Hotel Richmond

Last updated
Ninth Street Office Building
POST110.jpg
Early postcard view of the Hotel
Location Richmond, Virginia
Coordinates 37°32′25.4″N77°26′4.3″W / 37.540389°N 77.434528°W / 37.540389; -77.434528
Built1904
Architect Harrison Albright
NRHP reference No. 09000730 [1]
VLR No.127-0180
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 16, 2009
Designated VLRJune 18, 2009 [2]

The Hotel Richmond was a historic hotel located in Richmond, Virginia. Constructed in phases between 1904 and 1911, it was a rare example of a Gilded Age hotel built by a woman, Adeline Detroit Wood Atkinson. Atkinson turned the facility into a popular meeting spot for Richmond-area politicians, and the hotel acted as the headquarters for numerous political campaigns in the early 20th century. It was also the home of WRVA, the city's first radio station, from 1933 until 1968. After operating as a hotel under various names until 1966, the building was then purchased by the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 as the Ninth Street Office Building, and was dedicated as the Barbara Johns Building in 2017. As of 2018 it housed the Office of the Attorney General.

Contents

History

Atkinson, a Bedford County native, had come to Richmond in the early 1880s from Lynchburg, Virginia with her husband. [3] She ran boarding houses to supplement the couple's income, eventually running hotels in Richmond as their sole income. [3] By 1904, Atkinson had enough money to purchase the Saint Claire Hotel, which she demolished to make room for her own establishment. [3]

The first phase of the Hotel Richmond was built in 1904 and designed by Harrison Albright. [4] The second phase followed in 1911, this one designed by John Kevan Peebles. [4] The building sits across Grace Street from St. Paul's Church, and next to St. Peter's Church.

Her energy got her into trouble as she bucked the city establishment. The Times-Dispatch on April 26, 1903, said that during her attempt to build the Hotel Richmond, she threatened to leave the city if she was not taxed at a more equitable rate for her Lexington as compared to the Murphy Hotel and the Jefferson Hotel. Indeed, she would not build the Hotel Richmond until she felt she was taxed at a more fair rate. She told the papers that: "I feel that I am being discriminated against because I am a woman, but if I am not wanted here, I can easily go somewhere else." The Richmond News Leader reported April 29, 1903 that she was "fuming and fretting" because of a high license fee that was to be placed on the hotel. Her issues with the city were not all about being a woman: she also stridently defended her use of "colored" men to do some of the excavation work.

The May 9, 1903 demolition that preceded the building of the Hotel Richmond was newsworthy. A neighboring house, home of the Catholic bishop, was damaged just as the demolition of the old hotel began. Miraculously, A picture of the Christ child survived "alone and uninjured" when the demolition of the St. Clare accidentally went awry.

Further additions were made by John Kevan Peebles, architect of the wings of the State Capitol, and were done in preparation for the 1907 300th anniversary of the founding of Virginia; obviously, the two were meant to be part of a whole look for Capitol Square.

On its construction it became one of many distinguished hotels in downtown Richmond that operated in the early part of the 20th century, including the Jefferson Hotel, Hotel Rueger, Murphy's Hotel, Hotel John Marshall and William Byrd Hotel. During the 1940s and 50s, it housed the studios of Richmond's top AM radio station, 1140 WRVA, and in 1948, it was joined by co-owned FM 94.5 WRVB (now WRVQ). [5]

Social History

The hotel's mezzanine housed WRVA, Richmond's pioneering AM 50,000 watt radio station. [4] From 1939 until its relocation, WRVA had the strongest broadcasting power of any station from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta. [4] The station aired the popular variety show Sunshine Sue and Her Rangers as well as Capitol Squirrel. [4]

As the largest hotel immediately adjacent to Richmond's Capitol Square, the hotel had a central place in the political history of the city. Early in its life it was festooned with a Westmoreland Davis for Governor banner, and sometime in the early 19th century, it became headquarters for the state's Democratic party, with offices in the hotel's historic Parlor A. From the ballroom in 1926, the first Harry Byrd took control of the state with his Byrd Machine. [4] At his inauguration party on the hotel's roof garden, he addressed the state on WRVA. In 1933, Gov. William M. Tuck set up an office in the building, and it was there Harry Byrd took over the seat of his father. It was, according to historian Jim Latimer, the room with the best view of the State Capitol and Executive Mansion. From the room, the final five Byrd governors (Battle, Stanley, J. Lindsay Almond, Albertis Harrison and Mills Godwin) ran their successful campaigns. In the 1970s, the building was the site of the state's tourism marketing efforts including the historic "Virginia Is For Lovers" campaign.

