Richmond
—  State Capital  —
Richmond
Top: Skyline above the falls of the James River Middle: St. John's Episcopal l Church, Jackson Ward, Monument Avenue. Bottom: Virginia State Capitol, Main Street Station
Flag Official seal of Richmond Seal
Nickname(s): RVA,[1] The River City[2]
Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra (Thus do we reach the stars)
Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Richmond Location in the United States
Coordinates: 37°32′27.5″N 77°25′58.4″W / 37.540972°N 77.432889°W / 37.540972; -77.432889
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Government
• Mayor	Dwight Clinton Jones (D)
Area
• State Capital	62.5 sq mi (162.0 km2)
• Land	60.1 sq mi (155.6 km2)
• Water	2.5 sq mi (6.4 km2)
Elevation	166.45 ft (45.7 m)
Population (2010)
• State Capital	204,214 (103rd)
• Density	3,211/sq mi (1,239.8/km2)
• Metro	1,258,251 (43rd)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP Codes	23173, 23218–23242, 23249–23250, 23255, 23260–23261, 23269, 23273–23274, 23276, 23278–23279, 23282, 23284–23286, 23288–23295, 23297–23298, 23221, 23225, 23226, 23220
Area code	804
FIPS code	51-67000[3]
GNIS feature ID	1499957[4]
Website	www.RichmondGov.com
Nomenclature evolution Prior to 1071 – Richemont: a town in Normandy, France. 1071 to 1501 – Richmond: a castle town in Yorkshire, UK. 1501 to 1742 – Richmond, a palace town in Surrey, UK. 1742 to present – Richmond, Virginia.

Richmond ( /ˈrɪtʃmənd/) is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Greater Richmond area. The population within the city limits was 204,214 in 2010,^[5] with an estimated population of 1,258,251 for the Richmond Metropolitan Area — making it the third largest in Virginia.^[6]

Geographically, Richmond is located at the fall line of the James River, 108 miles (174 km) south of Washington DC, 71 miles (114 km) east of Charlottesville, and 54 miles (87 km) west of Williamsburg. Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties, the city is located at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64, and encircled by Interstate 295 and Virginia State Route 288.

The site of Richmond, at the fall line of the James River, had been an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy, and was briefly settled by English colonists from Jamestown in 1609, and in 1610–1611. The present city of Richmond was founded in 1737. It became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780. During the Revolutionary War period, several notable events occurred in the city, including Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech in 1775 at St. John's Church, and the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom written by Thomas Jefferson. During the American Civil War, Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America. The city entered the 20th century with one of the world's first successful electric streetcar systems, as well as a national hub of African-American commerce and culture, the Jackson Ward neighborhood.

Richmond's economy is primarily driven by law, finance, and government, with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, as well as notable legal and banking firms, located in the downtown area. The city is home to both the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, one of 13 United States courts of appeals, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, one of 12 Federal Reserve Banks. Dominion Resources, CarMax, Genworth Financial, and MeadWestvaco, Fortune 500 companies, along with Massey Energy and Universal Corporation, Fortune 1000 companies, are headquartered in the city, with others in the metropolitan area.^[7] Tourism is also important, as many historic sites are in or nearby the city.

History[link]

Before 1607, the Powhatan tribe had lived in the region with one of their capitals there, known as Powhatan, Shocquohocan, or Shockoe.^[8][9]

In 1606, James I granted a royal charter to the Virginia Company of London to settle colonists in North America.^[10] After the first permanent English-speaking settlement was established in April 1607, at Jamestown, Captain Christopher Newport led explorers northwest up the James River, and on May 24, 1607, erected a cross on one of the small islands in the middle of the part of the river that runs through today's downtown area. Two attempts at English settlement were subsequently made (in 1609 and 1610), but each was abandoned, as the native inhabitants were not willing to give up their capital without a fight. In the 1610s, colonist John Rolfe began to grow a sweeter variety of tobacco at Henricus, and it became a lucrative commodity in the tidewater region, driving further expansion. In 1645, Fort Charles was erected at the falls of the James – the highest navigable point of the James River – as a frontier defense. New settlers moved in, and the community grew into a bustling trading post for furs, hides, and tobacco.^[8][9]

In 1737, planter William Byrd II commissioned Major William Mayo to lay out the original town grid. Byrd named the city "Richmond" after the English town of Richmond near (and now part of) London, because the view of the James River was strikingly similar to the view of the River Thames from Richmond Hill in England, where he had spent time during his youth. The settlement was laid out in April 1737, and was incorporated as a town in 1742.^[8][9] Early trade grew rapidly, primarily in the agriculture sector, but also in the slave trade. Slaves were imported from Africa to Richmond's Manchester docks, and were bought and sold at the same market.

