Category Archives: parks

Ceremony To Close Monroe Park Tomorrow

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Report from Cherry Street neighbor Todd Woodson on Monroe Park:

Breaking News- tomorrow, Wednesday, November 9th at 10am, the Mayor and VCU president Rao will hold a ceremony in the park with watering cans to celebrate the closing. Ms Massie reports that this weekend will be the last for activity in the park before work begins. The Conservancy is asking that displaced feeding groups not use other parks. The first phase of work is tree work, which will take 4-5 months. It is important that we stay vigilant during this period as in all phases as we don’t want any “mistakes”. They will also be removing the benches and lights from the park during this period.

St. Andrew’s Church To Host Labyrinth Walk in Pleasants Park On Wednesday

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From email announcement:

On Wednesday evening, November 2, St. Andrew’s will host an All Souls’ Labyrinth Walk in Pleasants Park (editor’s note: corner of Laurel and Albemarle). Please feel free to stop by any time between 5 pm and 7 pm. It is an invitation to walk in quiet remembrance of and thanksgiving for the ancestors who have gone before us to light the way.

Walking a labyrinth is one of the oldest contemplative practices for prayer and pilgrimage found in faith traditions around the world. Labyrinths may have been in existence as early as 3,500 to 4,500 BCE.

The labyrinth will be set up from 5 to 7pm for those who would like to walk it, and we will have hot chocolate and cookies for those who join us.

Reverend Abbott Bailey

Laurel and Broad

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This photo shows the RF&P RR train tracks on Broad Street in the first quarter of the 20th century. This view (maybe 1915?) is westward, with the Elba train station at the rear of the view. This playground was arranged through the R.F. & P. RR by “Mrs. Bolling, of the Richmond Playgrounds Association”. It harkens to a time when Oregon Hill could sort of claim to extend to Broad Street.

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Here is part of the 1889 Baist map, which shows how the train turns from W. Broad to Belvidere then heads down past the penitentiary. The train tracks turned at Pine, thence south on Belvidere, and turned east along Byrd street, entered level, through a tunnel, to continue downtown to the old Byrd street depot.

(Special thanks to Richard Lee Bland and Fred Rodgers for the images and history notes, as seen on the Fans of Monroe Park FaceBook page.)