The Lighthouse Diner

(The Lighthouse Diner in 1941)

(The Lighthouse Diner now)

Site Name: Lighthouse Diner

Date of Construction: 1941

Reason for Construction: Built to provide residents of the Manchester area with delicious food.

Site History: The Lighthouse Diner served as a community hangout spot. In addition, with the popularity of the Manchester area in the 1900’s, the Lighthouse Diner also attracted many tourists. From their 75 cent burgers to their 40 cent beers, the Diner satisfies customers as they travel in and out. The building consist of a bar area towards the back of the diner and booths or four seated tables in the front. Moreover, the Diner served great food, but it was especially known for its classic burgers and fries. Unfortunately, the Diner went out of business in the late 1970’s. An important factor for the Lighthouse closing is due to the decline of the Manchester Area.

Area History: The Manchester Residential and Commercial Historic District is located in the city of Richmond, Virginia, on the south side of the James River. Manchester began as an English settlement after 1609, and later became a port for the tobacco trade. In the 1800's, Manchester and Richmond become a major port and commercial center serving the eastern seaboard and beyond. Manchester was granted city status in 1874, thus becoming the seat of Chesterfield County. In 1910, Manchester was consolidated into the city of Richmond. The Manchester Residential and Commercial Historic District is generally bounded by Hull Street on the south. The district includes a significant number of mid-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, residential and commercial buildings from the former city of Manchester. The district's architecture, which contains 248 buildings, is impressive for its variety of late nineteenth and early-twentieth century building types and styles.

What about the site has changed? Presently, the Lighthouse Diner is abandoned. When passed by, one can barely notice that the place is a diner until they really pay attention and look inside. But, if one would walk in today, much of the structures, such as the seats, most accessories, and appliances, are still in good condition shape. Many businesses have showed interest in restoring the diner, like Sugar Shack’s owner, but no reconstruction has occurred so far. Even though the Lighthouse Diner is abandoned, the place represents a time capsule of the 1940’s in the Manchester area. For that reason, there is much interest into restoring the historic site.

What about the surrounding area has changed? After World War II, the Manchester district began to see a steady decline. Hull Street was still an active retail strip until the 1960s when suburban development came, such as the South Side Plaza Shopping Center further west on Hull Street. Public housing developments evolved to the Manchester area, so old residential buildings along the eastern edge of the district were removed. In the early 1970s, Overnite Transportation Company, an UPS overnite trucking division, built its corporate headquarters on Semmes Avenue, just outside the historic district. By 1977, J. Harwood Cochrane, founder of the OTC, had purchased more than 160 parcels in Manchester at a cost of over $8,000,000 and began demolishing more old buildings. The Richmond Times Dispatch reported in 1977 that Overnite's presence had "created an uneasiness in the neighborhood that is heightened by the roar of a bulldozer grinding old houses into oblivion."

Reflection: Throughout the research of the project, we learned the flourishing qualities of the Manchester area and how it began to decline. In addition, from the CBS news broadcast, we received a glimpse of what life was like in that time like the prices of the food on the menu. Moreover, we received information of what the area is to become in the future. It would be truly awesome if the Diner could undergo reconstruction and sell its famous burgers and fries.

Sources:  

Farrar, Bill. “Turning on the Lighthouse”. Style Weekly. Last Modified February 27, 2002.

Accessed February 3, 2015. <http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/turning-on-t he-lighthouse/Content?oid=1383400>.

Crocker, John. “Lighthouse Diner - CBS 6”. Youtube. Last Modified April 24, 2007. Accessed

February 3, 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdaujTfbU-M>.

“ Manchester Residential and Commercial Historic District.” National Park Service, U.S

Department of the Interior. Accessed March 17, 2015. <http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/ richmond/ManchesterResidentialHD.html>.

Tredegar Iron Works

Tredegar Iron Works 1865

Tredegar Iron Works 2015

Site Name: Tredegar Iron Works

Date of Construction: Construction finished in 1841

Reason for Construction:

In 1836, Richmond businessmen wanted to capitalize on the Railroad boom in the U.S. and  Rhys Davies was put in charge of construction of the furnaces and rolling mills that later became the Tredegar Iron Works.

Site History:

Rhys Davies, the man originally in charge of building Tredegar Iron works, died in 1838. In 1841, the owners of the site made Joseph Reid Anderson the manager.  Anderson proved to be an able manager and owned the foundry by 1848. Through the introduction skilled and unskilled slave labor, Anderson was able to cut production costs. Tredegar Iron Works made just about everything for the railroad industry from spikes to locomotives and by 1860, Tredegar became the leading iron producer in the Country. Anderson also established the Crenshaw Woolen Mill, which lies adjacent to to the Tredegar Iron Works. .