Patrick Henry delivered his, "Liberty or Death", speech at St. John's Church in Richmond, helping to ignite the American Revolution.

In 1775, Patrick Henry delivered his famous, "Give me Liberty or Give me Death", speech in St. John's Church in Richmond, crucial for deciding Virginia's participation in the First Continental Congress and setting the course for revolution and independence.^[11] On April 18, 1780, the state capital was moved from the colonial capital of Williamsburg to Richmond, to provide a more centralized location for Virginia's increasing westerly population, as well as to isolate the capital from British attack.^[12] The latter motive proved to be in vain, and in 1781, under the command of Benedict Arnold, Richmond was burned by British troops, causing Governor Thomas Jefferson to flee the city.

Richmond recovered quickly from the war, and by 1782 was once again a thriving city.^[13] In 1786, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (drafted by Thomas Jefferson) was passed at the temporary capitol in Richmond, providing the basis for the separation of church and state, a key element in the development of the freedom of religion in the United States.^[14] A permanent home for the new government, the Virginia State Capitol building, was designed by Thomas Jefferson with the assistance of Charles-Louis Clérisseau, and was completed in 1788.

After the American Revolutionary War, Richmond emerged an important industrial center. To facilitate the transfer of cargo from the flat-bottomed bateaux above the fall line to the ocean-faring ships below, George Washington helped design the James River and Kanawha Canal in the 18th century to bypass Richmond's rapids, with the intent of providing a water route across the Appalachians to the Kanawha River. The legacy of the canal boatmen is represented by the figure in the center of the city flag. As a result of this and ample access to hydropower due to the falls, Richmond became home to some of the largest manufacturing facilities in the country, including iron works and flour mills, the largest facilities of their kind in the south. The resistance to the slave trade was growing by the mid-nineteenth century; in one famous case in 1848, Henry "Box" Brown made history by having himself nailed into a small box and shipped from Richmond to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, escaping slavery.^[15]

Damage to Richmond, Virginia at the close of the American Civil War. Albumen print, 1865.

Following the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, on April 17, Virginia voted to secede from the United States and joined the Confederate States (though not officially doing so until May), and soon thereafter the Confederate government moved its capital from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond.^[16] The strategic location of the Tredegar Iron Works was one of the primary factors in the decision to make Richmond the Capital of the Confederacy.^[17] From this arsenal came the 723 tons of armor plating that covered the CSS Virginia, the world's first ironclad used in war, as well as much of the Confederates' heavy ordnance machinery.^[18] The Confederate Congress shared quarters with the Virginia General Assembly in the Virginia State Capitol, with the Confederacy's executive mansion, the "White House of the Confederacy", located two blocks away. The Seven Days Battles followed in late June and early July 1862, during which Union General McClellan threatened to take Richmond but ultimately failed. Three years later, on April 2, 1865, the Union Army under Ulysses S. Grant captured Richmond, and the state capital and Confederate capitals were briefly relocated to Danville. About 25% of the city's buildings were destroyed in a fire set by retreating Confederate soldiers, with Union soldiers putting out the fires as they entered the city.^[16]

Richmond emerged from the smoldering rubble of the Civil War as an economic powerhouse, with iron front buildings and massive brick factories.Canal traffic peaked in the 1860s and slowly gave way to railroads, allowing Richmond to become a major railroad crossroads, eventually including the site of the world's first triple railroad crossing.^[19] Tobacco warehousing and processing continued to play a role, boosted by the world's first cigarette-rolling machine, invented by James Albert Bonsack of Roanoke in 1880/81. Contributing to Richmond's resurgence was the first successful electrically powered trolley system in the United States, the Richmond Union Passenger Railway. Designed by electric power pioneer Frank J. Sprague, the trolley system opened its first line in 1888, and electric streetcar lines rapidly spread to other cities across the country.^[20] Sprague's system used an overhead wire and trolley pole to collect current, with electric motors on the car's trucks.^[21]

By the early 20th century, Richmond had an extensive network of electric streetcars, as show here crossing the Mayo Bridge across the James River, ca. 1917.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the city's population had reached 85,050 in 5 square miles (13 km²), making it the most densely populated city in the Southern United States.^[22] Freed slaves and their descendants created a thriving African-American business community, and the city's historic Jackson Ward became known as the "Wall Street of Black America." In 1903, African-American businesswoman and financier Maggie L. Walker chartered St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, and served as its first president, as well as the first female bank president in the United States. Today, the bank is called the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company, and it is the oldest surviving African-American bank in the U.S.^[23] Other figures from this time included John Mitchell, Jr. In 1910, the former city of Manchester was consolidated with the city of Richmond, and in 1914, the city annexed Barton Heights, Ginter Park, and Highland Park areas of Henrico County.^[24] In May 1914, Richmond became the headquarters of the Fifth District of the Federal Reserve Bank.

