Monument to Maggie L. Walker would be fitting tribute to her & Richmond

A resolution to support a monument to famed Richmonder Maggie Lena Walker has passed through Richmond City Council.

She was an educator and is best known for being the first woman to charter and serve as president of a bank in the United States. Her home in the 100 block of E. Leigh Street in Jackson Ward is a federally protected National Historic Site. She was born in Richmond in 1867 and died here in 1934. She is buried in Evergreen Cemetery.

NBC12’s Laura Geller wrote:

In a city of monuments, leaders want this monument to be a big deal. They do not want something that will blend into the background, but a statue that will make people think about the accomplishments of the first African-American woman to run a bank…Under the ordinance, the city will study if the intersection of Broad Street, Adams Street and Brook Road will make for a good location. Originally, [Councilman Charles] Samuels wanted the statue to go on Monument Avenue but he’s been convinced Jackson Ward is the perfect place. The project will be funded through private donations.

Richmond is a city of monuments and Jackson Ward is the perfect place for this one. With all the economic growth and physical improvements to the neighborhood once known as the “Harlem of the South” and the “Black Wall Street of America” because of its reputation as a center for both black commerce and entertainment.

According to CBS6’s Mark Holmberg:

Currently, only a large tree sits in that triangle made by the three intersecting roads downtown, just a few blocks from where Walker’s Consolidated Bank & Trust now sits. But there’s much more standing in the way. Specifically, funding, as the last portion of the resolution points out. The city council vote was largely symbolic, noting the city will have to make sure it owns that triangle before it can even consider using it for this monument.

Knowing who owns the quirky triangle is important [locator map]. It would be a shame for that tree to go, but that much-improved section of the Broad Street corridor could use another attraction to continue its resurgance.

Marcus S. Jones Jr., 1971 graduate of Maggie Walker High School and president of the Maggie L. Walker Statue Foundation. He said to CBS6’s Holmberg: “I’m going to try to get a grant, written for $500,000 to a million dollars.”

As I did when I wrote about my proposed statue to Lewis Ginter, let’s use Richmond’s statue honoring tennis champion and Richmond native Arthur Ashe as a comparison.   

Ashe is honored with a 12 foot tall bronze statue at Monument Avenue and Roseneath Road that stands on a 87,000 pound granite block and rises 28 feet above the street. It was created by artist Paul Di Pasquale and was dedicated in July 1996 with a cost of nearly $450,000 (according to figures from the Richmond Times-Dispatch).   

If the property transfer brings no larger cost to the city than the tree removal and some cosmetic work, a monument to Maggie L. Walker in that spot could cost between $500,000 and $750,000, depending on the artist and scale of the monument. The size of the triangle should keep the sculpture to a scale similar to that of Bill Bojangles Robinson, which conveniently resides four blocks away north on Adams Street, forming a nice bookend of sorts for Jackson Ward.

Why Major Lewis Ginter deserves a statue in Richmond

Lewis Ginter (Valentine Richmond History Center)

Major Lewis Ginter is one of the most important figures in the development of Richmond and left a large imprint on our city. I’ve written about his many accomplishments and lasting achievements, but I want to go a step further.   

We should erect a statue of Ginter in Richmond. With statues to honor so many great figures in Richmond’s history, why is there no statue to the man I consider the “Greatest Richmonder of All Time?”    

Joseph Bryan in Monroe Park

We have a statue of Joseph Stewart Bryan — a contemporary and good friend of Ginter’s — in Richmond’s Monroe Park, dedicated in 1911 [see more on the statue]. A list of Ginter’s accomplishments and philanthropy would be much longer than one for Bryan. But why nothing for Ginter? 

There are indications that he may not have wanted to be honored. The famed Jefferson Hotel opened in 1895 and has been a perennial five-star historic gem ever since [Read more]. In the book Richmond: The Story of a City by Virginius Dabney:     

Leading citizens sought to place a plaque in the hotel, celebrating the all-important contributions of Major Ginter in bringing the Jefferson into existence, but the modest man refused to allow it.   

Ginter was known to be very private. He never married and left his inheritance to his niece, Grace Arents, and many other charitable organizations. There are few photos of him available and he likely wanted it that way. I’ve read in various books that he may have instructed someone to destroy most of his financial and personal records.     

Despite his wishes for privacy, I think the city should celebrate him with a statue. That’s what we do in Richmond. Ignoring cost for a moment, I have three locations to nominate.    

