Category Archives: parks

Neighbors Working On Pleasants Park

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Several neighbors took time yesterday to do some badly needed volunteer yard work on Pleasants Park.

Why is it called Pleasants Park?

From the Richmond Friends website (click here for link):

Robert Pleasants, who was born at Curles in Henrico County, Virginia in 1723 and died in 1801, was one Virginia’s most noted Quaker abolitionists. As one of the founders of the Virginia Abolition Society in 1790, he served as president. In 1782 he successfully lobbied for the Manumission Act, which, within one decade, was responsible for freeing over ten thousand slaves in Virginia. In 1792 Mr. Pleasants submitted a petition to the U.S. Congress from the Virginia Abolition Society calling for the end of the slave trade. Mr. Pleasants went to court repeatedly to free hundreds of slaves. He wrote to Virginia leaders such as George Washington and Patrick Henry, asking that slavery be abolished.
Several of these documents are contained on this website.

In 1784, two years after manumitting his slaves, Mr. Pleasants founded the Gravelly Hill School, the first school for free blacks in Virginia, and set aside 350 acres of land to maintain the schools. Henrico Parks and Recreation will dedicate a historic maker on the Gravelly Hill Site in 2003.

The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association successfully petitioned the Richmond City Council in 2003 to name Pleasants Park at 401 South Laurel Street for Robert Pleasants.

This is history that is not part of the new Liberty Trail.

Letter to City Council On Historic Canal

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Neighbor Charles Pool sent this email to members of City Council yesterday.

(Ed. note: He received permission to send them an attachment of the “Tiller” magazine article, but I have not received permission to post that here. If I do receive it or a public website link to it, I will be sure to post it here.)

Dear Richmond City Council members,

Please take time to read the article entitled, “New Richmond Amphitheater Endangers Canal Plans” by Elizabeth Davis in the attached Winter/Spring 2013 edition of the “Tiller,” the wonderful publication of the Virginia Canals and Navigations Society (VCNS).

This article highlights the threat to the historic canal by Venture Richmond’s proposed amphitheater. If the canal bank is lowered as proposed, it would destroy the long-range plan of a canal boat trip to Maymont. Concern for our canal has arrived from as far away as Yangzhou, China, where the World Canal Conference “urged the people of Richmond, Virginia to prevent further destruction to the canal and to preserve, restore, interpret and wisely use this irreplaceable amenity for Virginia and her visitors.”

Other cities would be envious of our canal, running through the heart of downtown Richmond, that was promoted by George Washington at Mount Vernon, the canal company’s honorary President!

As noted in the “Tiller” editorial by Holt Messerly, “I want all people to enjoy this precious national resource for the betterment of Richmond, and for the preservation of our history and for the enjoyment of all — not just for someone to be able to cut the grass easier and see a straighter line to an amphitheater. We must look at the big picture and consider all of the areas as one big entity; a green way with a blue way …”

Continue reading →

May Day Immigration Rally in Monroe Park

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There is a May Day Immigration Rally planned for Wednesday in Monroe Park.

I reported the Living Wage rally earlier.

Please share with your contacts:

What: May Day Immigration Rally & March
When: May 1st at 2:00pm
Where: Monroe Park (corner of West Main and Belvidere Streets)

March will leave the park and proceed downtown to 2nd and Grace Streets to send a message to Virginia Representatives and their colleagues.

This event is sponsored by CASA in Action, 32BJSEIU, AFL-CIO and St. John Church.

Overlook Trail Work Coming up

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There was a meeting with contractors and City staff on site yesterday at the ramp below the Overlook at Oregon Hill. The paving of the area and addition of handicap railing will begin soon. Work is anticipated to begin within the next week to week and a half.

Please be aware that this area will be a construction site and not accessible during the project.

This work stems from state greenway grants that the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association previously applied for and won with the help of Napi Ippolito.

VCU Paint The Town Green Saturday

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Paint The Town Green is a semi-annual VCU-sponsored cleanup of neighborhoods around Richmond.

From VCU event page:

Paint the Town Green 2013 will canvas the neighborhoods surrounding VCU to inculde, Randolph, Oregon Hill, The Fan, Carver, Jackson Ward, Union Hill, Mosby Ct.

Last year we had approximately 700 people attend, and this semester we are hoping to have about 1000 participants.

Show up with friends and family at 8:30 for a free breakfast, and participate in the clean up until 12pm. There will be a reception afterwards with more free food and drinks.

Afterwards head down to the annual Earth Day event at the 17th St Market. Student Participants who also attend the Earth Day Event and have a PTTG Armband will get a goody bag at the for helping out at the Earth Day Event.

From The Plan…

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…, the Richmond Connects transportation draft plan that is-

Looks like the Idlewood roundabout proposal made the Safety Project draft map. Also notice the 2nd Street Connector marked in blue as a new street.

for the next map, use this legend-

Of course, there’s a lot more to the Richmond Connects plan (buses, trains, etc.) and there is still time to submit comments.

(I will not relate all the comments I made, except that I did suggest mass transit options for our riverfront parks as a solution to parking/traffic nightmares.)

“Recalling the Belle Isle Neon Landmark”

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Richmond Magazine writer extraordinaire Harry Kollatz supplies a column on the Climax Beverages sign that used to be on Belle Island.

Photo courtesy of Library of Virginia

Beginning in the early 1930s, drivers on the Lee Bridge spied the sign — not so different from the Sauer’s sign on Broad Street — that read “Richmond Va. Home of Climax Beverages.” It faced the bridge and backed up against Hollywood Cemetery.

The story of how Climax came to be in the middle of the James River begins with beer and natural springs.

For more, please click here.