Several major performing arts venues were constructed during the 1920s, including what are now the Landmark Theatre, Byrd Theatre, and Carpenter Theatre. The city's first radio station, WRVA, began broadcasting in 1925. WTVR-TV (CBS 6), the first television station in Richmond, was the first television station south of Washington, D.C.^[25]

Between 1963 and 1965, there was a "downtown boom" that led to the construction of more than 700 buildings in the city. In 1968, Virginia Commonwealth University was created by the merger of the Medical College of Virginia with the Richmond Professional Institute.^[26] In 1970, Richmond's borders expanded by an additional 27 square miles (70 km²) on the south. After several years of court cases in which Chesterfield County fought annexation, more than 47,000 people who once were Chesterfield County residents found themselves within the city's perimeters on January 1, 1970.^[27] In 1996, still-sore tensions arose amid controversy involved in placing a statue of African American Richmond native and tennis star Arthur Ashe to the famed series of statues of Confederate heroes of the Civil War on Monument Avenue.^[28] After several months of controversy, the bronze statue of Ashe was finally completed on Monument Avenue facing the opposite direction from the Confederate Heroes on July 10, 1996.^[29]

A multi-million dollar flood wall was completed in 1995, in order to protect low-lying areas of city from the oft-rising waters of the James River. As a result the River District businesses grew rapidly, and today the area is home to much of Richmond's entertainment, dining and nightlife activity, bolstered by the creation of a Canal Walk along the city's former industrial canals.^[30][31]

Geography and climate[link]

Geography[link]

Richmond-Petersburg area

Richmond is located at 37°32′18.05″N 77°27′41.42″W / 37.5383472°N 77.4615056°W / 37.5383472; -77.4615056 (37.538346, −77.461507).^[32] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 62.5 square miles (162 km²). 60.1 sq mi (156 km²) of it is land and 2.5 sq mi (6.5 km²) of it (3.96%) is water. The city is located in the Piedmont region of Virginia, at the highest navigable point of the James River. The Piedmont region is characterized by relatively low, rolling hills, and lies between the low, sea level Tidewater region and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Significant bodies of water in the region include the James River, the Appomattox River, and the Chickahominy River.

The Richmond-Petersburg Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the 43rd largest in the United States, includes the independent cities of Richmond, Colonial Heights, Hopewell, and Petersburg, as well as the counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, Powhatan, and Prince George.^[33] As of July 1, 2009 (2009 -07-01)^[update], the total population of the Richmond—Petersburg MSA was 1,258,251.^[6]

Cityscape[link]

Richmond is often subdivided into North Side, Southside, East End and West End

Richmond's original street grid, laid out in 1737, included the area between what are now Broad, 17th, and 25th Streets and the James River. Modern Downtown Richmond is located slightly farther west, on the slopes of Shockoe Hill. Nearby neighborhoods include Shockoe Bottom, the historically significant and low-lying area between Shockoe Hill and Church Hill, and Monroe Ward, which contains the Jefferson Hotel. Richmond's East End includes neighborhoods like rapidly gentrifying Church Hill, home to St. John's Church, as well as poorer areas like Fulton, Union Hill, and Fairmont, and public housing projects like Mosby Court, Whitcomb Court, Fairfield Court, and Creighton Court closer to Interstate 64.^[34]

The area between Belvidere Street, Interstate 195, Interstate 95, and the river, which includes Virginia Commonwealth University, is socioeconomically and architecturally diverse. North of Broad Street, the Carver and Newtowne West neighborhoods are demographically similar to neighboring Jackson Ward, with Carver experiencing some gentrification due to its proximity to VCU. The affluent area between the Boulevard, Main Street, Broad Street, and VCU, known as the Fan, is home to Monument Avenue, an outstanding collection of Victorian architecture, and many students. West of the Boulevard is the Museum District, the location of the Virginia Historical Society and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. South of the Downtown Expressway are Byrd Park, Maymont, Hollywood Cemetery, the predominantly black working class Randolph neighborhood, and white working class Oregon Hill. Cary Street between Interstate 195 and the Boulevard is a popular commercial area called Carytown.^[34]

