Richmond off-topic postings

[eandslee]

I'm in Memphis this week on a business trip and I just have to say...there's nothing this city has that is any better than what Richmond has...except (here's the caveat) a downtown baseball park, a downtown night life (Beale Street, but isn't the Bottom similiar?), and the FedExForum (I saw a Grizzlies NBA basketball game last night - great show!). Other than that, this place is pretty-much...well, dead. How is it that a city like Memphis got it together enough to get these great venues and land FedEx (the "beast" in this town) and Richmond can't? Ooo! I know, I know...Politics! It's the curse of the city versus county thing that has cursed the Richmond area since the inception of the stupid law that segregates cities and counties in Virginia! There is no unity in this sort of set up and I'm convinced that if Virginia doesn't get rid of such nonsense, our Richmond won't amount to much. No business wants to live amongst all the in-house rivalries! Anyway, just venting my frustration because Richmond should be so much more "on the map" than Memphis!

[burt]

You might want to step outside tonight, Saturday, March 19th, and take a look at the moon. I've been told it is full and unusually close to Earth and will be quite a rare sight.

[burt]

It's spring and the beginning of spawning trips up the James for fish.

Video and story from today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/mar/22/tdmet03-fish-are-swimming-up-the-james-to-spawn-ar-918840/

[burt]

John Warner and wife Elizabeth Taylor spent most of their married life in Northern Virginia, but they also maintained a penthouse in The Berkshire at 300 West Franklin Street in Richmond.

Liz was often bored and I remember one night when she phoned a Richmond acquaintance and insisted that they go out to a movie. I don't recall the film, but it was playing at The Biograph Theatre on West Grace in the VCU area, and off they went.

I knew Elizabeth's mother, Sara, who lived in Palm Springs (Rancho Mirage.). She was a lovely lady and lived until about 102.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdis...inia-ar-922840/

Edited March 24, 2011 by burt

[540_804]

Its really odd to think that, in the not-so-distant past, the Berkshire played home to a senator and his celebrity wife. Now its mostly filled with VCU grad students.

[burt]

Cadeo, do you know what has happened to Ryan's Ramsey's RICHMOND CITY WATCH? I'm unable to pull it up.

[Cadeho]

He needs to renew his site's registration.

[Cadeho]

Ryan's back up.

Also... who else heard and or felt that explosion last night? My Facebook friends in Chester and Mechanicsville heard it. Some of the reports posted on WTVR's Facebook post regarding it had people from Bon Air and even one person near Short Pump hearing it. My mother, who lives near Creighton and Laburnum, said her house shook and my aunt near Laburnum and Mechanicsville thought someone had hit her house. I didn't feel any violent percussion. I was getting out my car at home when I heard it and thought it could have been thunder but I didn't see any lightning and it didn't have that rolling rumble thunder has. So then my thought turned to something blowing up recalling when a building blew up on Magnolia St in 2001 and how that sounded and felt (but that was less than a mile from my home). I drew a map with a 15 mile radius from the site which included places where people said they heard and felt it. I started with Bon Air which is 15.53 miles from the site. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=207185548068201764998.00049fbcf3d7a47b8881e&z=10 (sorry the linking option is messing up for me). I am glad that no one was hurt and that a whole neighborhood wasn't destroyed. I can only imagine now how easy it would have been to hear the Civil War battles around Richmond and what it sounded like when a tanker blew up and destroyed E. Main St in Fulton in the 60s.

[Icetera]

Ryan's back up.

Also... who else heard and or felt that explosion last night? My Facebook friends in Chester and Mechanicsville heard it. Some of the reports posted on WTVR's Facebook post regarding it had people from Bon Air and even one person near Short Pump hearing it. My mother, who lives near Creighton and Laburnum, said her house shook and my aunt near Laburnum and Mechanicsville thought someone had hit her house. I didn't feel any violent percussion. I was getting out my car at home when I heard it and thought it could have been thunder but I didn't see any lightning and it didn't have that rolling rumble thunder has. So then my thought turned to something blowing up recalling when a building blew up on Magnolia St in 2001 and how that sounded and felt (but that was less than a mile from my home). I drew a map with a 15 mile radius from the site which included places where people said they heard and felt it. I started with Bon Air which is 15.53 miles from the site. http://maps.google.c...7a47b8881e&z=10 (sorry the linking option is messing up for me). I am glad that no one was hurt and that a whole neighborhood wasn't destroyed. I can only imagine now how easy it would have been to hear the Civil War battles around Richmond and what it sounded like when a tanker blew up and destroyed E. Main St in Fulton in the 60s.

I imagine you have ran into a story about it by now, but it was an abandoned house that exploded in Varina.

[burt]

Since I'm the one who does most of the posting here, this site will probably be deadly quiet until I get back to NYCity on April 19th.

I'm going on a week's vacation -- to Richmond.

And I'm taking the train all the way to Main Street Station.

[Cadeho]

Have fun Burt!

[Icetera]

Since I'm the one who does most of the posting here, this site will probably be deadly quiet until I get back to NYCity on April 19th.

I'm going on a week's vacation -- to Richmond.

And I'm taking the train all the way to Main Street Station.

Let us know if it still breaks down every time somewhere in New Jersey, but otherwise enjoy the trip!

