Planning a trip to Richmond
Visitor information
The Richmond Visitors Center, 401 N. 3rd St. (btw. Clay and Marshall sts.), Richmond, VA 23219 (tel. 888/742-4666; www.visitrichmondva.com), provides information and operates a same-day discounted hotel reservation service. It also shows a 10-minute orientation video. The center is in the Greater Richmond Convention Center and is open daily from 9am to 5pm (to 6pm from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day). There is free 20-minute parking in spaces by the serpentine brick wall on 3rd Street between Clay and Marshall streets.
In addition, the Richmond International Airport Visitors Center (tel. 804/236-3260) is open Monday through Friday 9:30am to 4:30pm.
The state operates a visitor information center in the Bell Tower (tel. 804/786-4485) on the State Capitol grounds, off 9th Street between Grace and Marshall streets. It's open Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm. The small gift shop is a good place to stock up on "Virginia Is for Lovers" gear.
Another comprehensive source of information is www.discoverrichmond.com, a community site operated by the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper (www.timesdispatch.com).
As soon as you see one, grab a copy of Richmond's free alternative newspaper, Style Weekly (www.styleweekly.com), available in boxes throughout town. It is a very good source of what's going on while you're here.
Safety in Richmond -- As in any city, it's wise to stay alert and be aware of your surroundings, whatever the time of day. Ask at the visitor center or at your hotel desk if a neighborhood you intend to visit is safe. Most neighborhoods described in this chapter are generally safe during the day, and Shockoe Slip, Shockoe Bottom, The Fan, and Carytown are safe during the evening when their restaurants are open. Nevertheless, avoid all deserted streets after dark. Most hotels have free shuttles in the downtown area, so take them when going out in the evening.
Getting There
By Plane -- American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, United, and US Airways fly to Richmond International Airport (RIC), Airport Drive off I-64, I-295, and Williamsburg Road (U.S. 60; tel. 804/226-3052; www.flyrichmond.com), about 15 minutes east of downtown. The major car-rental companies have desks at the airport, and taxis are available. Groome Transportation (tel. 800/552-7911 or 804/222-7222; www.groometransportation.com) offers 24-hour van service to Richmond, Petersburg, Fredericksburg, and Williamsburg. One-person fares range from $22 to downtown Richmond to $44 to Williamsburg. Public bus service is available during weekday morning and evening rush hours, but frankly, if I could afford to fly into Richmond, I would forget the local bus system.
By Car -- Richmond is at the junction of I-64, traveling east-west, and I-95, traveling north-south. I-295 bypasses both Richmond and Petersburg on their east sides. U.S. 60 (east-west) and U.S. 1 and U.S. 301 (north-south) cross here.
By Train & Bus -- Several daily Amtrak (tel. 800/872-7245; www.amtrak.com) trains pull into two stations here. The main terminal is at 7519 Staples Mill Rd. (U.S. 33), north of I-64. There is no shuttle service from the Staples Mill Road station into tourist areas, so a better choice is the Main Street Station at 1500 E. Main St. in Shockoe Bottom. This restored French Renaissance-style building served as the city's transportation hub from 1901 until 1959 and is itself worth a look.
The Greyhound/Trailways bus terminal is at 2910 N. Boulevard (tel. 800/231-2222; www.greyhound.com).
City Layout
Richmond is located at the fall line of the James River. Several bridges cross the river, and there's access to Brown's Island and Belle Isle from the Richmond Riverfront Canal Walk, a promenade extending along the downtown riverfront beside the James River & Kanawha Canal.
Instead of growing away from the river, the original city spread westward along the north shore. Thus, the main streets run east-west for several miles from the original settlement, in today's Shockoe Bottom. The two main drags I use all the time are Main Street, which is one-way going west, and the parallel Cary Street, one-way going east. Broad Street also is a major east-west thoroughfare, and it's one of the few downtown streets with two-way traffic -- and many intersections at which you cannot make a left turn.