Further to the west is the affluent, suburban West End. The West End also includes middle to lower income neighborhoods, such as Dumbarton and Lakeside, which can be found directly north of the city, Laurel, Farmington and the areas surrounding the Regency Mall. More affluent areas include Glen Allen, Tuckahoe, and Short Pump, which can all be found north and northwest of the city. The University of Richmond and the Country Club of Virginia can be found here as well.^[34]

The portion of the city south of the James River is known as the Southside. Neighborhoods in the city's Southside area range from affluent and middle class suburban neighborhoods like Westover Hills, Forest Hill, Southampton, Stratford Hills, Oxford, Huguenot Hills, Hobby Hill, and Woodland Heights to the impoverished Manchester and Blackwell areas, the Hillside Court housing projects, and the ailing Jefferson Davis Highway commercial corridor. Other Southside neighborhoods include Fawnbrook, Broad Rock, Cherry Gardens, Cullenwood, and Beaufont Hills. Much of Southside developed a suburban character as part of Chesterfield County before being annexed by Richmond, most notably in 1970.^[34]

The other side of the city, the Northside, began to develop at the end of the 19th century when the new streetcar system made it possible for people to live on the outskirts of town and still commute to jobs downtown. Prominent Northside neighborhoods include Azalea, Barton Heights, Bellevue, Chamberlayne, Ginter Park, Highland Park, and Rosedale.^[34]

Climate[link]

Richmond has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with hot and humid summers and generally mild winters. The mountains to the west act as a partial barrier to outbreaks of cold, continental air in winter. The cold winter air is delayed long enough to be modified, then further warmed as it subsides in its approach to Richmond. The open waters of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean contribute to the humid summers and mild winters. The coldest weather normally occurs from late December to early February, when low temperatures usually average in the upper 20s °F (−3 to −2 °C), and the high temperatures in the mid-upper 40s (7 to 9 °C). Temperatures seldom lower to zero, but there have been occurrences of subzero (below −18 °C) temperatures—most recently January 28, 2000 when the temperature reached −1 °F (−18 °C).^[35] Summertime high temperatures reach 90 °F (32 °C) approximately 43 days out of the year, and while 100 °F (38 °C) temperatures are not uncommon, they do not occur every year.^[36]

Precipitation is rather uniformly distributed throughout the year. However, dry periods lasting several weeks do occur, especially in autumn when long periods of pleasant, mild weather are most common. There is considerable variability in total monthly amounts from year to year so that no one month can be depended upon to be normal. Snow has been recorded during seven of the twelve months. Falls of 4 inches (10 cm) or more occur on average of once a year. Annual snowfall, however, is usually light averaging 12 inches (300 mm) per season.^[37] Snow typically remains on the ground only one or two days at a time, but recently remained as much as 16 days (January 30 to February 14, 2010). Ice storms (freezing rain or glaze) are not uncommon, but they are seldom severe enough to do any considerable damage.

The James River reaches tidewater at Richmond where flooding may occur in every month of the year, most frequently in March and least in July. Hurricanes and tropical storms have been responsible for most of the flooding during the summer and early fall months. Hurricanes passing near Richmond have produced record rainfalls. In 1955, three hurricanes brought record rainfall to Richmond within a six-week period. The most noteworthy of these were Hurricane Connie and Hurricane Diane that brought heavy rains five days apart. And in 2004, Richmond's downtown suffered extensive flood damage after the remnants of Hurricane Gaston dumped up to 12 inches (300 mm) of rainfall.^[38]

Damaging storms occur mainly from snow and freezing rain in winter and from hurricanes, tornadoes, and severe thunderstorms in other seasons. Damage may be from wind, flooding, or rain, or from any combination of these. Tornadoes are infrequent but some notable occurrences have been observed within the Richmond area.

Based on the 1971–2000 period, the average first occurrence of at or below freezing temperatures in the fall is October 29 and the average last occurrence in the spring is April 8.^[35]

Demographics[link]

As of the 2005–2007 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, White Americans made up 41.6% of Richmond's population (39.5% non-Hispanic whites), down from 68.3% in 1950.^[42] Blacks or African Americans made up 52.3% of Richmond's population (52.1% non-Hispanic blacks). American Indians made up 0.4% of the city's population; of which 75% were non-Hispanic. Asian Americans made up 1.6% of the city's population. Pacific Islander Americans made up less than 0.1% of the city's population. Individuals from some other race made up 1.7% of the city's population; of which 0.2% were non-Hispanic. Individuals from two or more races made up 2.4% of the city's population; of which 2.1% were non-Hispanic. In addition, Hispanics and Latinos made up 4.2% of Richmond's population.^[43][44]

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 197,790 people, 84,549 households, and 43,627 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,292.6 people per square mile (1,271.3/km²). There were 92,282 housing units at an average density of 1,536.2 per square mile (593.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 38.3% White, 57.2% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.5% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population.

