Roughly in the tradition of Grace Arents, who started the first free library in Richmond (now the William Byrd Community House), Greg Wells and friends started the Flying Brick Library in their house on Pine Street. Now that household is dissolving, and the Flying Brick Library is changing hands. Style Magazine has an article.

This past Tuesday night at its monthly meeting, the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association once again voted and re-, re-, and re-affirmed its support for Urban Business District zoning for W.Cary St. and 100 block of Belvidere (we have been voting on this since at least 2002). We want to save the small businesses and houses we have left and encourage more mixed use in the future.

The following email exchange is related to this issue and is posted with permission. I will note that I have not heard from Councilperson Jewell since I approached him at the end of the Richmond Crusade for Voters meeting.

From: candylandmusic@earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [OregonHill] Jewell, rezoning, alley
Date: June 18, 2008 8:40:11 AM EDT
To: OregonHill@yahoogroups.com
Reply-To: OregonHill@yahoogroups.com

Many many hours of hard work have gone into coming up with this UB2 proposal. The City’s Department of Community Development are to be applauded for holding the numerous meetings among stake holders and proposing a unique zoning designation that can help the Oregon Hill Cary Street Corridor become a positive pedestrian oriented business/residential area and stave off inappropriate development. Jewell’s disengagement from his constituents needs is made more disgusting by his list of donors to his campaign (google “VPAP E. Martin Jewell” to see the list of developers that are “banking” on Jewell). Im just so disgusted with this guy and his shenanigans. Every time the neighborhood has needed his support, he votes against us or ignores us, to include smashing our newly gained R7 zoning in the rest of the neighborhood to allow a parking lot for his ol’ pal Salomonsky against the neighborhoods wishes. No new street trees this year, VERY little needed infrastructural repairs accomplished and supporting higher real estate tax rates are a few of his “accomplishments” as Councilman. Please vote for Mark Brandon in November for 5th district Councilperson. We desperately need a change.

On Jun 17, 2008, at 11:51 PM, Scott Burger wrote:

Saw our Councilperson, Marty Jewell, at the Crusade for Voters
meeting tonight. Once again, he claimed to have trouble reaching me
for some reason. He also says he wants to sit down and talk to me
about the Cary Street rezoning. I told him he could talk to me right
there. He said he did not know about the proposed rezoning. I told
him that OHNA had voted and revoted to support urban business
district zoning since 2002. He said that the Community Development
Dept. had not kept him abreast of recent proposal. I told him that’s
not true, because I had email where he was cc’ed. he said that was
not good enough notification. I repeated the neighborhood’s support
for rezoning. He said he did not blame us, he blames Community
Development. I repeated the neighborhood’s support for rezoning to
ub. He said certain property owners on Cary did not want the
rezoning. I asked him for names. He would not name them. I repeated
OHNA’s longtime support for rezoning to ub. He said he would talk
with me later.

Before he could brush me off, I repeated my concerns for the alley
behind the 600 block of Cherry. He acted surprised and said that Gary
Duvall in Public Works was supposed to have fixed it. I repeated that
the alley had not been fixed for some time now, and improper drainage
was threatening the historic John Miller House and other houses. He
called his assistant’s voice mail and left a reminder for her to
remind him.

Thanks,
Scott

The Richmond Times Dispatch has an article about St. Andrew’s School students painting a mural in honor of the late Jonny Z.

“ART 180 enlisted the help of students at St. Andrew’s to come up with ideas for the mural. Zanin’s friends told the students about Jonny Z — about his love of art and music, community, coffee and pizza — and they went from there. The mural, running the length of a back building connected to Joe’s Inn, 205 N. Shields Ave., in the alley between Shields and Rowland Street, contains a little bit of everything, or “kind of random, fun and colorful,” said Lauren Healy, another project coordinator.”