Foushee Street divides street numbers east and west, while Main Street divides them north and south.
Getting Around
By Public Transportation -- The Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC; tel. 804/358-GRTC [4782]; www.ridegrtc.com) operates the public bus system throughout the metropolitan area. Base bus fare is $1.25 (exact change only). Service on most bus routes begins at 5am and ends at midnight. GRTC also has express bus service from Richmond to both Petersburg and Fredericksburg.
By Taxi -- Call Yellow Cab Service Inc. (tel. 804/222-7300) or Veterans Cab Association (tel. 804/329-1414). Fares are approximately $1.50 per mile.
Neighborhoods in Brief
As you explore the neighborhoods described below (moving from east to west), you'll get a good sense of Richmond's history.
Church Hill -- Named for St. John's Church, its major landmark, this east Richmond neighborhood is largely residential, with many 19th-century Greek Revival residences.
Tobacco Row -- Bordering Church Hill and paralleling the James River for some 15 blocks between 20th and Pear streets, this is the latest urban redevelopment area. Handsome redbrick warehouses are being turned into apartment houses. The Edgar Allan Poe and Virginia Holocaust museums are here.
Shockoe Bottom -- Roughly bounded by Dock and Broad streets and 15th and 20th streets, Shockoe Bottom was Richmond's first business district. It once encompassed tobacco factories, produce markets (farmers still sell produce at 17th Street Farmer's Market btw. E. Main and E. Franklin sts.), slave auction houses, warehouses, and shops, and it retains much of its original character. Today, old-fashioned groceries with signs in their windows for fresh chitterlings stand alongside trendy shops, restaurants, and noisy nightclubs aimed primarily at 20-somethings.
Shockoe Slip -- Bordering downtown roughly between 10th and 14th streets and Main and Canal streets, this warehouse and commercial area was reduced to rubble in 1865 and rebuilt as a manufacturing center after the war. With its cobblestones restored and old-fashioned street lamps providing light, East Cary Street features renovated warehouses containing restaurants, galleries, nightspots, shops, and two major hotels. The Richmond Riverfront Canal Walk boat rides begin here.
Downtown -- West and north of Shockoe Slip, downtown is Richmond's governmental and financial center. It includes the old and new city halls, the state capitol, and government buildings of Capitol Square; and the historic homes and museums of the Court End area, notably the Valentine Richmond History Center, Museum and White House of the Confederacy, and John Marshall House. On its western edges it encompasses the Coliseum, the city's convention center, and several blocks of East Broad Street, which was once home to Richmond's grand department stores and is being redeveloped, including Richmond CenterStage, the city's new performing arts venue.
Jackson Ward -- North of Broad Street, the National Historic District of Jackson Ward was home to many free African Americans before the Civil War ended slavery. Its famous residents have included the first woman bank president in the United States, Maggie Walker, and legendary dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who donated a stoplight for the safety of children crossing the intersection of Leigh Street and Chamberlayne Avenue (where a monument to him stands today). Notable, too, is the fine ornamental ironwork gracing the facades of many Jackson Ward residences.
The Fan -- Just west of downtown, The Fan is named for the shape of the streets, which more or less "fan" out from downtown. Bordered by West Broad, Boulevard, West Main, and Belvidere, this gentrified area of turn-of-the-20th-century town houses includes Virginia Commonwealth University and many restaurants and galleries. The main drag is on West Main Street between South Harrison and South Lombardy streets. Monument Avenue's most scenic blocks, with the Civil War statues -- and one of African-American tennis star Arthur Ashe -- down its median strip, are in The Fan.
Carytown -- Just west of Boulevard, affluent Carytown has been called Richmond's answer to Georgetown. Cafes, restaurants, boutiques, antiques shops, and the Byrd Theater, a restored 1928-vintage movie palace, bring weekend crowds to West Cary Street between Boulevard and Nasemond Street.