There were 84,549 households out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.1% were married couples living together, 20.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.4% were non-families. 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the age distribution of the population shows 21.8% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,121, and the median income for a family was $38,348. Males had a median income of $30,874 versus $25,880 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,337. About 17.1% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.9% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

Crime[link]

The following tables show Richmond's crime rate in six crimes that Morgan Quitno uses for their calculation for "America's most dangerous cities" ranking, in comparison to the national average. The statistics provided are not for the actual amount of crimes committed, but how many crimes committed per 100,000 residents. All crime rankings provided by Morgan Quitno are based upon the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCRs).^[45][46]

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Richmond experienced a spike in overall crime, in particular the city's murder rate. The city had 93 murders for the year of 1985, with a murder rate of 41.9 killings committed per 100,000 residents. Over the next decade, the city saw a major increase in total homicides. In 1990 there were 114 murders, for a murder rate of 56.1 killings per 100,000 residents. There were 120 murders in 1995, resulting in a murder rate of 59.1 killings per 100,000 residents, one of the highest in the United States.^[47]

Morgan Quitno Press ranked Richmond the ninth-most dangerous of 354 cities in 2004.^[48] Richmond was ranked overall as the 5th most dangerous city and the 12th-most dangerous metropolitan area in the United States for the year of 2005.^[49][50][51] The following year, Richmond had seen a decline in crime, ranking as the 15th-most dangerous city in the United States. By 2008, Richmond's position on the list had fallen to 49th.^[52]

The FBI discourages the use of its crime statistics for the direct comparison of cities as Morgan Quitno does in its "Most Dangerous Cities" rankings. This is due to the many factors that influence crime in a particular study area, such as population density and the degree of urbanization, modes of transportation of highway system, economic conditions, and citizens' attitudes toward crime.^[53] According to the FBI, a city to city comparison of crime rates is not meaningful, because recording practices vary from city to city, citizens report different percentages of crimes from one city to the next, and the actual number of people physically present in a city is unknown.^[54]

Richmond's rate of major crime, including violent and property crimes, decreased 47 percent between 2004 and 2009 to its lowest level in more than a quarter of a century.^[55] Various forms of crime tend to be declining, yet remaining above state and national averages.^[56] In 2008, the city had recorded the lowest homicide rate since 1971.^[57]

Religion[link]

The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, dedicated in 1906

First English Lutheran Church off Monument Avenue in Richmond

In 1786, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, penned in 1779 by Thomas Jefferson, was adopted by the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond. The site is now commemorated by the First Freedom Center.

Richmond has several historic churches. Because of its early English colonial history from the early 17th century to 1776, Richmond has a number of prominent Anglican/Episcopal churches including Monumental Church, St. Paul's Episcopal Church and St. John's Episcopal Church. Methodists and Baptists made up another section of early churches, and First Baptist Church of Richmond was the first of these, established in 1780. In the Reformed church tradition, the first Presbyterian Church in the City of Richmond was First Presbyterian Church, organized on June 18, 1812. On February 5, 1845, Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond was founded, which was a historic church where Stonewall Jackson attended and was the first Gothic building and the first gas-lit church to be built in Richmond.^[58] St. Peter's Church was dedicated and became the first Catholic church in Richmond on May 25, 1834.^[59] The city is also home to the historic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart which is the motherchurch for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond^[60]

The first Jewish congregation in Richmond was Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalom. Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalom was the sixth congregation in the United States. By 1822 K.K. Beth Shalom members worshipped in the first synagogue building in Virginia. They eventually merged with Congregation Beth Ahabah, an offshoot of Beth Shalom. There are two Orthodox Synagogues, Keneseth Beth Israel and Chabad of Virginia.^[61] There is an Orthodox Yeshivah K–12 school system known as Rudlin Torah academy, which also includes a post high-school program. There are two Conservative synagogues, Beth El and Or Atid. There are two Reform synagogues, Beth Ahabah and Or Ami. Along with such religious congregations, there are a variety of other Jewish charitable, educational and social service institutions, each serving the Jewish and general communities. These include the Weinstein Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Community Federation of Richmond and Richmond Jewish Foundation.