           During the Civil War, the Tredegar Iron Works played an integral role in the Confederacy. Tredegar Iron Works supplied high-quality munitions, and railroad steam locomotives to the South during the war. Furthermore, the Iron Works also made iron plating for the CSS Virginia,  and 1,100 artillery pieces, or half of South’s total production, during the war.  Meanwhile, the adjacent Crenshaw Woolen Mill became the principal source of supply for the Confederate Army's requirements of uniform material. It was because of Tredegar and Crenshaw Woolen Mill’s industrial power, Richmond was selected as the capital of the confederacy. The site proved its importance by providing the confederacy with a relatively large amount of war supplies. Despite of the initial output, as the war wore on, the quality and quantity of Tredegar’s goods deteriorated due to low supply of metal as well as skilled laborers. During the evacuation of Richmond by the Confederates, Anderson saved Tredegar by paying over 50 guards to prevent confederate troops from burning the valuable site.

           Anderson had been wise and had secured Tredegar assets overseas and thus was not affected by the collapse of the Confederate currency. Anderson regained ownership of Tredegar in 1867, and by 1873, Tredegar Iron Works was employing 1,200 workers and was again a profitable business. Tredegar finally faded after it was unable to transition to the production of steel due to financial difficulties in the company caused by the Panic of 1873.

Area History:

Tredegar Iron Works was, and is to this day, situated between Belle Isle and Brown’s Island. During the 1860’s, Brown’s Island was home to a building where workers packed gunpowder into cartridges, and was nicknamed the “Confederate Laboratory”. It blew up on Friday, March 13, 1863, but was up and running again by May, to further the war effort. Later, in 1894, a coal plant was opened on the island, followed by a hydroelectric plant in 1893. These plants declined in the 50’s and 60’s and were closed by 1969, due to damage caused by a hurricane. Meanwhile, Belle Isle was in a similar predicament. In the early 19th century, it had many mining operations, as well as small manufacturing. Later, during the Civil War, a Confederate Prison was constructed there, which like other camps, suffered from overcrowding

What about the site has changed?

Tredegar Iron Works hosted the "Valentine on the James" extension of the Valentine Richmond History Center in the 1990’s. This project soon ended and the need for a museum on the site was realized.  The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar thus opened in 2006 and currently serves to educate people about the roles the Union, the Confederacy, and African Americans played in shaping the nation.  Other additions to the site include the main Visitor's Center of the Richmond National Battlefield Park as well as a statue of Abraham Lincoln. Although there is no industrial use of the site today, it still plays a big role in educating the public about the Civil War.  

What about the surrounding area has changed?

In the years following its construction, the impact of industrialization has left the area surrounding Tredegar Ironworks and it has become more appealing towards the average sightseer, especially Brown's Island

Reflection:

Through all of the research that we have conducted, we've not only learned about what Tredegar was and is, including it's impact in the Civil war and the use it has in educating about the war, we've also learned about the surroundings of the site, and what role they played in the Civil war, as also on their use today

Sources:

Bibliography

"Industry and Commerce." Richmond Tours. Last modified 2012. Accessed March 20, 2015. http://www.civilwartraveler.com/RichmondTours/Industry.html.

Hallerman, Dennis Maher. "The Tredegar Iron Works : 1865-1876." Master's thesis, University of Richmond, 1978. Accessed February 23, 2015. http://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1427&context=masters-theses.

"Tredegar Iron Works." National Park Service U.S Department of the Interior. Accessed February 17, 2015. http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/richmond/tredegar.html.

"Tredegar Iron Works is a historic iron foundry in Richmond, Virginia." The Visitor's Center. Accessed March 20, 2015. http://www.the-visitor-center.com/pages/Tredegar-Iron-Works-Richmond/index.htm.

Post by Abhishek and Joe

Site Name: The Byrd Theatre

Date of Construction: 1928

Site History: The Byrd was built for the viewing of talking motion pictures. The original owner Mr. Charles Soma, Jr. employed many local Richmonders and New Yorkers alike to construct and decorate the building. At the time, the Byrd was equipped with vitaphone, a relatively new sound synchronization system pioneered by Bell Telephone Laboratories and commercially developed by Warner Brothers, proving it to be one of the more standout and luxurious buildings of the time. 

What about the site has changed?: Though many things still remain the same in the many intricate details of the building, such as its black Italian marble box office, gold-leaf plaster decoration, hand-painted murals and amber and gold color scheme, some pretty remarkable changes have been made. The building originally had a twenty-by-eight-foot pool, grand marquee and lobby fountain. A concessions stand has now replaced the pool, however the marble fender, bronze rails, and other parts of the pool were carefully preserved in storage for some time.

