing a cleanup in Church Hill this month, starting at Libby Hill park and working our way north. The area is absolutely beautiful during the fall, so come on out and make it even nicer while enjoying a little walk around. We’ll be distributing bags and gloves at noon and then reconvening at Alamo BBQ (2202 Jefferson Avenue) for some lunch. Dress warm and invite your friends!

Show some love for the Richmond community by coming to our first Union Hill neighborhood clean-up! We are adopting the 1800 block of O St. (through Richmond City Adopt-a-Block), so help us beautify it and the surrounding neighborhood by coming out and offering your hands for a couple of hours. You can earn volunteer hours for class and for the goodness of your heart!

Please meet at 1:50pm in front of the 22nd St. parking area across from the Temple of Judah (big red brick building). Wear good walking shoes that you don’t mind getting rough in & bring your own durable gloves if you have any. Snacks will be provided, but try to bring your own water bottle. Bring your friends & help beautify RVA!

We will also have Green Unity T-Shirts for sale and will be taking pre-orders for Green Unity Water Bottles both for $10 each after the event. Your purchase helps support MCV Green Unity and their community and educational outreach efforts like this event!

From the flyer:

You can use our Bag-n-Go Program. Just put your bagged leaves near your property line in biodegradable bags.

• The bags are environmentally friendly and can be recycled along with the leaves.
• We’ll pick up 6 bags on your regular trash day year around.
• We’ll pick up as many bags as you put out during your neighborhood’s vacuum collection cycle.

You also can dispose of bagged or loose leaves yourself by taking them to:

• East Richmond Road Convenience Center (3800 East Richmond Road at Jennie Scher Rd)
• The “Powerline” (8600 Huguenot Rd. at NW corner of Chippenham Parkway)
• Maury Street Landfill (2900 Maury St.)

The City of Richmond is trying to argue that Gillies Creek is a lost cause when it comes to cleaning up fecal coliforms that spew into the river via multiple combined sewer overflows everytime it rains more than 0.2 inches. They are proposing to do a “use attainability analysis” to show that its not feasible to reduce bacteria to a level that is safe for human health. Essentially, the City would like to put cleaning up Gillies Creek on the back burner in perpetuity, essentially meaning that raw sewage would flow untreated into the James River for generations to come.

Much of Church Hill is in the Gillies Creek watershed. I guess that means we just shouldn’t poop when it rains?

I don’t know about you, but the thought of our collective raw sewage being dumped into Gillies Creek, and subsequently the James River, is disgusting and deserves some attention.

I understand that it may take a while to fix, but the City should at least come up with a plan, even if we can’t implement it right away.

Anyone who wants to comment on the idea of the City investigating whether Gillies Creek is worth cleaning up or not, should check out the public notice and send comments to the State Water Control Board:

Comments should be received by November 1, 2010 and submitted by mail to David Whitehurst, Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. 1105, Richmond, VA 23218, or 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219, or via email to david.whitehurst@deq.virginia.gov. Phone number for questions is (804)698-4121.

Also, here is a link to the document the City submitted to the Department of Environmental Quality and the State Water Control Board justifying why Gillies Creek is at the bottom of their to do list:

http://www.deq.virginia.gov/wqs

It is also worth noting that at the State Water Control Board meeting on Sept. 28th, board members asked City officials pointedly if the public had access to Gillies Creek. Two board members made it very clear that children will find creeks and play in them, whether the water quality is healthy or not. City officials insisted that Gillies Creek flows through private and city lands, strongly implying that public access is not feasible. They failed to mention that Gillies Creek flows right through a public park. I belive there was a stream clean up held there just a few weeks ago. Shameless!

Guest written by Kristin. Have something that you’d like to see published?

Fall is coming (slowly, it seems), and we want, we desire, we NEED your leaves. They are a great compost, soil amendment, mulch, and all around miracle product. Please drop of bagged leaves at the 9th & Bainbridge Urban Farm any morning (except Sunday) from 8:30am-1pm, or Tues/Thurs from 4-7pm. Bring out your dead leaves! To arrange pick up please email soizic@tricyclegardens.org.

Earth Aid tracks your utility usage and provides a quick comparison to previous months/years, lets you see how your friends/family are doing, and offers tangible local rewards for cutting your electrical, gas, and water use. Sign up for the Church Hill Earth Aid group to see how your electric/gas/water use compares to others in the area.