Through talking to an employee at 821 I cobbled together the following information about businesses on the 800 block of west Cary Street, Oregon Hill’s commercial face, and it’s all exciting news. The former storefront at 825 west Cary Street that once housed a barber shop many decades ago, but has been abandoned for some time is undergoing a total renovation. As of right now it has an earth floor and is a shell. It along with the house at 823 west Cary that sits behind a privacy fence will be incorporated into one large commercial space where 821 will move. The portion in front of the soon to be former residency will become outdoor patio seating, as it is recessed from the sidewalk by 15 feet or so. Thus 821 will become 823-825. Confused yet? If not let me try harder. After the move is complete a new restaurant will move into the existing 821. Lastly, Salvation Tattoo, which is currently in the former OHHIC office on the 300 block of south Pines is rumoured to be moving into the storefront at 819 west Cary that was last occupied by the Lotus Market Cafe close to a decade ago. All of this does a lot to bolster the neighborhood’s desire to see more infill commercial along our northern border, and it should add a lot of street level activity. The timeframe for the completion of 823-825 is September.

This Monday, June 16th, SynerGeo will have our Oregon Hill
Community Dinner at 6pm. The dinners are held every 3rd Monday of
the month(except August due to our volunteering trip to Seattle. Our
doors will be open with lots of food to share! I plan to pass out
little flyers at the movie friday night in pleasants park, hopefully
we can spread the word and get more neighbors to join us!!!

Also at this month’s dinner we are going to be asking people to
help us out with one of our projects for this summer’s art camp, so
come prepared with a nice quote or a happy message!!

Please help us by telling your neighbors and friends about this, I
really want this to be known as something positive for everyone to
join in for Oregon Hill!

Hope to see you all on Monday!
Katie Cowles

Volunteer Coordinator
cowleskatie@yahoo.com
www.synergeo.org

RICHMOND, VA May 30, 2008. Six Burner Restaurant will host a benefit for the Byrd House Market on Wednesday, June 18th from 5:30 to 9:30 pm. Diners will receive a delicious three course dinner for their donation of $35 to benefit the Byrd House Market, a program of William Byrd Community House.

The William Byrd Community House provides services to children, teens, parents, and seniors in the Richmond community. The Byrd House Market’s goal is to promote the health and welfare of its community while supporting local farmers, food producers, and artisans.

Six Burner restaurant is generously supporting BHM by offering customers a pre-fixe menu featuring fresh foods from BHM’s vendors for one night only on June 18th. The proceeds from this event will go to supporting the Byrd House Market. Call now for reservations as seats will fill up fast!

Six Burner Restaurant
1627 West Main St
(804) 353-4060

There will be another litter pickup this Saturday (6/7) @ 9AM. Like usual, we will meet at the gazebo (Pine St. & Oregon Hill Pkwy). Please bring gloves, garbage bags will be provided.

Just one of the things that makes OH a great place to live. The Water Horse was the feature this past Friday night.

Richmond Schools Step Up

An addition should be added to Open High for an elevator.
Along with solar panels.

Money should not be that big of an issue.

That building is a beautiful part of Grace Arents‘ legacy to Oregon Hill and Richmond education. It should not be closed. Open High, as a small school, is one of RPS’ greatest success stories.

Congratulations to Beatty and Wolf! They have worked tirelessly on behalf of Richmond children.

On my walk this evening I saw kids lining up for their graduation from St. Andrew’s School as well as the latest modular house on Idlewood (see this post on the first one from last year).

Who saw the bear this morning?

If you do see it in the future, don’t approach or even gawk, just call 911 so Animal Control can be alerted. They are hoping it will find its way back to more wilderness.

This reminded me of a few years ago when the deer came into the neighborhood and was clattering his hooves along the cobblestone alleys.

My neighbor on China Street, Larry, told me about growing up in Oregon Hill back in the 50’s, when there was ponies behind the Parsons House and you could go furtively hunting on the James River with a .22.

Anyone have any good wildlife (nonhuman, please) stories in Oregon Hill?

Mamma Zu’s owner Ed Vasaio will host a $100-per-plate fundraiser at the restaurant on June 1 for Central Montessori School in Church Hill. [via]

Read more >

The Times Dispatch has a sad, but well-written article about her passing and her life.

