30 things about Richmond that you didn't already know

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30 facts about one of the South's most historically walkable cities: Richmond, Virginia

  1. Downtown Richmond is home to over 87,000 employees.

  2. The site of Richmond’s 17th Street Farmers’ Market has been a public gathering place since 1737, and is one of America’s oldest public markets.

  3. Completed in 1981, the 29-story, 449 foot James Monroe Building is the tallest building in Virginia by occupiable height.

  4. Rising 18 stories and completed in 2015, the 330,000-square-foot Gateway Plaza is the city’s newest high-rise.

  5. Downtown Richmond’s Main Street Banking Historic District encompasses 19 buildings, built between 1865 and 1965, that represent examples of the Late Victorian and International Style architecture.

  6. Opened in 1895, Richmond’s Jefferson Hotel is one of 27 American hotels with Mobil Five Star and AAA Five Diamond Hotel ratings. Famed patrons have included Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Charles Lindbergh, The Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley.

  7. The state capital was relocated from Williamsburg to Richmond on April 18, 1780 to provide a more centralized location for Virginia’s population.

  8. Richmond’s Old City Hall served as City Hall from 1894 until 1971.

  9. Richmond plans to add 25 miles of bicycle infrastructure projects to existing streets in 2017. The projects involve “right-sizing” streets to add sharrows, bicycle lanes and barrier-protected cycle tracks. These projects will add to the 25 miles of already completed bicycle network facilities.

  10. According to the July 1, 2016 United States Census Bureau estimates, Richmond is the country’s 45th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

Quote
40. 1,478,212 -- Jacksonville, FL 41. 1,373,211 -- Oklahoma City, OK 42. 1,342,842 -- Memphis, TN 43. 1,302,946 -- Raleigh, NC 44. 1,283,430 -- Louisville, KY 45. 1,281,708 -- Richmond, VA 46. 1,268,883 -- New Orleans, LA 47. 1,206,836 -- Hartford, CT 48. 1,186,187 -- Salt Lake City, UT 49. 1,147,417 -- Birmingham, AL 50. 1,132,804 -- Buffalo, NY

Source: US Census Bureau

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com