The green on the graph below is my electrical use for all of 2009, the blue is July and August 2010.

Thanks to David for sending this in!

Residents may participate in the Adopt-A-Tree Program by making a tax-deductible contribution to the Parks & Recreation Foundation which will go toward planting a new tree or trees. Additionally, participants agree to water the tree for the first two years as outlined in the Tree Maintenance Agreement. Applications for the Adopt-A-Tree are due by [September 1]. Trees are planted late November through the end of February. For additional information please refer to Frequently Asked Questions and the Approved Tree Planting List.

At some point, the city launched a website for reporting priority issues such as potholes, overgrown lots, abandoned cars, non-functioning street lights, non-functioning traffic lights, trash/bulk pick-ups, and illegal dumping.

Large trees are a defining factor in the character of the many neighborhoods and are the most valuable assets to our landscapes. Please help them survive. Most of us know that newly planted trees need regular watering. However, as the extreme heat drags on without any rain for weeks, the older and larger trees are starting to show signs of stress.

Read more to see what you can do to help keep our trees healthy.

There seem to be separate weather stations for Church Hill and North Church Hill, showing a few degrees difference between the two. North Church Hill shows the hottest temp in the metro area.

Does anyone know where these stations are located or more about them?

I’m selling tomato plants to start with, and have many varieties which are suitable for yards and/or containers. Determinate tomato plants reach a fixed height and produce fruit all at once, which makes them suitable for yards or containers. Varieties this year include: Totem Hybrid, Razzleberry Hybrid, and Container’s Choice. Indeterminate keep growing in height as long as the season lasts and produce fruit over an extended period of time. Because of their large size and high nutrient demand they are not suitable for containers and should be planted in the yard. Varieties available this year include: Jelly Bean, Cherry, Rite Bite Hybrid, Yellow Pear, Better Boy Hybrid, Early Girl Hybrid, and Roma.

Small plants are $1 each or 4 for $3
Medium plants are $2 each or 2 for $3
Large plants are $4 each or 2 for $6

Urban Garden Plots available for rent on a 30’ x 125’ vacant lot at 1523 Oakwood Ave [...]. I had plans for a huge garden here but just don’t have time to really build it out. I’ve got as much tilled and planted as I’m going to and have plenty of space left! If you’d like some sunny garden space call me, I’d like some help paying City Taxes on this thing.

Great site for a garden! Site slopes gently down and faces southern exposure. Corner lot – 1 story house on one side, street on the other, gets plenty of sun! Water on site – Rain Barrel hooked up to neighbors gutter works great! Shed on site for storage Compost pile started (well..kind of)

As the site for the inaugural Jane’s Walk in Richmond, the organizers have selected to tour Church Hill:

On Sunday, May 2, 2010, at 3:00 PM, we will meet at the western edge of Chimborazo Park [near the intersection of North 32nd Street and East Grace Street] and follow a circular route through the neighborhood, exploring a variety of streetscapes, architecture, public spaces, institutions and community services, while hearing the stories of residents and scholars about this quintessential Richmond place. The route is approximately two miles long, extends north of Broad Street and is expected to last about two hours.

Sunday, May 2nd @3PM (TODAY!)
Chimborazo Park

Rainbow over Church Hill 2 by tiberonv6.

The James River Green Building Council‘s 2010 Green Spaces Forum, showcasing the entries for this year’s competition, will be held at the Robinson Theater on May 27th:

Building off of last year’s Play Space challenge, this year’s entrants are asked to look at the remaining 34 +/- acres on the Greater Fulton Gas Works site and develop a plan or design for that land that provides space for living, working, recreation, agriculture or something entirely different and unexpected.

From the announcement:

This thoughtfully crafted community discussion will include a combination of regional community leaders, building industry professionals, city officials and contractors in attendance, as well as a moderated panel of four that will debate of the merits of competition entries, while allowing attendees to view all entries and participate in the debate.

This year’s panel will include Cynthia Newbille, Rachel Flynn, Sheila Sheppard and Robin Miller with Becky Clay Christensen moderating.