[burt]

Let us know if it still breaks down every time somewhere in New Jersey, but otherwise enjoy the trip!

There were no breakdowns in Jersey, but the train which runs from Boston via Richmond to Newport News, was a half hour late arriving in Penn Station from the Northeast and lost another half hour enroute to Main Street Station.

I was surprised at the rather large number of passengers who debarked at MSS (20+). Some even boarded at MSS for Williamsburg/Newport News.

I returned to New York from Ashland on Monday and the train was sold out -- all 8 cars, including Business Class. It actually departed only 5 minutes late from Ashland and arrived on time at Penn Station.

[burt]

Paul Hammond has posted a few pictures on his Greater Jackson Ward blog of an April 8th event in the vaults and lobby of the old Central National Bank on East Broad between 2nd and 3rd Streets.

http://www.gjwn.net/news/2011/04/11/inside-the-vault-of-the-cnb/

On a related matter:

I don't know if I was seeing things or whether it is an actual artistic display or a sort of a natural "trompe l'oeil" effect. But, twice when I was downtown during daylight hours last week I saw what appeared to be lighted windows from top to bottom on the east side of the CNB tower. I swear I saw the lights dim out gradually floor by floor beginning at the top.

Next time you are driving west on Broad from about VCU Medical 12th Street, look up and check out the effect...and let me know if my brain was being tricked.

[wrldcoupe4]

All of the upper floors are completed gutted slab to slab... that may have done it.

[burt]

All of the upper floors are completed gutted slab to slab... that may have done it.

Then maybe it was sun light pouring through windows on the west side of the tower and as I drew nearer, it dimmed floor by floor..

Anyway, it is quite effective.

[540_804]

It really pains me to see CNB sit empty.

I don't know why, but in the few years I've been here, I've grown quite fond of it. Probably my favorite building in all of Richmond.

If only I could win a mega-millions lottery drawing or something...

[540_804]

This has little (if nothing) to do with Richmond, so thats why I'm posting it in the off-topic section.

I follow a DC-area real estate blog and came across these pictures of a once-dilapidated block that has been restored:

Before:

After:

The reason I post it is because it very much reminds me of parts of Grace St downtown (between, say 1st and 5th streets).

I love the architecture along Grace St. Its a shame that there isn't more life on the street. But it has so much potential. Imagine the possibilities!

Edited April 21, 2011 by 540_804

[wrldcoupe4]

Building by building we'll see it come back... downtown has a lot of momentum. The completed John Marshall will help and once the CNB tower is redone, it will anchor the area.

[Cadeho]

Someone has CNB in their sights? It's been sitting so long.

[540_804]

Someone has CNB in their sights? It's been sitting so long.

As far as I know, CNB is still owned by Douglas Development Corporation, the same company that owns quite a few buildings along that section of Broad Street (100 and 200 blocks of E. Broad).

The company seems to be reactivating some of the projects that were previously dormant in the area; my hope is that the momentum will allow them start working on CNB.

As I'm sure you know, Douglas is primarily active in the DC region. I've been hearing his name and the name of his company in DC development news more and more recently.

For instance:

Plans to build a 13-story, 250-unit residential building: http://dcmud.blogspot.com/2011/03/450-k-street-nw-in-final-design-phase.html

Recent purchase of a high-profile building with plans for renovation: http://dcmud.blogspot.com/2011/02/mccaffery-interests-and-douglas.html

Plans to build a 6 story apartment building in DC:

http://dcmud.blogspot.com/2010/11/jemal-presents-plans-for-another-14th.html

This can, of course, be interpreted two ways:

1. He has new-found confidence in the economy and is confident enough to begin large scale development again
   
2. He will become preoccupied with more lucrative DC-area projects and allow CNB to rest on the back-burner.
   

But...who knows...

[burt]

Richmond's Maggie Walker Governor's School frequently wins scholastic awards. Its bright team of student contestents just returned from Washington where they competed and won a national title for the second time.

According to the news story: "It marks Maggie Walker's 2nd national title and 13th consecutive top-10 finish in the competition, which consists of simulated congressional hearings on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights."

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdis...ion-ar-1015042/

Edited May 4, 2011 by burt

[burt]

Whatever your musical tastes, this video titled CHAINS -- every inch of which was shot in Richmond -- is quite good. It features a Virginia Beach entertainer called Kenna.

Some locations are an alley near VCU, Rumors dress shop in Carytown, and the heavy dance scenes were shot at The Hat Factory in Shockoe Slip.

The professionally produced video is running Nationally and is a big boost for the music industry in Richmond.

Click the highlights or the related box in this story to see the full video.

From Richmond dot com::

http://www2.richmond...ond-ar-1019565/

Edited May 7, 2011 by burt

[burt]

GRTC will begin service from downtown Richmond to Kings Dominion which is about 25 miles north of the state Capitol building.

There will be 8 round-trips on days of operation.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2011/may/17/tdmain01-grtc-plans-daily-trips-to-kings-dominion--ar-1043566/#poll_615

Edited May 17, 2011 by burt

[burt]

If you need to recharge your new electric powered car you can do it for free at The Science Museum of Virginia.

From today's Richmond Biz Sense:

http://www.richmondbizsense.com/2011/05/18/powered-by-science/