Columbus statue in Byrd Park established many “firsts”

Columbus Monument in Byrd Park, Richmond, Virginia. A gift to the city from Richmond’s Italian community, statue of Christopher Columbus dedicated in 1927.

WHAT: “Christopher Columbus” in Byrd Park at the south end of The Boulevard, north of the reservoir.

ARTIST: Ferruccio Legnaioli.

DEDICATION: December 9, 1927.

DESCRIPTION: A standing bronze figure 6 1/2 foot high on a granite pedestal 8 1/2 foot high. This was the first Columbus statue in the south and was the first monument in Richmond to have night illumination. The idea of Frank Realmuto, this statue was sculpted, erected and financed entirely by Virginians of Italian birth.

In the United States, Columbus Day is always celebrated on the second Monday in October. Virginia celebrates two legal holidays on the day, Columbus Day and Yorktown Victory Day, which honors the final victory at the Siege of Yorktown in the Revolutionary War.

Quoit Club discovers treasure at Pump House

It is rare when “architecture” and “James River” can be used in the same sentence. That is the unique appeal of the Pump House.

I tagged along with the Historic Richmond Foundation‘s Quoit Club on a tour of the Victorian Gothic treasure, which is located in the Byrd Park District, west of the Boulevard Bridge on the Kanawha Canal. It was designed and constructed in the 1880s under the leadership of the great Richmond city engineer Col. Wilfred Emory Cutshaw.

A description of its original functions from the National Park Service:

A municipal industrial building whose purpose was to house the Richmond city waterworks. The building, which served as the city’s waterworks from 1883 until 1924, is conveniently situated to draw water from the James River and Kanawha Canal as well as its own smaller canal. The facility pumped water uphill from the canals to the Byrd Park Reservoir, the city’s main water supply. Far from being entirely utilitarian, however, the pump house was also a popular gathering place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Park manager Ralph White was the official sponsor of the tour, teaming with Chris Hull of the James River Outdoor Coalition and Tricia Pearsall of the Friends of the James River Park to guide and educate the crowd of nearly 50 people on an hour-long tour of the park and the ancient civic landmark.

The Pump House has been under renovation for the past decade, mostly by volunteers. Hull explained that the Pump House had been in disrepair for years. Vandals had been breaking in and stealing, burning and smashing whatever they could get their hands on. Eventually, a hole in the roof threatened to destroy the building.

Volunteers donated their time and more than $40,000 to repair the roof, block the windows with plexiglass and to purchase lumber used to build walkways and staircases to improve visitor access.

“The work has been done by people like you that care,” White said to the Quiot Club crowd. “It is one of the most lovely buildings left in the city…the last thing of beauty owned by the city, after they sold City Hall…It captures the essence of what it is to be in Richmond.”

A dramatic feature of  the Pump House is the old open-air dance floor — an open space with a balcony above the pump room on the top floor of the building. Many of the Quiot Club members took in the view and wondered about the storied high society events that took place there in the late 1880s and early 1900s before the automobile replaced batteau boats and the need for the Pump House diminished.

The plan is that it will one day make its grand return as the new home for the park system visitor’s center or a James River museum. It could also be a learning center, host weddings, parties, meetings, events and the batteau rides on the Kanawha Canal could again be a feature.

Though the Pump House is “still considered a stabilized ruin,” according to White, the inside of the building has passed safety inspections and has had some lighting added, though more is needed. An elevator and running water to the building are next, which could cost an estimated $75,000, according to White.

The Pump House has already played host to a few events. White said the best story was an “unwedding” — a jilted bride-to-be had a party with all her girlfriends toasting good riddance to her fiance who supposedly cheated on her. There was also a ghost hunting event in March, though White said he didn’t plan to encourage more events like that one in the future.

The architectural plans have been drawn, but funding is the next big step, White said. The project could call for more than $8.5 million. The most costly items could be shoring up leak the canal walls above the Pump House to stop leaks; enclosing the building to add air conditioning and heat; and installing utilities, including water and power.

“If the city is going to compete with the surrounding counties, it’s the preservation of our abundant historic resources that makes living in the city worthwhile,” White said.