Sign up today to ensure your spot at the forum. Tickets are $15 for members and $20 for nonmembers. This event will take place from 5-8:00 pm. on May 27th. Light refreshments will be served. This event will take place at the Robinson Theater, 2903 Q Street Richmond, VA 23223.

A time line for this event is below:
5-6:00 pm: Networking; View Competition entries
6:00-8:00 pm: Program and Panel Q&A

Registration required –
log in through the website: http://www.jrgbc.org/greenspaces/. Contact Megan Miller at 804.440.0599 with questions.

Challenge:
Last year’s Play Space challenge asked entrants to develop a recreational green space solution on the 10 acre Fulton Gas Works parcel to be shared by the surrounding community. Entrants were asked to consider the existing on-site infrastructure, Richmond culture and climate and to develop a solution that not only conserves natural resources but feeds back into the grid.

Building off of last year’s Play Space challenge, this year’s entrants are asked to look at the remaining 34 +/- acres on the Greater Fulton Gas Works site and develop a plan or design for that land that provides space for living, working, recreation, agriculture or something entirely different and unexpected.

Visit the GreenSpaces website to read more about the competition!

http://www.jrgbc.org/greenspaces/

The great clean-up was a smashing success today. Props to the Richmond Clean City Commission for the supplies and the Department of Public Works for taking care of our pile. Special thanks to Officer Ford from the First Precinct for helping to organize our crucial drop spot, and to everyone from Unity, New Visions, Union Hill, and Church Hill Central that came out to do the dirty work.

What might be The World’s Smallest Handgun was found safe and dry in a pouch tucked behind the vacant brick shed at 20th and R Streets. Contact the Richmond Police if you’ve lost yours.

I ran across a few spots with more trash than our citizen volunteers could deal with today. I put in notice through the city’s Citizens Request of exceptionally large accumulations of trash at 1206 North 21st Street, 1322 North 22nd Street, and 1003 North 20th Street. The confirmation email gave a “Request Estimated Completion Date” of Tuesday, July 20th. It sure is going to be nice watching these vacant properties collect more trash for 3 months.

No Stopping, No Standing by Jacob C. Kelly

• Union Hill – 10AM @ Jessamine and 23rd Streets
• New Visions – 8AM @ Q and 23rd Streets
• Church Hill Central – 8AM @ 25th and Nine Mile
• Unity – 8AM @ 22nd and X Street

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.

Are you part of Richmond’s Edible R-evolution? Do you have a fabulous, creative, and sustainable kitchen garden? Do you want to share your awesomeness with others interested in growing their own food? Then please nominate your garden to be a part of this exciting new event for Tricycle Gardens.

On Saturday, July 17, 2010 we will be holding our first annual Edible R-evolution Garden Tour. The plan is to have a city-wide tour featuring twenty distinctive private kitchen gardens, several of Tricycle’s gardens as well as some other examples of urban agriculture in Richmond. The tour will end with a reception at our Jefferson Avenue garden in Church Hill…and there will be prizes!

Want to see your garden on our tour? Then please email aalmond19@hotmail.com to get your application form or see our website for more information http://www.tricyclegardens.org

All submittals will be reviewed by a jury of all-stars in the local food and community gardening movement to determine which ten gardens will make it onto our tour.

The call for entries will close on April 30, 2010 so submit your garden now!

DOWNLOAD THE EVENT FLYER (PDF)

Bob Steidel, Deputy Director DPU, and Chris Beschler, Director DPU, gave a presentation on the new Stormwater Utility at the last 7th District meeting. You can download a copy of their presentation (PDF).

A nice companion piece to this photo, the Housing + Transportation Affordabilty Index delineates areas where residents spend a high proportion of their income on housing or housing&transportation.

The maps above and below show Housing Costs – % Income (left) and Housing and Transportation Costs – % Income (right). The blue on the left show areas where housing costs represent 30% or more of family income. The blue on the right indicates areas where the cost of housing as well as the cost of transportation associated with the location of the home is 45% or more of family income.

From the H+T Affordability Index site:

Housing Costs factored as a percent of income has widely been utilized as a measure of affordability. Traditionally, a home is considered affordable when the costs consume no more than 30% of household income.