Due to the influx of German immigrants in the 1840s, Saint Johns German Evangelical church was formed in 1843. Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral held its first worship service in a rented room at 309 North 7th Street in 1917. The cathedral relocated to 30 Malvern Avenue in 1960 and is noted as one of two Eastern Orthodox churches in Richmond and home to the annual Richmond Greek Festival.^[62]

There are six masjids in the Greater Richmond area, accommodating the Muslim population. They are Islamic Center of Richmond (ICR) in the west end, Islamic Center of Virginia (ICVA) in the south side, Islamic Society of Greater Richmond (ISGR) in the west end, Masjidullah in the north side, Masjid Bilal near downtown, and Masjid Ar-Rahman in the east end.^[63]

Hinduism is very large as well in the area, especially in the suburban areas of Henrico and Chesterfield. Local estimates say that there are approximately 6,000 families of Indian descent are residing in the Richmond Region as of 2011. All are served by several temples and cultural centers across the region, the two most familiar being the Cultural Center of India (CCI) located off of Iron Bridge Road in Chesterfield County, and the Hindu Center of Virginia in Henrico County which has garnered national fame and awards for being the first LEED certified religious facility in the state. Both were planned and built by NBJ Architects, a local architecture firm.

There are several seminaries in Richmond. These include a theology school at Virginia Union University, a Presbyterian seminary called Union Presbyterian Seminary, and a Baptist seminary known as Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. The McCollough Theological Seminary of the United House of Prayer For All People is located in the Church Hill neighborhood of the City.

Bishops that sit in Richmond include those of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia (the denomination's largest); the Richmond Area of the United Methodist Church (Virginia Annual Conference), the nation's second-largest and one of the oldest. The Presbytery of the James—Presbyterian Church (USA) – also is based in the Richmond area.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond was canonically erected by Pope Pius VII on July 11, 1820. Today there are 235,816 Catholics at 146 parishes in the Diocese of Richmond.^[64] The city of Richmond is home to 19 Catholic parishes.^[65] Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is home to the current bishop Most Reverend Francis Xavier DiLorenzo who was appointed by Pope John Paul II on March 31, 2004.

Economy[link]

Richmond tobacco warehouse ca. 1910s

Richmond's strategic location on the James River, built on undulating hills at the rocky fall line separating the Piedmont and Tidewater regions of Virginia, provided a natural nexus for the development of commerce. Throughout these three centuries and three modes of transportation, the downtown has always been a hub, with the Great Turning Basin for boats, the world's only triple crossing of rail lines, and the intersection of two major interstates.

Law and finance have long been driving forces in the economy. The city is home to both the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, one of 13 United States courts of appeals, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, one of 12 Federal Reserve Banks, as well as offices for international companies such as Genworth Financial, CapitalOne, Philip Morris USA, and numerous other banks and brokerages. Richmond is also home to four of the largest law firms in the United States: Hunton & Williams, McGuireWoods, Williams Mullen, and LeClairRyan.

Since the 1960s Richmond has been a prominent hub for advertising agencies and advertising related businesses, including The Martin Agency, named 2009 U.S. Agency of the Year by AdWeek. As a result of local advertising agency support, VCU's graduate advertising school (VCU Brandcenter) is consistently ranked the No. 1 advertising graduate program in the country.^[66]

Richmond is home to the rapidly developing Virginia BioTechnology Research Park, which opened in 1995 as an incubator facility for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Located adjacent to the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, the park currently^[when?] has more than 575,000 square feet (53,400 m²) of research, laboratory and office space for a diverse tenant mix of companies, research institutes, government laboratories and non-profit organizations. The United Network for Organ Sharing, which maintains the nation's organ transplant waiting list, occupies one building in the park. Philip Morris USA opened a $350 million research and development facility in the park in 2007. Once fully developed, park officials expect the site to employ roughly 3,000 scientists, technicians and engineers.

Richmond's revitalized downtown includes the Canal Walk, a new Greater Richmond Convention Center, and expansion on both VCU campuses. A new performing arts center, Richmond CenterStage,^[67] opened on September 12, 2009.^[68] The complex included a renovation of the Carpenter Center and construction of a new multipurpose hall, community playhouse, and arts education center in parts of the old Thalhimers department store.^[69]

Fortune 500 companies and other large corporations[link]

Six Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in the Richmond area.