What about the area has changed?: Carytown, like most other neighborhoods has changed in that most of the original businesses were hit hard by the economy during the times of the Great Depression and since have had to modernize and transform to fit accommodate the changing population of consumers.

Reflection: The changes to this site are a perfect reflection of the broader changes in the region in that since it was built and opened during the time of the Roaring Twenties where everyone lived very lavish lifestyles it was decorated very lavishly, however when the area and the economy fell into hard times, some of those luxuries had to be removed for financial reasons. Sadly, the building has never been restored to its original glory due to further economic hardships felt both in the areas surrounding the site and in the nation with the economic impact of the Great Depression and the recession that occurred more recently.

Sources:

Burdick, Hugh. "Richmond Theatres." Eddie Weaver and the Byrd Theatre Organ. 1960. Accessed March 18, 2015. http://www.richmondtheatres.tripod.com

"The Byrd Theatre." Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Accessed February 15, 2015. http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/Richmond/127-0287_Byrd_Theater_1979_Final_Nomination.

Oregon Hill Neighborhood

Site Name: Oregon Hill neighborhood

Date of Construction: 1758

Reason for Construction: Built as a residence for William Byrd III to overlook the James River

Site History: Oregon Hill belonged to the Byrd family during its early years. In 1817, the property was segmented into plots of land by its owners, the Harvies. These plots of land were sold to provide housing for local ironworkers. In the 1850s, the original Byrd house burned down, but by that point, the house was one of many in the Oregon Hill neighborhood. The high concentration of workers in this neighborhood allowed Richmond to become an industrial center in the post-Civil War era. Today, the neighborhood is still mostly populated by working class families.

Area History: As stated, Oregon Hill has been home to a primarily working-class population. The area was annexed by Richmond in 1869, and since then, the borders have shifted numerous times. Today, Oregon Hill is bounded by Cary St, Belvidere St, the James River, and Linden St. / Hollywood Cemetery.

What about the site has changed? Although the houses are mostly over a hundred years old, the community has been able to preserve many of them. Many houses that have been torn down or lost to fire damage are being restored. In 2007, an apartment complex known as “the Overlook” was erected. This is evidence that the neighborhood has progressed, even with the preservation efforts.

What about the surrounding area has changed? Oregon Hill’s biggest change would be in physical boundaries. After Riverside Park was claimed by the city, the area lost a significant amount of land. Although the community isn’t an ironworking center, the population is majorly working-class white families.

Reflection: This project showed me how communities can work to preserve history. I also learned about how Richmond adapted to become an industrial city after the Civil War. I think it is pretty interesting how Oregon Hill was created for one rich man, but eventually was divided up amongst working class Americans.

Sources:

“Oregon Hill Historic District”. National Park Service.

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/richmond/OregonHillHD.html (accessed February 19th, 2015).

Grove Shaft Mine

Grove Shaft Mine (likely 1839-1850's)

Grove Shaft Mine today

Site Name: The Grove Shaft Mine

Date of Construction: Began in 1836

Reason for Construction: To take advantage of Midlothian's coal deposits and improve local economy

Site History: The Mid-Lothian Coal Mining Company began construction of the Grove Shaft Mine in 1836 under the supervision of the Woolridges. By 1839, the shaft reached a depth of 625 feet. The coal from this mine was transported hundreds of miles on a gravity and horse-drawn railroad to end up in the hands of manufacturers of iron, glass, chemicals, and copper. In addition, it was used by blacksmiths and as an energy source. During the Civil War, Midlothian coal supplied the Tredegar Iron Works with fuel to manufacture cannons. The Mid-Lothian Coal Mining Company experienced several fires in the mid-to-late 1800's. Most notably, the Pump Shaft caught fire in 1842 and exploded in 1855. The Grove Shaft Mine was not spared. By 1882, it had reached its maximum depth of 1,200 feet. In this same year a catastrophic methane explosion occurred and thirty two men were trapped inside. Despite multiple attempts, they were never rescued.

Area History: Midlothian (Originally named Mid-Lothian) was established in the 18th century as a coal mining town, producing the first commercially mined coal in the United States in 1709. The early coal mines were owned by two Scottish brothers, one from East Lothian and one from West Lothian. "Mid-Lothian" being a suitable compromise between East and West, They named their business Mid-Lothian Coal Mining Company. and the name of their company came to be associated with the town. Because of the abundant natural resources, their venture was very profitable. During the Revolutionary War, Midlothian and Chesterfield mines supplied fuel to the Westham cannon factory. As a result, British General Phillips set fire to the Chesterfield courthouse and many mines. This draws attention to how powerful the Chesterfield and Midlothian mine industry were. As the industry grew, so did the need for an efficient transport method. In 1802, coal manufacturers and citizens petitioned for a long road to transport coal. In 1804 it was opened, the gravel-surface turnpike spanning a large distance. In fact, it was the first gravel road in the state. It is now called Midlothian Turnpike, or U.S. Route 60.