This past week, again with Stomp Stomp Dave’s help, I installed another dog station on behalf of the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association. This one is near the intersection of Idlewood and Belvidere.

As for more park stuff, I need to circle back with the City’s Parks and Rec Dept. to see about the water fountain and new canal bridge for the Belvidere Greenway.

At the same time, I need to supply some direction on the future of Holly Street Playground. Right now, the Holly Street playground continues to be shared by groups of toddlers, parents, and children, and, on the other end of the spectrum, older kids and college students. We have tried doing surveys with the neighborhood association newsletter with only some success.

I think one thing that can be done with some consensus is to get rid of some of the dilapidated support sheds in the Holly Street Playground.

Check out this link on Scotty Moore, Elvis’ guitar players website. Great shots. Please notice the New Years Day, 1959 picture of Monroe Park in the background as the Pilgrimage of Prayer marched to the Capitol.

Tip of the hat to Todd Woodson at Candyland Music.

http://scottymoore.net/richmond.html

Asked to post this by Byrd House Market folks:

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. KNOW YOURSELF.
Come find out more about yourself and your neighbors at the William Byrd Community House/Byrd House Market
Tuesday May 6 – Opening of the 2008 Market Season

Read more >

Pine Street resident Silver Persinger announces his write-in campaign for President of the United States.

Blog post on 611 W. Main St. has very cool old photos and music video.

108 S. Belvidere was demolished today by its current owner, developer Ved Jain. Many Oregon Hill residents are dreading his plans for “Cary Street Apts. Phase II” (Phase I is at the corner of Belvidere and Cary Streets).

Hunter Purdie grew up in Oregon Hill. The following General Assembly resolution will honor this fine man.
—————————————————————-

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 602
Offered March 3, 2008
Celebrating the life of Hunter Coleman Purdie, Jr.
———-
Patron– O’Bannon
———-
WHEREAS, Hunter Coleman Purdie, Jr., of Richmond, age 86, a respected citizen and an outstanding educator and former band director at Douglas S. Freeman High School in Henrico County for 29 years, died on February 25, 2008; and

WHEREAS, Hunter Purdie served his country in the United States Air Force during World War II, and after the war, he earned an undergraduate degree from what is now Virginia Commonwealth University and received a master’s degree from the University of Virginia; and

WHEREAS, as a young accomplished musician, Hunter Purdie played professionally with local dance bands and was one of the original members of The Continentals; he also performed with the Tony Pastor Band, featuring popular singer Rosemary Clooney; and

WHEREAS, Hunter Purdie was a teacher at Varina High School before joining Douglas S. Freeman High School as its first band director when the school opened its doors to students in 1954; and

WHEREAS, a versatile teacher, Hunter Purdie taught choral classes and music in addition to his duties as band director; and

WHEREAS, possessing many musical talents, Hunter Purdie played with the Richmond Symphony, arranged the Douglas S. Freeman Alma Mater and published several of his own musical arrangements, and he was still active and playing bass guitar when he performed at the school’s 2007 class reunion; and

WHEREAS, Hunter Purdie retired from his distinguished career in education at Douglas S. Freeman High School in the early 1980s, but he remained devoted to the school and its students; and

WHEREAS, Hunter Purdie will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife of 58 years, Carolyn Upshaw Purdie, his many relatives and friends, and the students and faculty of Douglas S. Freeman High School; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly mourn the passing of a fine educator and outstanding Virginian, Hunter Coleman Purdie, Jr.; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Hunter Coleman Purdie, Jr., as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.

The final Master plan (66MB PFD) for the renovation of Monroe Park is now on the
park website.

As King, I announce the extension of Oregon Hill’s border southward to include Belle Island and its smaller islands.

There was time not so long ago when it looked as if the neighborhood would be cut off from the James River, despite its historic and natural connections to it. Ethyl Corporation had bought much of the land south of Holly Street and demolished the historical houses there. Dominion Power had bought James River Paper company and was annexing much of Tredegar Street.