Renovation

The hotel was renovated in 2016 by the Commonwealth of Virginia, which relocated the Attorney General's office into the refurbished hotel from the nearby Pocohantas Building. [6] It had previously been under threat of demolition. In the current plan, the old Murphy Hotel will be razed for parking and office space. Some scenes for Steven Spielberg's movie Lincoln were filmed in the building.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond, Virginia</span> Capital city of Virginia, United States

Richmond is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city since 1871. The city's population in the 2020 census was 226,610, up from 204,214 in 2010, making it Virginia's fourth-most populous city. The Richmond metropolitan area, with over 1.3 million residents, is the Commonwealth's third-most populous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry F. Byrd</span> American politician and newspaper publisher (1887–1966)

Harry Flood Byrd Sr. was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that became known as the Byrd Organization. Byrd served as Virginia's governor from 1926 until 1930, then represented the state as a U.S. senator from 1933 until 1965. He came to lead the conservative coalition in the Senate, and opposed President Franklin D. Roosevelt, largely blocking most liberal legislation after 1937. His son Harry Jr. succeeded him as U.S. senator, but ran as an Independent following the decline of the Byrd Organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Hill</span> United States historic place

Oregon Hill is a historic working-class neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. Oregon Hill overlooks the James River and Belle Isle, and provides access to Hollywood Cemetery. Due to the neighborhood's proximity to the Monroe Park Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, the neighborhood is sometimes referred to as a student quarter because of its high college student population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Richmond, Virginia</span>

The history of Richmond, Virginia, as a modern city, dates to the early 17th century, and is crucial to the development of the colony of Virginia, the American Revolutionary War, and the Civil War. After Reconstruction, Richmond's location at the falls of the James River helped it develop a diversified economy and become a land transportation hub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia State Capitol</span> State capitol building of the U.S. state of Virginia

The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the state capital. It houses the oldest elected legislative body in North America, the Virginia General Assembly, first established as the House of Burgesses in 1619.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRVA (AM)</span> Radio station in Richmond, Virginia

WRVA is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Richmond and serving Central Virginia. WRVA airs a talk radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. Established in 1925, WRVA is one of Virginia's oldest radio stations, and the most powerful AM station in the Commonwealth. For much of its history, WRVA billed itself as the "Voice of Virginia."

Alden Peterson Aaroe was a broadcast journalist and announcer for WRVA, a radio station in Richmond, Virginia.

Norge is an unincorporated community in James City County, Virginia, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive Mansion (Virginia)</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

The Virginia Governor's Mansion, better known as the Executive Mansion, is located in Richmond, Virginia, on Capitol Square and serves as the official residence of the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Designed by Alexander Parris, it is the oldest occupied governor's mansion in the United States. It has served as the home of Virginia governors and their families since 1813. This mansion is both a Virginia and a National Historic Landmark and has had a number of renovations and expansions during the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Virginia State Capitol</span> State capitol building of the U.S. state of West Virginia

The West Virginia State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of West Virginia, and houses the West Virginia Legislature and the office of the Governor of West Virginia. Located in Charleston, West Virginia, the building was dedicated in 1932. Along with the West Virginia Executive Mansion it is part of the West Virginia Capitol Complex, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

John Tisdale Harding is a long-time on-air personality and News Director for WRVA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murphy's Hotel</span>

The Murphy Hotel was once a leading hotel in downtown Richmond, Virginia. Its location was at the corner of 8th and Broad Streets and for the last decade was known as the Commonwealth of Virginia's Eighth Street Office Building. The building shared a block with the Hotel Richmond, also known as the state's Ninth Street office building, and St. Peter's Church. It was deconstructed in late 2007 to give way to a modern high-rise that will house offices for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court End</span> Historic neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia, United States

Court End is a neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia, that sits to the north of the Capitol Square and East Broad Street. It developed in the Federal era, after Virginia's capital moved from Williamsburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRNL</span> Radio station in Richmond, Virginia

WRNL is a commercial radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia. WRNL features a sports radio format and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. The studios, offices and transmitter are all co-located just north of the Richmond city line on Basie Road in Dumbarton, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRVA Building</span> Building in Richmond, Virginia

The WRVA Building is an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) building located at 200 N. 22nd St. in the historic Church Hill district of Richmond, Virginia. Designed by world-renowned architect Philip Johnson while he was at the architectural firm of Budina and Freeman, it was originally built to house WRVA (AM), one of Virginia's first broadcast radio stations. The building is considered "one of the city's most visible and important mid-20th-century architectural landmarks." ChildSavers, a Richmond nonprofit child services agency, is the current occupant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Pierce Milburn</span> American architect

Frank Pierce Milburn was a prolific American architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His practice was primarily focused on public buildings, particularly courthouses and legislative buildings, although he also designed railroad stations, commercial buildings, schools and residences. Milburn was a native of Bowling Green, Kentucky who practiced as an architect in Louisville from 1884 to 1889; Kenova, West Virginia 1890–1895; Charlotte, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; and Washington, D.C. after 1904. From 1902 Milburn was architect for the Southern Railway.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Richmond, Virginia, United States

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Arents</span> American philanthropist

Grace Evelyn Arents was an heiress, Christian activist and philanthropist in Richmond, Virginia. She inherited $1.2 million from her uncle Lewis Ginter, a tobacco magnate and philanthropist, and she used the money to transform Richmond for the better.

Adeline Detroit Wood Atkinson was an American hotelier.

References

  1. ↑ "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 9/14/09 through 9/18/09". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. September 28, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Treadway, Sandra Gioia. "Adeline Detroit Wood Atkinson". Library of Virginia. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Green, Bryan Clark (February 17, 2009). "Ninth Street Office Building Final Nomination" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  5. ↑ Information from Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 310
  6. ↑ Martz, Michael (March 30, 2015). "Renovation of Ninth Street Office Building brings its rich history back to life". The Richmond Times-Dispatch. pp.  A1, A7 – via Newspapers.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.