The Greater Richmond area was named the third-best city for business by MarketWatch in September 2007, ranking behind only the Minneapolis and Denver areas and just above Boston. The area is home to six Fortune 500 companies, including: electric utility Dominion Resources; CarMax; Owens & Minor; Genworth Financial, the former insurance arm of GE; MeadWestvaco; and Altria Group.^[7] However, only Dominion Resources and MeadWestvaco are headquartered within the city of Richmond; the others are located in the neighboring counties of Henrico and Hanover. In 2008, Altria moved its corporate HQ from New York City to Richmond, adding another Fortune 500 corporation to Richmond's list. In February 2006, MeadWestvaco announced that they would move from Stamford, Connecticut, to Richmond in 2008.^[70] The company completed an 8–10 story office building downtown in 2010, near the Federal Reserve building.^[71]

Six Fortune 1000 companies also have their headquarters located in the area. These include: Brink's; Massey Energy;NewMarket Corporation; Universal Corporation; and Markel. Of these, only Massey Energy, NewMarket Corporation, and Universal Corporation are headquartered within the city limits.^[7]

Other Fortune 500 companies, while not headquartered in the area, do have a major presence. These include SunTrust Bank (based in Atlanta), Capital One Financial Corporation (officially based in McLean, Virginia, but founded in Richmond with its operations center and most employees in the Richmond area), and the medical and pharmaceutical giant McKesson (based in San Francisco). Capital One and Altria company's Philip Morris USA are two of the largest private Richmond-area employers. DuPont maintains a production facility in South Richmond known as the Spruance Plant. UPS Freight, the less-than-truckload division of UPS and formerly known as Overnite Transportation, has its corporate headquarters in Richmond.

Richmond is also home to the Southern States Cooperative, one of the largest farm supply cooperatives in the US. As a result of its leadership role in agriculture, Southern States has continued to expand and today encompasses some 1,200 retail locations in 23 states. Owned by more than 300,000 farmers since 1923, the cooperative purchases, manufactures or processes feed, seed, fertilizer, farm supplies and fuel.

Cavalier Telephone, a telephone, internet, and digital television provider formed in Richmond in 1998, also has its headquarters in the city. Cherry Bekaert & Holland, a top 30 accounting firm serving the Southeast, is also based in Richmond.

Richmond was the home of the Ukrop's Super Market, a regional, family-owned chain of supermarkets known for its customer service and innovation. Ukrop's was a high-profile sponsor of community events, such as the Monument Avenue 10K, Easter on Parade, and the Ukrop's Christmas Parade. However, the chain announced that it would be sold to Giant Food Stores, a subsidiary of Dutch conglomerate Ahold, in February 2010.^[72] The stores now operate under the brand "Martin's" though they continue to sell Ukrop's bakery and prepared food items.

Retail[link]

The early 1900s, and the boom in downtown[link]

Department stores have had a huge history in Richmond. Two notable department retailers that were headquartered in Richmond were Thalhimers and Miller & Rhoads. They always had a friendly rivalry, but pulled together the Richmond community in downtown, and surged an interest in the area, drawing people from across the nation to downtown Richmond to shop at these two stores' flagships. Thalhimers had a six-story flagship that stood as the "gateway" to downtown shopping. Miller & Rhoads as and was famous for its "Santaland" Christmas exhibit during the holiday shopping season on its seventh floor. Both shared a 1,000 car parking garage, and added escalators and air conditioning, both which were modern conveniences at the time. Thalhimers also included the Richmond Room, a high class restaurant with some famous recipes that have been recovered recently. By the 1920s, Miller & Rhoads' massive flagship store had covered an entire city block. It was also around this time that the success of retail in downtown caused Sears, Woolworth, and other large national department stores to open up shop in downtown, too. By this time, the Richmond retail scene, particularly downtown, was unshakable.

The creation of suburban shopping[link]

In the 1950s, people's wanting of moving out intosuburbs, fueled by the booming population, led to the creation of the strip mall, or shopping center. Richmond kept up with the times, and opened up The Shops at Willow Lawn, a massive shopping center that was located just outside of city limits into bordering Henrico County, Virginia. Also, the creation of the modern day indoor shopping mall led to the construction of several places such as Azalea Mall in Henrico, Cloverleaf Mall in neighboring Chesterfield County, Virginia, and Walnut Mall in nearby Petersburg, Virginia. All of these thrived for a short while, but eventually, as the population of the region rose, it was still too much retail for the region to support, and all of these (with the exception of Willow Lawn) eventually were closed down and razed. However, one mall that ended up surviving and still operates successfully as a mall today is Regency Square, a mall in Henrico County that stands at over 820,000 square feet. It has seen ups and downs and store closings, but is being invested in by the county as a revitalization area. Along with the new shopping centers arising, street shopping also saw a surge, and the result was Carytown and The Shops at Libbie & Grove, two shopping areas that were located on Cary Street and the intersections of Libbie Avenue and Grove Avenue, respectively. Both have local shops, something that modern day strip malls don't have. It was around this time that Richmond began promoting small businesses, something that has seen a resurgence today. Carytown is also home to the Byrd Theatre, a historic movie theater. There are over 200 shops in Carytown and nearly 80 in Libbie & Grove. As the late 1970s and 80s came, suburbia had gotten the best of the city, and as people fled the city of Richmond for newer homes in Henrico and Chesterfield, the downtown retail scene saw a dramatic fall, one that would devastate the retail market and ultimately lead to some serious setbacks.