H+T has been developed as a more complete measure of affordability beyond the standard method of assessing only Housing Costs. By taking into account both the cost of housing as well as the cost of transportation associated with the location of the home, H+T provides a more complete understanding of affordability. Dividing these costs by Representative Regional Incomes illustrates the Cost Burden placed on a Typical Household by H+T expenses. While housing alone is traditionally deemed affordable when consuming no more than 30% of income, CNT has defined an affordable range for H+T as the combined costs consuming no more than 45% of income.

The Nolde Bakery Condominium community on Broad Street was recently recognized by the ASLA for the “daring verticality and enthusiasm” of their new perimeter evergreen plantings.

Not really. Have a nice April Fools, this is all I’ve got this year.

Land use in Church Hill and Short Pump. Both are shown at the same scale.

Inspired by Stuart Squiers’ side-by-side of Short Pump and the Fan, I put together the above comparison of our walkable mixed-use community and the mockery of this out on West Broad Street.

It’s that time of year when the guys from Dominion come out and eff up some nice trees.

Statue of Liberty by Giarc80HC.

Previously on this statue…

Contractors will be trenching the street for a traffic signal project. Each night workers will close the eastbound lane of E. Broad St. for approximately 3 hours; then switch to the westbound lane. The first night the partial closure will occur at 17th Street, on Tuesday, work will occur at 18th Street, and on Wednesday and Thursday work will occur at the 21st Street intersection.

Bring your rakes, pitchforks, and wheelbarrows. Please mark your tools.

Come for the crowning of the Libby Hill Park Much Queen and King 2010, each to be honored with a special homemade pie.

Rain or snow date will be March 27.

Phil Riggan recently toured Evergreen, spent a day working to clear a grave site, and comes away spreading the word of involvement:

We picked a plot that had a suspected path next to it and by the end of the day the group had cleared two and a half plots and uncovered the path. Envisioning a goal and attacking it. Plus, the conversation was uplifting and positive — a great environment for giving your time for a good cause.

Clearing the cemetery will take years, and the small core of volunteers needs your help. Rally your friends and family and give three hours of your time one Saturday morning. Get a troop together.

A walking excursion in Richmond’s oldest district, the tour features five handsome 19th century townhomes and two city gardens in the charming, historic Church Hill area.  This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Historic Garden Week tour of Church Hill, sponsored by members of Historic Richmond Foundation, the Garden Club of Virginia and other concerned preservationists to showcase the restoration of Richmond’s architectural treasures. 

At 12:30 p.m., Garden Week ticket holders may pause in the beautiful interior of historic St. John’s Episcopal Church to hear a stirring re-enactment of Patrick Henry’s oration, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death,” first heard within those walls in 1775 at the dawn of the American Revolution.  One of the well-appointed homes on the tour is owned by the President of the Museum of the Confederacy, and all Garden Week ticket holders will be permitted free admission to the White House of the Confederacy during the week.  Homes open on this tour are filled with fine antiques, fascinating collectibles and noteworthy artworks.

Historic Garden Week

April 17-25, 2010

http://vagardenweek.org/

2010 Richmond Tours

Tuesday, April 20: Windsor Farms
Wednesday, April 21: Church Hill
Thursday, April 22: West Avenue

Keep an eye out for the visitors all week: the Virginia Garden Week site says that “any visitors make Richmond their headquarters for Historic Garden Week in Virginia, with three separate tours in the city and many others within an hour’s drive.”

Full tickets $35 per day purchased in advance.  Full tickets $40 per day purchased on tour day, $20 for single-site admission.  See below for local advance ticket sale locations or access http://www.VAGardenweek.org.  Children 6 to 12, $20, children 5 and under, free admission.  Minors 17 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. No credit card payments accepted, except in advance online at VAGardenweek.org.  

Regarding the Church Hill Tour:

RICHMOND’S HISTORIC CHURCH HILL

This tour of Church Hill marks 50 years since a climate of appreciation and renewal began to emerge around the oldest and only surviving colonial structure in the district, St. John’s Church, where in 1775 Patrick Henry famously asked, “Is life so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Thus he galvanized his audience, and the revolution based on freedom followed.  A special re-enactment of Henry’s oration will be held at 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Church. (See previous notes, Special Activities.)

Fifty years ago, another revolution, one of careful and painstaking restoration, began with the efforts of Mary Wingfield Scott. Many capable individuals, members of the newly formed Historic Richmond Foundation, the William Byrd Branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia), the Garden Club of Virginia and private owners committed to good stewardship, took responsibility for physically restoring properties which had suffered neglect from absentee landlords or speculators looking for inexpensive rental properties.