Intersection of Laburnum Avenue, Brook Road and Fauquier Avenue (at center)

Intersection of Laburnum Avenue and Brook Road [map]  

This is perhaps the most appropriate spot, as Ginter in the mid-1880s bought controlling interest in much of then-named Brook Turnpike and bought 100s of acres on either side of the road in preparation for his visionary Northside development that evolved into today’s Ginter Park, Sherwood Park and Bellevue.     

He eventually ran streetcars along Brook Road as well, turning at this intersection on to Fauquier Avenue toward his progressive recreational development Lakeside Park in the 1890s — now known as Jefferson-Lakeside Country Club.     

General A.P. Hill statue at Laburnum & Hermitage

Another good reason to place his statue there is the parallel with the General A.P. Hill statue at Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road. Ginter served under Hill in the Civil War, according to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden: 25 Years and Growing by Frank L. Robinson and Lynn Kirk:    

Declining a promotion to brigadier, Ginter accepted the rank of major under General A.P. Hill, and for the remainder of his life he was addressed as Major Ginter … [Ginter] donated land and was instrumental in the construction of the monument.  

The problem a statue at this unique five-way intersection is that it is too busy and there are too many cars needing to take left turns. Getting traffic around even a small circle would be difficult. The intersection could be widened, but it is not logical to spend the amount of money for the potential of creating a dangerous intersection.    

Intersection of Brookland Parkway, Loxley Road and Rennie Avenue

Intersection of Brookland Parkway, Loxley Road and Rennie Avenue [map] 

This might be my favorite, just because it seems like the easiest and safest place to establish a lasting monument to Ginter without interrupting current traffic patterns.  

This intersection is part of Sherwood Park and is already in the shape of two triangles.  There is plenty of room to establish two small triangle-shaped landscaped gardens within the intersection, perhaps with a statue to Ginter in one of them.  No matter what, this intersection needs a more appropriate and distinguished layout.   

Intersection of Hermitage Road and Bellevue & Pope avenues

Intersection of Hermitage Road and Bellevue & Pope avenues [map]   

This seems like the least likely but is appropriate because of the train that Ginter ran through this area toward the quarries in the area that became Bryan Park and Lakeside.   

Also, it would be a shame to take attention away from the arch at Pope Avenue.  Hermitage Avenue itself is a historic district and would likely have some say in any adjustments to the roadway at this five-way intersection.   

* * * 

Cost? Let’s use Richmond’s statue honoring tennis champion and Richmond native Arthur Ashe as a comparison.   

Ashe is honored with a 12 foot tall bronze statue at Monument Avenue and Roseneath Road that stands on a 87,000 pound granite block and rises 28 feet above the street. It was created by artist Paul Di Pasquale and was dedicated in July 1996 with a cost of nearly $450,000 (according to figures from the Richmond Times-Dispatch).   

Let’s assume that a more modest statue to Ginter would cost  $500,000, considering inflation, but not including the cost to adjust traffic patterns at the selected intersection. Fund-raising would not be easy — a group or a philanthropist would have to back the long-overdue statue.   

There was a period in the late 1800s to early 1900s when there were many statues and monuments erected: General Robert E. Lee, 1890; General Williams Carter Wickham in 1891; Howitzers monument and General A.P. Hill in 1892; Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument in 1894; at Capitol Square, Dr. Hunter Holms McGuire in 1904 and Gov. William “Extra Billy” Smith in 1906; and on Monument Avenue, Major General J.E.B. Stuart and Jefferson Davis in 1907. 

Ginter died October 1, 1897. With all of his success and philanthropy — and considering the propensity to honor great Richmonders with statues — there must have been movement at that time to honor Ginter that fell short. His friend Bryan was honored in 1911 after his death in 1908, and maybe by then people had begun to forget his accomplishments?  Major Lewis Ginter’s name should have been the 10th on the list.

Arthur Ashe statue on Monument Avenue

Richmond native, tennis champion and humanitarian Arthur Ashe was the first African-American male to win a Grand Slam event and was an active civil rights supporter. He is honored with a statue on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. [slideshow]

WHERE: Monument Avenue and Roseneath Road.

ARTIST: Paul Di Pasquale.

DEDICATION: July 10, 1996 (it would have been his 53rd birthday).

DESCRIPTION: The bronze statue of Arthur Ashe faces west with four children facing east. The statue shows him holding books in his left hand and a tennis racket in his right hand to illustrate how he encouraged the importance of sports and education. The 12 foot bronze statue (the figure is 10 foot tall, 12 foot to the books in his left hand) stands on a 87,000 pound granite block quarried in Georgia. The monument rises 28 feet above the street.