What about the site has changed? Before, the mine was a large structure that served as a source of prosperity. It hired several men, but after the 1882 explosion that killed thirty two workers and cut off access to the shaft, the mine was basically abandoned. Since then, the structure has mostly fallen apart, leaving only stone remains. They mines, now a part of the Midlothian Mines Park, are fenced off with barbed wire to remain preserved and protected.

What about the surrounding area has changed? Midlothian (and Chesterfield) are no longer in the coal mining business. The mines have been shut down and left alone. While many people left the area when the mining industry declined, it has now been repopulated. Midlothian does not have any one prominent industry. However, Chesterfield, the county in which Midlothian resides, has become America's largest producer of condoms.

Reflections: To see the Grove Shaft Mine today is to experience history. One can clearly see the mark left by the devastating explosion and subsequent years of neglect. This tangible link to the past brings many people to the surrounding stretch of forest. In fact, the Mines Park serves as one of Midlothian’s major attractions. Recently plaques have been installed that give information about certain parts of the park and, just outside of the wooded area, a large mining apparatus was recreated as a monument to the town’s historical industry. I live less than a minute from the park, and walking through the forest it is interesting to think that thirty two men are still underneath, a sacrifice of Midlothian's history and an everlasting part of its future.

Author: Russell

Glen Allen Baptist Church

Glen Allen Baptist Church (1893)

Glen Allen Baptist Church (2015)

Site Name: Glen Allen Baptist Church

Date of Construction: 1868

Site History:

     After the Civil War a group of 20 Christians met with Reverend Alexander Sands in a brush arbor. There they discussed the idea of creating a Baptist church in the town of Glen Allen. On February 23, 1868 this group of people decided to begin the journey to build Glen Allen Baptist Church. Funds were raised to begin construction of the church on July 4, 1868. The Hopkins family donated a piece of land to the group for the church on part of the Walkerton Estate. Over the course of the year members of the church worked on the construction of the building and by the end of 1868 had completed the infrastructure with very little debt.

Area History:

     The area of Glen Allen got its start as Mountain Road Crossing for the railroad that ran through the town, which was finished in 1836. Glen Allen got its name from the homestead of a local landowner, Mrs. Benjamin Allen. Captain John Cussons was the most noted resident. He was a native Englishman, Confederate scout, author, and entrepreneur. He established a printing business that brought some work to the town and aided in its growth.

     Glen Allen was known to be a developing area outside of Richmond. It had a railroad running through its township that still exists today. The railroad allowed it to be connected to the rest of the country and was advertised to have a 22 minute train ride to Richmond, about the average car ride today. In 1907 the Times Dispatch described the town as “[Having] made a splendid beginning, and there is every indication that its development will be vigorous and constant.”

What about the site has changed?:

     Additions to the main building were continually added over the years as the church grew in membership and attendance. In 1941 and 1949 buildings were constructed around the original church. In late April of 1960 construction of the present sanctuary began. Mid February 1989 marked the beginning of a new education program build and the buildings from 1941 were renovated with a new

media center, chapel and music center. In 1993, on the 125^th anniversary of the church, a Henrico historical marker was placed in front of the church facing Mountain Road. The most recent addition to the church was completed in the winter of 2010 and added their current welcome center, new classrooms and church office space.

What about the surrounding area has changed?:

     In the present era true Glen Allen has lost most of its business and company. Only in the past 10 years have any new stores begun to spring up. With the construction of the new Glen Allen High School in 2010 new business opportunities were explored. 2014 marked the largest increase in infrastructure built in the area for several years. Now, roughly a mile from the center of Glen Allen, what used to be a field and woods is being built to become a new shopping center. Where Glen Allen will continue to expand remains to be discovered.

Reflection: Over the course of this project I've gotten to know the area that I live in much better than ever before. I was surprised at just how much history is actually contained within its humble boundaries. I had no clue that the church, which lies at the front of my neighborhood, was as old as it was. Overall the exposure of my hometown's history was a very pleasing experience.

Author: Parker Matthew

Sources:

“History.” Glen Allen Baptist Church. Accessed Feb. 11, 2015. http://glenallenbaptist.org/about-us/history/.

Mallory, W.  "Lost architecture - forest lodge." Henrico County Historical Society. 2003, November.     Accessed March 19, 2015. http://www.henricohistoricalsociety.org/lostarchitecture.forestlodge.html.

“Glen Allen marker, E-10”. Marker History. 2010. Accessed March 19, 2015. http://www.markerhist  ory.com/glen-allen-marker-e-10/.