Fortunately citizen ‘guerrilla engineer’ volunteers took it upon themselves to quietly build the wooden railroad tie steps from Overlook area down underneath the entrance ramp for the Lee Bridge to the old canal bed. Dominion Power volunteers then built the utility pole bridge across the canal to enable easier access to the river bank. The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association won two significant grants to help fund the greenway connection. These funds will be used soon to replace the current bridge with a more permanent one. It is clear that Oregon Hill will not give up its connection to the James River.

With so many residents enjoying Hollywood Rapids and other river amenities, it makes sense to go ahead and secure our own official claim on the island territories in the river. This annexation will guarantee access and as well as bestow more responsibility upon Oregon Hill residents for protecting said resources.

However, because James River Park Manager Ralph White and other City employees and volunteers have worked so hard to improve the environmental and recreational features of the river, I have decided to allow my fellow Aries, ‘Saint Ralph’ White, to continue to administer Oregon Hill’s newest territory on behalf of the City and all of its citizens. This arrangement will remain in effect unless there is a failure to protect the Park in the future.

I strongly encourage all my subjects to do their part for the James River .

Curiously enough, the Virginia Anarchist Federation’s Spring Conference will be held tomorrow at the Willam Byrd Community House. More info on the VAF here.

It seems to have snuck up on others as well.

As King, I hereby recognize tomorrow as National Hanging Out Day and ask all Oregon Hill residents to participate.

“Every year, on April 19th, Project Laundry List joins together with hundreds of organizations from around the country to educate communities about energy consumption. National Hanging Out Day was created to demonstrate how it is possible to save money and energy by using a clothesline.”

I also plan to attend tomorrow’s Richmond Earth Day celebration in Manchester as part of my diplomatic outreach.

Over the years, Oregon Hill’s boundaries have clearly changed. In fact, some wags say that the actual Oregon Hill neighborhood, as first established, existed mostly further east of it’s current location. Whole streets of row houses (and Pratt’s Castle in Gamble’s Hill) made way for institutional development, like the Virginia War Memorial and Virginia Housing Development Authority. Of course, the neighborhood has been steadily forced to give ground to the expansionist plans of Virginia Commonwealth University. Oregon Hill used to be on Main Street.

As King I declare Oregon Hill’s current boundaries as the following: to the east, Belvidere Street, to the west, Hollywood Cemetery and S. Harrison Street, to the north, W. Cary Street, to the south, the north bank of the Kanawha Canal.

This is necessary for three reasons. One is that VCU, the City, and other entities keep trying to play games with the official borders and that is unacceptable. Secondly, in addition to defining the current area, with this royal declaration, I am unilaterally acting to name Oregon Hill one of the City of Richmond’s Old and Historic Districts.

Some explanation may be in order: Oregon Hill already has Federal and State recognition as a historical district. “Oregon Hill is one of the best examples of an intact working-class Victorian (1837-1901) neighborhood in the United States.” It has many historic structures- from Grace Arents‘ legacy- the William Byrd Community House (the first free library in Richmond), the Arents School (Open High), St. Andrew’s Church, to earlier Quaker and free black buildings- the Jacob House, the John Miller House, and the Parsons House, to name a few. There is no doubt that it is worthy of being included as a City Old and Historical District.

For years, many preservationists have lamented that Oregon Hill had not received this status. If it was just a matter of getting a vote from the neighborhood association, it would have been done years ago. Unfortunately, it had required a petition drive that many absentee landlords and speculators would not want to take part in. With this decree, I bypass the bureaucracy.

While State and Federal status offers some protections, City designation offers more. In the past there has been concern from residents and property owners that going with the designation would surrender too much control to the Commission of Architectural Review (CAR), but since I am King and all final decisions come to my absolute authority anyway, there is now less concern with CAR’s power. I will hear neighbor appeals and rule accordingly.

Which bring me to the third reason for declaring the boundaries. As King, I reserve my right to expand them in the future. Since the City no longer annexes surrounding areas, I might as well annex on behalf of the neighborhood. To be announced…