Image default

Luther Libby House tour next Sunday

9 comments

Alex 01/23/2014 at 7:06 PM

Interesting choice of charities given the home’s history…

Reply
Eric S. Huffstutler 08/04/2014 at 1:06 PM

I believe this house is currently up for sale?

Also, while doing my September CHA Newsletter article I wrote a section about Libby prison (don’t see any previous posts about the prison on CHPN to add to) and may be a bit much for the article so sharing the info here:

Libby Prison (originally 3 interconnected buildings) stood where the Virginia Holocaust Museum’s parking lot is today between 20th to 21st and Cary to Dock Streets was built in 1845 by John Enders Sr., a founder of the tobacco industry. In 1854 the Westernmost building was leased as a shipping chandlery by L. Libby & Sons (Capt. Luther Libby 1806-1871). Following the Battle of First Manassas (Bull Run) in 1861 it was commandeered to imprison more than 25,000 Union soldiers throughout the Civil War. Federal authorities used the prison until August 3, 1868 as an incarceratory for former Confederates then reverted back to the original owner. Purchased for $23,000 by a syndicate, the entire structure was dismantled and moved to Chicago in 1889 on 132 railroad cars then reassembled to serve as a war museum costing more than $200,000 ($5.1-million today). Famous Philadelphia architect, Louis M. Hallowell, came to Richmond to supervise the removal operations. Falling on hard times it was dismantled again in 1899, with its pieces sold as souvenirs and bricks used to build The Chicago Coliseum’s façade on the same site. (Demolished in 1982)

Reply
Eric S. Huffstutler 08/04/2014 at 1:50 PM

Why the trouble and expense? Though not part of it the building was ready for tourists attending the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

Reply
Eric S. Huffstutler 08/04/2014 at 4:44 PM

I see the house was sold. the Corley’s had lived there since january 1973 and on March 31, 2014 it was sold to Kevin Michael Wheatley and Lucy Regina Jewett Wheatley both from Arlington, VA.

Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.