* * *

There was plenty of controversy over this statue when it was proposed and after it was placed at Monument and Roseneath avenues back in July 1996. Questions like:

• Should it be on Monument Avenue with all the Confederate heroes?
• Should there be more design options?
• Is the base too big for the statue?
• Is he about to hit the kids with the books and the racquet?

Personally, I don’t think it is the best statue in Richmond. That’s no slight to Mr. Ashe, who was and still is a hero to so many people worldwide. The message in the statue is a good one, and true to his legacy. He’s kept a smile over on Monument Avenue.

Who remembers that then Mayor Leonidas Young had a proposal to place the monument in Byrd Park and rename the Boulevard for Arthur Ashe? Definitely, there were some that thought his statue belonged in Byrd Park, home of some of his tennis-playing days as a Richmond youth.

One article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch noted a suggestion from a city council member to move the Stonewall Jackson monument to make way for Ashe, calling the intersection of Monument Avenue and Boulevard “the most primary piece of property in the city.” I’ve written that it is the most trafficked and therefore most visible on Monument Avenue.

The article also noted that the entire Ashe family favored the site at Monument Avenue and Roseneath Road — and that Arthur would not have approved of the debate over the location for the statue.

How else has Richmond honored Ashe? Have you ever seen the Arthur Ashe Center? I’ve never liked the building, and I’m not alone. 

One day Richmond will tear that down and build a more adequate and modern facility to replace it.  There have been proposals, mostly tied in with revamping The Boulevard corridor and The Diamond, located on the same property. I hope that if it gets Ashe’s name, it will at least be worthy of his world-class status.

Paul DiPasquale’s ‘Connecticut’ needs a new home

Arthur Ashe statue

Richmond artist Paul DiPasquale has a handful of public pieces around the city, the most prominent being his Arthur Ashe statue on Monument Avenue. He may not be the most well-known person in the city, but he was profiled in the August issue of Discover Richmond and was featured on the magazine’s cover. 

The Ashe statue [slideshow] cost almost a half million dollars and put many Richmonder’s in a tizzy, fretting over details like why a tennis champion and/or black man belonged on a grand avenue dominated by Civil War heroes. We have survived, and the tribute to Ashe is still the best one we have for him in his hometown. 

Headman statue on Brown's Island

But DiPasquale’s art goes beyond Ashe. My favorite of his is the ‘Headman’ statue [slideshow] on Brown’s Island, commemorating the contributions of the black boatman on the James River. I like that one because I love the James and the park, and because it is rare that we honor the lives of the unnamed and unknown multitudes that help build, create and run our big cities and structures. Good for the little guy. 

The statue had its own controversy, as the original fiberglass version was stolen from the downtown park and found much later shot to pieces out in Hanover County.  Glad that no one treated the Ashe statue that way. 

Oliver W. Hill

No controversy surrounded DiPasquale’s bust of Civil Rights activist and famed Richmond lawyer Oliver W. Hill in historic Jackson Ward [slideshow]. I have hope that Hill will be honored with his own monument in a more prominent location some day, but this is a worthy piece that was dedicated at least five years before Hill’s rich life ended. 

'Connecticut' at The Diamond

 DiPasquale’s work at The Diamond, ‘Connecticut’ is a fiberglass and resin composition resembles a giant Indian brave peering out over a parapet [slideshow]. It needs a new home. 

Mike Kulick of Richmond.com did a Q&A with DiPasquale in 2007: 

This may be a tired question for you, but given the varying subjects of your art over the years, where do you find your ideas and inspiration?
Public art, I think, is obligated to attract attention, and is also obligated to provide a story or a mark that’s worthy of paying attention to. I look for people who are not acknowledged. The Indian at The Diamond was actually done in Washington DC, to honor Native Americans in the capital of America … because there are actually no statues of Indians in our capital. I did it thinking it could go anywhere in our country, and if I could actually do this and put it on top of a building in DC, I would get national attention and I’d sell it. Which is how it got to Richmond, and coincidentally how I got to Richmond. Inspiration really comes from looking for a market need. 

I think we need more public art, and Richmond has a good reputation as an art-friendly city. One of the things I love most about our town is that we have many monuments and statues honoring our great Richmonders.  

I’m not a fan of the name “Flying Squirrels” for our new Double-A baseball team, but they aren’t going away and the Connecticut statue doesn’t belong on The Diamond’s concourse any longer. I hope it finds a new home where it can be appreciated and cared for well.