The end of the 20th century, and end of an era[link]

As the 1990s rolled around, all of the department stores that once had thrived inside of Richmond's once welcoming retail epicenter, had closed. Local stores Thalhimer's and Miller & Rhoads were both bought out by the May Department Stores Company in 1990 and 1992, respectively. Both had also closed their huge flagships, leaving a huge hole in the commercial market, with hundreds of thousands of square footage being left blank. Downtown, which was once considered the "Times Square of the South", was now bare and empty, with no stores or entertainment centers to draw people back. Everyone had moved to the suburbs. Buildings were decayed, razed and vandalized, and it was not until the late 2000s and 2010s that these downtown storefronts and buildings would be restored and renovated. It was also during this period in 1991 that Virginia Center Commons opened. This mall is located in the Brook Road retail corridor next to the 295/95 interchange. This was what ultimately resulted in the closing and demolition of Azalea Mall, which was located just nearby. At this point, a new era was dawning however, and several new retail districts in the region began popping up, including Short Pump, the Midlothian Turnpike corridor and Hull Street corridor. Chesterfield Towne Center had also opened up, leading to the decay of Cloverleaf Mall. And Southpark Mall, a new mall in nearby Colonial Heights, Virginia opened up as well which led to the closing of Walnut Mall. These three new malls, along with Regency Square stood nice and pretty in their areas, and in 2003, two mall developers had a law battle that resulted in a retail explosion that would benefit Richmond for years to come.

Retail in Richmond today[link]

In 2000, ForestCity, a large mall developer sought out to build a huge, 1,000,000 square foot outdoor mall in Short Pump, a once small, farm stop whose namesake was taken from a watering station in which travelers among the roads could let their horses drink water and rest. The town is located in between Richmond and Charlottesville. It eventually went from a small rest stop area to a massive retail area, starting with the building of a Walmart Supercenter. The large mall proposal was pitched by ForestCity representatives as a beautiful outdoor center that would attract new national retailers to Richmond that weren't there before. ForestCity's project was collectively titled Short Pump Town Center. However, Taubman Centers, another mall developer who owned Regency Square, seeked to build a quaint little outdoor mall off of the Chippenham Parkway in Richmond city limits. It too was pitched as a neat outdoor mall for high end retailers. It was located in the expensive, high-income neighborhood of Stony Point, giving the project the title of Stony Point Fashion Park. The obvious similarities between the two projects led to a serious legal battle that was eventually settled out of court. Both quickly started construction, and told the media that the projects were expected to be completed in 2003. Both malls were expected to hold grand opening ceremonies on September 18, 2003, but neither received any attention due to the fact that the strong category 2 Hurricane Isabel was making landfall in nearby Outer Banks. This storm produced massive damage statewide, and flooded many areas in Richmond. After the hurricane both malls were open, and received a good response from the community. Sometime later, the metro area's population passed the million mark, ensuring that the Richmond region would be able to handle two new malls along with the other already open malls. However, it did sort of weaken sales at nearby Regency Square, the mall that was located just up the road from Stony Point, and south of Short Pump, and led to closures. Taubman, who feared foreclosure of the property, finally gave it back to its lender, Bank of America, in 2011. To this day, six malls stand in the metro area: Short Pump Town Center, Stony Point Fashion Park, Regency Square, Southpark Mall, Chesterfield Towne Center, and Virginia Center Commons. Also, the former Miller & Rhoads flagship store has been renovated and converted into small retail spaces on ground level, and a Hilton Garden Inn on the upper levels. The Thalhimers department store was razed and is now the site of a performing arts center. Since the 1990s, Downtown Richmond and the city area has experienced a rebirth. Several areas such as carytown, and the shockoe slip/bottom have had shops refill the empty storefronts.

Statistics[link]

This is all the details about the six malls in the Greater Richmond Region.

Arts and culture[link]

Museums and monuments[link]