A renovated Pump House could ideally be “an extension of the museums on the Boulevard,” White said, noting that respected public landmarks like The Carillon, Dogwood Dell and Maymont are all in the neighborhood. The building could be a hub for information about the James River or even all city parks.

Renovations could eventually include the park being a key to the Richmond greenways effort, Pearsall suggested. With all of the surrounding bike & hiking trails, the James River and Kanawha Canal flowing through the park, it is the ideal spot for something remarkable to be developed.

Want to be involved? Contact the James River Outdoor Coalition (JROC), Friends of the James River Park or contact director J.R. Pope and his people in the Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities.

This was the Quiot Club’s first visit to the Pump House and my first official chance to meet face-to-face with members — many of whom said they have been reading this blog. Here’s what they are all about:

Named for Richmond’s most popular 19th century social club, the Quoit Club is Richmond’s premiere organization for people who enjoy experiencing history and architecture with a social twist. Today, the Quoit Club supports Historic Richmond Foundation’s mission to preserve the area’s unique heritage by promoting social and educational gatherings at historic sites.

Boating permitted in lakes at Byrd, Forest Hill parks

The Forest Hill Yacht Club can defend its own turf. The first ever Regatta at Forest Hill Park Lake back on May 22 must have impressed someone important because non-motorized watercraft are permitted in three lakes in parks in the City of Richmond as of July 1.

The City of Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities posted signs Thursday at Byrd Park’s Swan and Shield’s lakes north of the James River and at Forest Hill Park Lake on the southside in Westover Hills.

That’s good news for paddlers. Fishing is possible at all three lakes and they are all big enough to have space to play, but small enough to stay safe. A great family friendly choice by the forward-thinking staff led by director J.R. Pope.

Highlights of the lake boating rules:
1. Non-power boating only
2. No boats over 12 feet in length
4. Lake closed at sunset and open at sunrise daily (April 1 to Nov. 30)
5. No swimming is allowed
6. Persons under age 13 must wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved personal flotation device of proper size and fit when boating

A good quote from Mayor Dwight Jones from the press release, with my bolded highlight:

The use of non-powered watercraft provides park boaters the opportunity to view the beauty of city’s parks from a different perspective. Paddling and rowing are activities that require the engagement of multiple muscle groups and which helps tone muscles and reduce body weight.

That fits my perspective on why I bought a kayak in the first place — to see things on the river from a different perspective.

It’s also a big reason why I’d love to see people allowed into the Haxall Canal. You could become part of the scene and add to the atmosphere at a park or event.

At this time, there is no advancement on being permitted to paddle in the Haxall Canal at Brown’s Island or offering paddle boats for rent during events like Friday Cheers or the Richmond Folk Festival, but we’ll keep working on that one.

Fountain Lake is again a Richmond destination

William Byrd Park has been the hub of the Richmond outdoor landscape since the 1870s, and I don’t think it gets enough acclaim. The 200-acre park has three lakes, the 240-foot World War I memorial The Carillon, Dogwood Dell, tennis and baseball facilities, a walking track, a reservoir, plenty of trees, wide open green spaces and more.

The City of Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities spent more than $400,000 to renovate and fix up the concession building at The Landing, added restrooms and allowing the renowned catering and box lunch specialist Sally Bell’s Kitchen to open. 

Sallie Cabell Jones opened the original Sally Bell’s Kitchen in 1924, which coincidentally is just one year before the dedication of the beautiful fountain in middle of the six-acre Fountain Lake.

There is always someone fishing at the lake. It offers largemouth bass, channel catfish and bream.

You’ll almost always find people walking around the lake or taking in the shade on a bench under one of the many trees that line the granite walls of the lake. It’s a great place to relax and enjoy being outside in Richmond.

I’ve always loved the setting at Fountain Lake, especially the colors and scenery. I never considered visiting the old concession stand, but I have been looking forward to lunch at Fountain Lake since winter when I saw the renovations being made. The paddleboats are back and I will definitely get my family to partake in spin around the lake.

My one complaint however, is that the cost for 30 minutes on a paddleboat is $12 — a little steep. Considering that a Canal Cruise is just $5 per adult, $4 for children 5-12 for a 40-minute guided tour and you’re getting to see a lot more…I think $8-10 makes more sense.

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.

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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.