Anchored by the Convent of the Sisters of the Visitation of Monte Maria, built as a place for nuns to pray for the city of Richmond after the Civil War and now an ecumenical Christian Community known as Richmond Hill, the area improved.  The Elmira Shelton House (one of the earliest restoration projects on Church Hill and former headquarters of Historic Richmond Foundation), the Pollard House, the Hilary Baker House, the Ann Carrington House, and the entire “Pilot Block” of East Grace and Broad between 23nd and 24th streets are testimony to the efforts of half a century of renewed interest in historic homeownership. “Carrington Row,” (1818) a fine example of neoclassicism, forms one face of the Pilot Block project. Undertaken to demonstrate how a Church Hill residence could appear if restored, its success is evident in its façade. Within ten years, all the Pilot Block homes were completed. The Patrick Henry Park, the St. John’s Mews and the gardens at Richmond Hill add carefully tended green space to the area. Restoration work continues to other blocks of Church Hill, Libby Hill and Chimborazo Park to this day.

2309 EAST BROAD STREET. Touring the center home in Church Hill’s three-dwelling “Carrington Row,” owned by artist and furniture designer Lee Baskerville, is like entering the Sakler Gallery in Washington, DC. Spare, clean lines showcase a Benin bronze leopard on a Chinese altar-table from 1350 AD. The silhouette of an 1805 Tidewater drop-leaf table suddenly seems modern when juxtaposed with dining room chairs by Meis Van der Roh. Chinese Neolithic pottery (2500-3500 BC) shares space on the living room mantel with a “Brutalist” print displayed in a Renaissance frame. The owner places objects in his home as skillfully as he does the brushstrokes of his oils. Using scale and texture to great effect, his goal seems to be to spark the imagination, to ask the viewer to think about mankind’s creative process while enjoying this home. Eleven-foot ceilings, wide moldings and doorways, and a neutral palette form an intentionally strong but quiet backdrop to his own contemporary realist paintings and collection of sculpture and found objects. The downstairs kitchen is a piece of modernist sculpture in itself: counter heights, materials, tile work, all designed and many installed by the owner himself, are carefully chosen to create a clean, functional space which although in a basement, almost floats. Mr. Lee Baskerville, owner

2308 EAST BROAD STREET. The Burton Farrar House, also known as the Curd House, was built between 1818 and 1824. A side-hall town home, this is the first in a row of five brick houses marching west on Broad Street. Its Federal lines and dignity set the tone for the block. This home has the distinction of having the only surviving antebellum slate roof in Richmond. The slates are larger near the base of the roof and become smaller toward the apex.  The third and fourth floors (attic) served as places of refuge during the troubling years of the Civil War and the Great Depression.

Probably built by Dr. John Adams as a speculative house, after several owners Lucy Burton purchased the property and lived there with her children for more than 25 years. Later, Dr. William F. Farrar, a highly regarded physician and gentleman, resided here. He used the basement as a medical office, as did another subsequent owner, Dr. Isaac Curd.  The two-flight, closed-string stairway is a fine example of its kind, with the wear of 200 years bowing the treads. In 1899, former owners added a kitchen and a porch on the front of the house that were removed in the 1970s. Ivy transplanted from St. John’s churchyard by one of Dr. Curd’s daughters draped the east side of the home for many years. Now it merely trims a delightful herb bed on the east side of the house. Inside, the heart-pine floors, the parlor and dining room chandeliers, opalescent glass window panes and lovely family heirlooms, such as the oval portrait over the dining room mantel and a piano owned by the late Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, are of note.  The library, built in the 1920s, contains bookcases added by the current owners. Double-back porches are among the many places to read in tranquility in this most charming of Church Hill residences. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas P. Rucker, Jr., owners.

2215 EAST BROAD STREET. The brick Greek Revival William J. Yarbrough House, built in 1861, features a grand main living area with two floors above an English basement. The large entrance hallway is warmly punctuated by needlepoint pillows designed and executed by the homeowner, historian and President of the Museum of the Confederacy Waite Rawls. Other examples of his skillful needlework abound.

