Friends of Pump House

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Richmond, VA
Friends of Pump House

Volunteers dedicated to revitalizing the historic Byrd Park Pump House.
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Friends of Pump House is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and revitalizing this historic and architectural treasure in Richmond, Virginia.

06/16/2026

We'd like to thank all of our new and returning volunteers that joined our June work day! The crew finished framing out the west storage room, painted the exterior of the east storage room, replaced a drain pipe in the generator room, and cleaned out gutters along the north elevation of the Pump House. 👏

Our volunteer work days are held on the second Saturday of the month. Mark your calendar for our next work day, Saturday, July 11th from 8am to 12pm at the Pump House (📍1708 Pump House Drive).

06/12/2026

We can't wait to see you tomorrow!

Saturday, June 13th
1708 Pump House Drive
8am-12pm: Volunteer Work Day
1pm-3pm: Guided Tours

Please wear closed-toe shoes and clothes that can get messy to the work day. We plan to finish framing in the west storage room and repair the downspout in the generator room. We have more information on volunteer work days in our pinned Instagram post.

Guided tours cover the history of the building and include a special VR experience of the pump machinery. $10 suggested donation at the door. Tours begin approximately every half hour.

06/03/2026

Great news!
We will be hosting tours this month! Please come by Saturday, June 13th for a guided tour inside the Pump House. Photography encouraged.

1708 Pump House Drive
Tour times we begin at 1:00pm, 1:30pm, 2:00pm, & 2:30pm.
Each tour will run approximately 30-40 minutes.
$10 suggested donation at the door.
No registration required.

Questions? Email [email protected]

A look at our June events:Our monthly board meeting is tomorrow, Wednesday, May 3rd via Microsoft Teams. Please email co...

06/02/2026

A look at our June events:

Our monthly board meeting is tomorrow, Wednesday, May 3rd via Microsoft Teams. Please email [email protected] for the direct meeting link.

Our volunteer work day is on Saturday, June 13th. We hope to host tours, but are still working on volunteer availability. Look for an announcement regarding tours later this week!

Looking to plan ahead?

Friends of Pump House's monthly board meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month, at 6:30pm. We alternate between in-person and virtual meetings to best accommodate the schedule of our board members. These meetings are open to the public.

The volunteer work days fall on the second Saturday of the month, on-site at the Pump House. No registration required. PPE and safety briefings are provided on-site. The work days run from 8am-12pm. We aim to host monthly guided tours from 1pm-3pm following each work day, though it depends on our volunteers' availability.

05/28/2026

On this day...

May 28, 1905 - The Pump House' new annex was featured in The Times Dispatch, boasting the abilities of the modern machinery. This addition housed the generator and boiler rooms. The article states that the $25,952 contract bid given to the Electrical Construction Company of Virginia was the largest electrical construction contract ever given to a company by the city.

The second photo is a cropped image taken from the Richmond Department of Public Utilities Collection, archived by The Valentine. They estimate the photo to be from the 1940s, about twenty years after the New Pump House ceased operations.

05/08/2026

Please join us tomorrow, Saturday, May 9th for our volunteer work day! We plan to tackle:
•Enclosing and waterproofing the west storage room
•Painting recent wood repairs
•Adding a top to our welcome desk
•Final clean-up of the stator laminations pile

As a reminder, we are not able to host tours this month, but hope to be back with tours in June.

05/05/2026

Happy May!

Please join us for our in-person May board meeting on Wednesday, May 6 at the Pump House at 6:30pm.

We also invite you to our volunteer work day on Saturday, May 9 from 8am-12pm.

Unfortunately, we are not able to host tours this month, but we hope to host them again on the second Saturday in June.

05/04/2026

On this day...

May 4, 1883 - Operations at the New Pump House begin! Construction on the New Pump House took about two years, finishing in 1883. The New Pump House supplied water to a new reservoir in what is now called Byrd Park, pumping it up from the canal.

This article from May 8, 1883 reads, "The pumps at the new City Water-Works, near the old Three-Mile locks, have been continuously at work since Friday, and have been doing satisfactorily."

Source:
(May 8, 1883) The Daily Dispatch
Retrieved from the Library of Congress

04/27/2026

Project Spotlight: Stairwell Drainage

Back in March, Friends of Pump House met with Andrew Alli, Superintendent of the James River Park System, to address a long-standing drainage issue in the east exterior stairwell. Years of sediment buildup had completely blocked the drain, leading to standing water, along with scrap wood and bricks that had been thrown down as an improvised bridge. Initial attempts to snake the drain were unsuccessful. The James River Park System was able to bring in a jetter apparatus to push the sediment through to the other side, unblocking the drain.

Check out the before and after photos as we continue to clean up this area of the Pump House.

04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day! Come enjoy the trails around Pump House Park!

First time? We got you.
Our address is 1708 Pump House Drive. Parking is free along Pump House Drive and there's also a bike rack, so you can lock-up. There's a portable toilet here as well.

Starting at 1708 Pump House Drive, walk down the paved hill or switchback path towards the canal. Cross the pedestrian bridge and head west, away from the Pump House, along the trail. After about an 1/8th of a mile, you'll come to another bridge, which will take you to the lower trail. Head east, back towards the Pump House. This will lead you to the bridge by the Pump House boiler room, where you can take the ramp or stairs back up to the upper canal, where you started. This loop is only about 0.25 miles, so it's a great little walk for kids.

Keep an eye out for fish, turtles, and herons along the canals.

Address

1708 Pump House Drive
Richmond, VA
23221

Website

https://www.friendsofpumphouse.org/

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