“City Council may rule on fate of park foliage”

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Scott

On March 8, 1991, an article appeared in the Times-Dispatch.

The article was about how VCU was trying to get control of the maintenance of Monroe Park and had a plan to cut down 37 of the mature trees. VCU said that the trees were “improperly placed, damaged, dangerous and add nothing to the function or aesthetics of the park,” and stated that removal of the trees would, “make the park safer.”

Fortunately this maintenance agreement was not approved in 1991 because of neighborhood objections, but if the newly proposed lease is approved, VCU would be in charge of the maintenance of the trees and would be given carte blanche to remove as many trees as it wanted without any recourse. Most of the trees that were slated to be removed in 1991 are still in the park, and there is no reason to think that VCU would not again want them removed, “to make the park safer.”

As a result of VCU’s attempt to remove 20% of the mature trees in Monroe Park in 1991, the Monroe Park Advisory Council was established with neighborhood representation from Oregon Hill, the Fan, and Carver. The proposed Monroe Park Conservancy has NO neighborhood representation, but includes four VCU administrators, and four city administrators.

Will Mayor Jones Destroy History?

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Scott

From C. Wayne Taylor’s website, City Hall Review:

January 27, 2014
VIA EMAIL TO:
Ms. Lou Brown Ali, Chief of Staff, lou.ali@richmondgov.com
The Honorable Mr. Baliles and Honorable City Council
City of Richmond
900 E. Broad St., Suite 200
Richmond, VA 23219 USA
Re: George Washington’s Canal at Tredegar Green
Dear Mr. Baliles and Members of Council,
Mr. Dwight Jones, Mayor of Richmond and President of Venture Richmond, wants to drastically reshape George Washington’s canal at Tredegar Green. Only a portion of the channel bottom would remain authentic.
Mr. Jones claims the canal berm interferes with visibility from the northern portion of Tredegar Green to the southern portion. Mr. Jones knows that raising the ground level of the northern portion of Tredegar Green would increase visibility to the southern portion.
Why is Mr. Jones proposing to lower the ground level of the northern portion of Tredegar Green?
Sincerely yours,
C. Wayne Taylor, Publisher
City Hall Review LLC
CityHallReview.com
Copy: City Clerk, Better Government Richmond, News media, Interested parties

OHHIC Historical Documentation of the Site of Richmond’s Proposed Amphitheater

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Scott

Remember the 60 page report? Well now Charles Pool has expanded it to 106 pages. We can only hope intellectual honesty and historic fact will matter as the City decides on Venture Richmond’s plan. It is also important to again recognize that there is a compromise plan that Venture Richmond has so far ignored that would avoid cutting into the historic canal.

OHHIC Historical Documentation of the Site of Venture Richmond’s Proposed Amphitheater (final) January 2014

Because of its national importance, the James River and Kanawha Canal should not be altered, cut, lowered or filled for trivial reasons, such as for improving sight lines or making it easier to cut the grass. It is vital that George Washington’s 18th century canal be afforded the respect that it deserves so that this rare historic resource one day can be a restored “blueway,” a treasure for future generations of citizens of the Commonwealth.

Joint House and Senate Recognition of the James River and Kanawha Canal from 1989

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Scott

The James River and Kanawha Canal is on the National Register of Historic Places and was honored by a joint House and Senate resolution in 1989. George Washington’s canal has survived for 15 generations.

Will it be this generation that shows such a lack of respect for it that it allows Venture Richmond to cut away the historic tow path of the nationally recognized structure because it might block a spectator’s view of a pop band?

Engine No. 6

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Scott

SQUIRRELS!

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Scott

Next time you see a squirrel in Monroe Park, you might want to consider their origin. A new paper in the Journal of American History covers The Urbanization of the Eastern Gray Squirrel in the United States:

The urbanization of the gray squirrel in the United States between the mid-nineteenth century and the early twentieth century was an ecological and cultural process that changed the squirrels’ ways of life, altered the urban landscape, and adjusted human understandings of nature, the city, and the boundaries of community.
—
Given the present ubiquity of gray squirrels, it may be difficult to believe that they have not always been common in American cities. In fact, they seem to have been entirely absent during the first half of the nineteenth century. The lack of systematic surveys before the twentieth century hinders estimates of the size of historical squirrel populations, which can fluctuate dramatically from year to year depending on food supplies, weather conditions, and other factors.

Canal Water Levels And Venture Richmond

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Scott

There is important new documentation on the water level in the James River and Kanawha Canal provided by the research of canal enthusiast C. Wayne Taylor. He has made the discovery that there is still a water gauge in the canal at the city Park Hydro near Cherry Street, some 1000 feet from Venture Richmond’s proposed amphitheater. The water level in the canal is clearly shown by a line on the wall at 83 feet next to this water gauge. Water has eroded all paint from the gauge under the 83 foot mark on the gauge.