William Yarbrough, the original owner, and his partner in the tobacco business, Miles Turpin, married sisters; a duplicate of this house stands at 2209 Broad Street. Despite a neighboring twin property, much in this home is one-of-a kind: intricate plaster ceiling work in the front and rear parlors, an Adam mirror, a J. Frank Jones secretary, and oil paintings collected in New York. Conversely, two 1920s Parisian chandeliers, purchased at different shops in Connecticut, turned out to be identical when unpacked to the amazement of the owners. A large chandelier in the dining room was bought by the owner’s grandmother from an antebellum New Orleans home in the 1930s. Furnishings, paint colors, lighting fixtures and many structural improvements testify to the energy, good taste and historical sensibilities of the Rawls. On the rear of the house, broad porches overlook a tastefully landscaped brick courtyard and a two-story servants’ quarters which is now used as a guest house. 

Over the years, the house has seen many uses. A doctor employed the English basement as office space at the turn of the last century. The Rawls’ 2009 kitchen renovation on this level showcases the boldly patterned mosaic floor. The floor was laid for cleanliness in 1901 when patients were seen in the space.  After World War II, the house was divided into 12 separate apartments. When the previous owner Polly Cole purchased the house from Douglas Fleet in 1995, a stereo equipment store occupied the main floor. The current owners purchased the house in 1995 and commenced their renovation in 2006.  Mr. and Mrs. S. Waite Rawls III, owners.

THE ST. JOHN’S MEWS. Along the stone alley behind “Carrington Row,” in what used to be a parking lot on the site of two demolished buildings, lies a carefully constructed landscaping project known as the St. John’s Mews. In 1963, Historic Richmond Foundation approached the Garden Club of Virginia and landscape architect Ralph Griswold, to design and implement a small oasis within the city. Nineteenth-century ornamental cast iron recovered from abandoned Richmond buildings decorates the Mews, along with boxwood, crape myrtle and other shrubs and flowers. The work began through a very generous grant by the Garden Club of Virginia. Historic Richmond Foundation owns and maintains the garden on a daily basis. Other accomplishments include contributing gas lighting on the city block.

2306 EAST GRACE STREET. Circa 1810-16, the Ann Adams Carrington House was built by Dr. John Adams for his widowed sister. With a Flemish-bond brick face, this is one of the earliest houses to survive on Church Hill and the only Federal Period “bow-front” residence remaining in Richmond.  The many original features that make this home a delight to tour include the floors of “old growth” pine with traces of the “tack” marks from seasonal carpeting being pulled up and re-laid over the centuries. As a former Chair of the City of Richmond Commission of Architectural Review, Jean Wight’s care for detail is evident. Opening their home to the public for the first time in 10 years, she and her husband have completed an extensive renovation, including scraping 13 layers of paint on carvings using dental tools, replacing the entire roof with standing-seam copper, raising ceilings back to original heights and putting back into place side and rear porches, while staying faithful to the original plan.

The entry floor level includes four elegant Federal doorway entablatures, each hand-carved with a different pattern, as if to display the carpenter’s skills. A penchant for travel and collecting has filled the interior with many objects d’art, from French, American, Asian, Latin American and English paintings and artifacts to a framed collection of early American documents. The second floor includes furniture dating from the successive ownership of Tuckahoe Plantation, after its sale from the Randolphs first to the Wight (1830) and then to the Allen families. The master bed has passed through the generations from its first location at Tuckahoe to the current owners. An 1835 map of Richmond drafted by Macajah Bates while he lived in the home hangs downstairs; a letter dating from the War of 1812 hangs upstairs.  After 10 years of restoration, the owners are now constructing a traditional kitchen garden which will include laying antique cobble, brick and beds. Dr. Jonathan and Jean Wight, owners.
Richmond—Church Hill—2212 East Grace Street

