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Design VA

An organization for professionals who share a passion for architecture, design, and construction

designVA is an organization for design professionals who share a passion for architecture and design. We are a group that consists of all disciplines and careers, we are supporters of thoughtful design. designVA members will have a unique opportunity to engage with fellow design professionals and advocates from a vast range of backgrounds and skills. Our goal is accomplished through conversations between members at social gatherings, as well as tours and talks given by prominent designers.

10/16/2026

Photograph showing the north side of Broad Street at 6th Street in downtown Richmond; view of the National and Colonial theaters. c 1924; Sources: Cook Photograph Collection; The Valentine

10/09/2026

View looking south of the Downtown Expressway Construction, Powhite Bridge over the James River; on the lower left of the photograph on top of the hill is where Blue Shingles house used to stand. c 1971

The Powhite Parkway opened to traffic on January 24, 1973 and continues to be maintained by the RMTA. It was the first section of the RMTA Expressway System to be completed. The parkway covers 3.4 miles between Chippenham Parkway and the Cary Street ramps, and includes the .4-mile-long Powhite Bridge crossing the James River. In September 1975, the Powhite Parkway Toll Plaza was widened to accommodate increased traffic. It was widened again in November 1988. At the same time, the Powhite Bridge was widened, and a new northbound on-ramp was built at the Forest Hill interchange. Also in November 1988, VDOT opened the Powhite Extension which connects the RMTA’s Powhite Parkway to western Chesterfield County. In 1992, the Powhite Parkway was widened from three to four lanes northbound between Chippenham Parkway and the toll plaza. The number of lanes north of the bridge to Cary Street was increased from four to six. Sources: Richmond Times-Dispatch Archive; rmtaonline.org

09/30/2026

Richmond folks, ever wondered the history behind the giant abandoned building at 1700 W Broad Street?

This photograph shows Duncan Lodge which was once stood on this very same block. Duncan Lodge home of the Mackenzie family and later Rosalie Poe, sister of Edgar Allan Poe. Throughout his life, Poe was a frequent guest in the Mackenzie home, where his sister lived for most of her life. In 1843, Mrs. Mackenzie constructed a large home called Duncan Lodge on the western outskirts of Richmond. Poe visited Duncan Lodge in 1848 and 1849, reading his poetry for the family. Rosalie Poe would live there until about the 1850s. William Mackenzie’s wife, Jane Scott Mackenzie would sell the property in July of 1853, though she would continue to live on the property until September 1.
In 1874 eighteen acres of the property were purchased by William C. Mayo. For many years a private hospital, known as Pinel Hospital, was run there until 1886. The property was once again purchased in 1891 by Dr. Hunter McGuire who wished to turn it into a new College of Physicians and Surgeons but the plan fell through.
In 1905 his widow sold “Duncan Lodge” to E.A. Saunders, and in 1906 it was demolished.
In 1946 a brand new Sears building was constructed, owned by Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. The Sears store closed in 1981 and was then sold to Sauers. Since then it has remained vacant.
Fun Fact: the street to the left of the now abandoned warehouse is Lodge Street, named after Duncan Lodge

09/19/2026

Richmond, Virginia, circa 1900 - City Hall 🇺🇸🏛️

Can you imagine seeing this extraordinary building when it was only a few years old?

This remarkable photograph captures Richmond City Hall, today known as Old City Hall, around 1900. Completed in 1894, the monumental building had been standing for only a few years when this view was created.

Designed by Elijah E. Myers of Detroit, the building is one of America’s remarkable examples of High Victorian Gothic architecture. Its dramatic silhouette is formed by four distinctive corner towers, with the great clock tower rising approximately 195 feet (59 m) above the city.

Construction began in 1886 and lasted eight years. The project was originally budgeted at approximately $300,000, but the final cost rose to about $1.3 million. Built from stone, brick and cast iron, the City Hall is particularly distinguished by its richly textured exterior of locally quarried granite.

Inside, an extraordinary four-story atrium is surrounded by Gothic arcades and elaborate cast-iron stairways. The massive building occupies an entire city block beside the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol.

There is also a fascinating Detroit connection: architect Elijah E. Myers designed several major American public buildings, including the Michigan State Capitol.

The building survived later proposals for demolition and is today recognized as a National Historic Landmark, preserving one of Richmond’s most extraordinary examples of late 19th-century public architecture.