Remarkably, Wayne Taylor has also discovered a 1990s photograph from the City Planning Department in the VCU Library showing water in the canal at the location of the Park Hydro, and this photograph shows the water gauge in the canal.

The 83 foot water elevation of the water in the canal shown in this gauge and photograph correspond with the many Tredegar and C&O Railroad surveys of the historical water level in the canal at this same location.

It would be folly to reduce the elevation of the tow path of the James River and Kanawha Canal to 83 feet as proposed by Venture Richmond, when a preponderance of evidence shows that the historical water level in the canal near the amphitheater is documented at 83 feet elevation.

When will Venture Richmond acknowledge its plan is based on flawed history? When will Venture Richmond give in to sensible compromise and stop trying to dishonorably label neighborhood concerns as unreasonable?

Tredegar Takes In Museum of Confederacy To Form New Civil War Museum

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Scott

It was alluded to earlier, but now it has been announced. From NBC12:

Now the Museum of the Confederacy and the American Civil War Center are joining forces to build a $30 million museum in Richmond with the goal of creating the top Civil War museum in the nation 150 years after the deadliest conflict fought on U.S. soil.

The marriage of museums, announced to The Associated Press, will meld the collection of Confederate battle flags, uniforms, weapons and other historic relics with a narrative-based museum that uses bold, interactive exhibits and living history events to relate its 360-degree telling of the war.

…

In a joint announcement, the museums said the new historic attraction in the former capital of the Confederacy has yet to be named, but $20 million has been committed to its construction. Ground will be broken in 2014, with an expected opening the following year.

The new museum will be located along the James River, at the Tredegar Ironworks, where much of the South’s cannons were forged during the war. It’s also the home of the Civil War Center. The museums said bringing together both institutions will “further establish Richmond as the foremost Civil War destination in the United States.”

While other news sites are just reporting the announcement, many are still digesting what this means. A more nuanced reflection from an unnamed Oregon Hill neighbor:

Hmmm … no comment on the fate of the authentic White House of the Confederacy, coveted by VCU. And the $20 million pledged for this new museum would have gone a long way toward building a slavery museum in the authentic location in Shockoe Bottom. I wonder what proportion of that $20 million is being pledged by VCU foundations and their donors.

Between turning the canal location into an amphitheater, turning the slave market location into a ball park, and ceding the White House of the Confederacy to VCU, we are really at risk of losing the city’s authentic history.

Uprisings in Brazil Event at WBCH On Saturday

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Scott

From the Flying Brick’s website:

We here at the Flying Brick Library are excited to be co-hosting this event with the William Byrd Community House!

When: November 17th, 7pm

Where: The William Byrd Community House, 224 S. Cherry St. in Oregon Hill

The June 2013 Uprisings in Brazil
A presentation by participants

Last summer, Brazil exploded in protests unlike anything in living memory. At the peak, a hundred cities participated in fierce clashes with the authorities; a movement that began with demonstrations against public transit fare increases and became a veritable popular uprising. Yet as the middle class joined in, nationalist
and reactionary narratives muddied the message.

Despite this, the movement succeeded in blocking the fare increases in many cities, demonstrating the effectiveness of new forms of struggle without parties or unions. Autonomous and horizontal groups forced other issues to the surface, including the consequences of the upcoming World Cup and Olympic games in Brazil.

In this presentation, Brazilian anarchists will describe the context from which the events of 2013 emerged, and explain their impact on other ongoing struggles. What conclusions are Brazilians drawing from their experiences, and what can North Americans learn from them?

For more background:
http://crimethinc.com/texts/recentfeatures/brazilpt1.php
http://crimethinc.com/texts/recentfeatures/brazilpt2.php

Facebook Event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/728696440492566/

Tredegar Holds Seance This Halloween

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Scott

From the American Civil War Center website:

Spirit rapping, ghostly instruments, and other attempts at communion with the dead were once common occurrences in American parlors.

People from every social strata attended séances where mediums purported to be in contact with departed spirits. During the Civil War thousands desperate to contact fallen loved ones enlisted the aid of a medium. What would they have experienced at one of these sittings?

Find out at Historic Tredegar when we present a historically accurate séance inspired by the Spiritualist movement.

Join us October 28th – November 1st for this mysterious evening’s entertainment. Our story centers on Mr. and Mrs. Nelson as they seek to communicate to their son who lost his life during the Civil War.

Admission
$5

Click here to open the website and purchase online.

Oregon Hill

News For Oregon Hill, in Richmond, VA

Category Archives: history