2212 EAST GRACE STREET. A herringbone brick courtyard, an American elm and wrought-iron fencing welcome viewers to this Italianate home built in 1881-82, which is on the National Historic Register. The house was acquired in 1996 by Robert Mitchell, an avid collector who purchased most of the pre-Civil War pieces of furniture from Millstone Antiques in Hanover County.  The bird wallpaper in the dining room was “love at first sight.” The owner, who resides in the Kingdom of Bahrain where he administrates a private bi-lingual school, refinished all floors before moving in.  He also installed gas logs in the parlor and dining room and later added the lively cockatoo wallpaper in the front hall. The house is furnished with a combination of American antiques and carpets from the Middle East. The entry hall reflects the owner’s love of children. Stacked wooden pantry boxes are topped with petite late-19th century leather button-up children’s shoes. On the staircase, each tread displays a charming pair of these shoes carefully placed on a miniature Oriental carpet. In the front parlor, three exquisite porcelain antique dolls hold court over an extensive collection of “salt glaze” stoneware from the early 20th century. Chinese blue and white Canton pottery also reflects the owner’s background and interest in collecting. In the dining room, an early 19th century walnut step-back cupboard holds a modest collection of green and cream stoneware. An extensive miniature iron collection and a family of African dolls add to the warmth of the room.

A newly renovated (2006) sage-green kitchen with granite countertops is at the rear of the house. Beyond is the den, which once served as a first-floor bedroom. Everywhere in this home, a love of family, nature, wholesome American life and high levels of craftsmanship abound.  Mr. Robert Mitchell, owner

THE GARDENS AT RICHMOND HILL COMMUNITY—2209 EAST GRACE STREET.  Col. Richard Adams built his attractive home on the crest of Richmond Hill about 1780. He was an original member of Richmond’s Common Council and later mayor.  In 1866, the Sisters of the Visitation came from Baltimore to open a girls’ school and pray for the devastated city. The Adams house became the monastery of Monte Maria, which in the 1880s grew to include the Italianate Adams-Taylor house, built in 1811. The Chapel was built in 1894. A new brick wall enclosed the beautiful garden designed and tended by the Sisters. In 1928 the original house was taken down due to disrepair. Today, a holly bower and bench in the garden overlooking the river are located where the back stoop once stood.

In 1987 the Sisters moved to Hanover County and conveyed Monte Maria to an ecumenical Christian Community, Richmond Hill, which continues a rhythm of daily prayer for metropolitan Richmond. Twelve persons, married and single, of various Christian denominations live here under a modified Benedictine Rule, which includes a commitment to hospitality, healing, racial reconciliation and spiritual development, maintaining a retreat center with 40 overnight beds. The Community is host for this Historic Garden Week visit. 

NOTE:  While walking in the neighborhood, please observe the exterior of the historic Elmira Shelton House at 2407 East Grace Street.  This classic 1844 Greek Revival residence was the home of Edgar Allan Poe’s childhood sweetheart.  The house served as a model for restoration in the Church Hill district and was the first headquarters for Historic Richmond Foundation.

From the Friends of Chimborazo Playground:

Help us raise money to build a public skatepark! If you are interested in helping us with fundraising or volunteering, please contact us.

Ord. No. 2010-33 (Patron: Mayor Jones) – To amend *** the City Code by adding *** a new div. 2 *** and to repeal Ord. No. 92-231-227 *** concerning the Municipal Tree Policy, for the purpose of establishing revised procedures and guidelines for the maintenance and removal of trees on City- owned property.

Ord. No. 2010-18 (Patron: Mayor Jones, By Request) – To amend *** the City Code *** for the purpose of establishing a new R-8 Urban Residential District zoning classification.

Ord. No. 2010-19 (Patron: Mayor Jones, By Request) – To amend *** the City Code *** for the purpose of establishing a new B-7 Mixed-Use Business District zoning classification.

Res. No. 2010-R17 (Patrons: Ms. Newbille and President Graziano) – To reappoint Marilyn B. Olds as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority ***.

An email concerning 2010-33 is circulaiting and points out that the new policy was introduced without much public notice, the public has not had a chance to speak on the matter, and that no new policy should be enacted before the Urban Forestry Commission has been appointed:

As you may know, the 1992 Municipal Tree Policy has been being revised for some months now.  The Dept of Urban Forestry has worked variously with the Dept of Community Development and the Urban Design Committee and members of the Mayor’s staff to update the outdated policy and address many of the concerns we all have. [...]

I believe that we should object to its adoption at this time for the following reasons:

1.  The public was not made aware of the policy changes and had no opportunity to read and comment on the ordinance, and 

2.  We strongly feel that no new tree policy should be instituted before the Urban Forestry Commission has been appointed and begun its work with the city staff to develop an appropriate ordinance.