This historic photograph was published by the Detroit Publishing Company. We have digitally restored the image to recover architectural detail, textures and tonal depth while preserving the original character of this remarkable view of Richmond at the beginning of the 20th century.

HistoricRichmond VictorianGothic GothicRevival HistoricArchitecture AmericanArchitecture AmericanHistory HistoricPhotography DetroitPublishingCompany 1900s — feeling nostalgic in Richmond.

09/18/2026

In 1911, Midlothian Turnpike became the scene of one of Chesterfield County’s most sensational crimes.

On the night of July 18, Henry Clay Beattie Jr., a young Richmond businessman from a prominent family, took his 20-year-old wife, Louise, for a drive along Midlothian Turnpike. Hours later, he returned with her body in the car, claiming that a mysterious bearded highwayman had stopped them and shot her.

Police quickly began to doubt his story.

Investigators discovered that the sh***un believed to be the murder weapon had recently been purchased by Beattie’s cousin, and they also uncovered Beattie’s renewed relationship with his teenage former girlfriend, Beulah Binford.

The case became a national sensation. Reporters and photographers descended on Chesterfield in such numbers that Western Union reportedly took over an entire building near the courthouse just to handle the flood of dispatches from the trial.

After less than an hour of deliberation, the jury found Beattie guilty. He later confessed and was executed in Virginia’s electric chair on November 24, 1911.

Today, it’s hard to imagine that a stretch of Midlothian Turnpike we drive every day was once at the center of a murder case that captivated the entire country.

For more on the story, we recommend Harry Kollatz Jr.’s Richmond in Ragtime: Socialists, Suffragists, S*x & Murder.

VirginiaHistory HistoricRichmond

09/11/2026

How many still remember the Capitol Theatre located at 2525 W. Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia? It originally opened on November 8, 1926, with the silent film “The Waning S*x”. Designed by the famous architectural firm Carneal & Johnston in a Spanish Atmospheric style, this 678-seat venue achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first theater in Virginia to screen “talkies” (sound movies) in September 1927. After transforming its look into a streamlined Art Deco style in 1936 and serving the Fan and Museum District community for decades, it permanently closed its doors on April 15, 1984 (with its final screening of the horror classic “The Evil Dead”) and was subsequently demolished.

08/28/2026

How many still remember the Cole Digges House, located in the historic 200 block of West Franklin Street in Richmond, Virginia? This prominent Federal-style architectural landmark was originally constructed as a private family residence around 1805 by Revolutionary War veteran Cole Digges. It underwent significant structural updates over the years, most notably the addition of its signature two-tier front veranda in 1850. Decades later, the property transitioned into a dynamic social hub, functioning as the lively Engineer’s Club during the 1980s, which officially and permanently closed its operations before the property was acquired for historical preservation. Following extensive restoration in 1993, this oldest remaining house on its block has been adaptively reused to serve as the statewide administrative headquarters for Preservation Virginia.”

08/21/2026

“How many still remember the iconic mid-century storefront of the old Ice Cream Shop & Peoples Drug Store? This historic building is named Discount Medical Supply and is located at 1220 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia. Originally opened in the mid-1900s (captured in its prime in 1960), it permanently closed its era as a traditional pharmacy/diner before being beautifully repurposed into the local medical supply store you see today.”

08/17/2026

“How many still remember the Westhampton Theatre, at 5706 Grove Avenue in Richmond, Virginia? This historic neighborhood movie house originally opened its doors on March 5, 1938, and after serving the community for 78 wonderful years, it permanently closed on March 20, 2016.”
# (This post came from. I grew up in Virginia.)

07/21/2026

Medical Arts Building n/k/a Linden Tower Apartments, 116 E. Franklin Street, Richmond; c 1920’s; Built in 1922; Architect: Henry T. Barnham

The Medical Arts Building at 116 -118 E. Franklin Street is a seven-story brick building erected in 1922 (the two easternmost houses of Linden Row, numbers 116 and 118, were torn down to make way for the present Linden Towers). The Medical Arts Building was designed by Henry T. Bamham, consulting architect, and William Bernard Bates, engineer. This is a classically-inspired building with a stone base, brick shaft and projecting cornice. The Franklin Street facade is an asymmetrical composition of paired and single windows separated by vertical piers. The rooftop gables with corner turrets is a later addition of uncertain date.

Today, the building is the Linden Tower Apartments. Sources: Dementi Studio; dhr.virginia.gov

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