Church Hill, Richmond, Virginia

United States historic place

St. John's Church Historic District

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

U.S. Historic district

Virginia Landmarks Register

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Location| Bounded roughly by 22nd, Marshall, 32nd, Main, and Franklin Sts. and Williamsburg Ave., Richmond, Virginia
Coordinates| 37°31′45″N 77°25′5″W﻿ / ﻿37.52917°N 77.41806°W﻿ / 37.52917; -77.41806
Area| 100 acres (40 ha)
Architect| Byrd, William
Architectural style| Greek Revival, Federal
NRHP reference No.| 70000884 (original)
90002097 [1] (increase)
VLR No.| 127-0192
Significant dates
Added to NRHP| September 15, 1970
Boundary increase| January 17, 1991
Designated VLR| June 2, 1970; April 17, 1990[2]

Church Hill, also known as the St. John's Church Historic District, is an Old and Historic District in Richmond, Virginia. This district encompasses the original land plat of the city of Richmond. Church Hill is the eastern terminus of Broad Street, a major east-west thoroughfare in the Richmond metropolitan area. The name Church Hill is often used to describe both the specific historic district and the larger general area in the East End encompassing other neighborhoods such as Union Hill, Chimborazo, Fairmount, Peter Paul, Woodville, etc.

## History

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### Early United States, Civil War, and Revolution

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Church Hill is known for Chimborazo Park, where the largest American Civil War Hospital was located. It is also known as the site of Virginia's second revolutionary convention, where Patrick Henry gave his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech in St. John's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia in 1775.

### 20th Century

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On Friday, October 2, 1925, a 4,000-foot Chesapeake and Ohio railroad single track tunnel built during Reconstruction collapsed under Church Hill. The Church Hill Tunnel collapse occurred during refurbishment works, killing 3 or 4 and engulfing a work train complete with a 4-4-0 engine #231 and 10 flat cars. The tunnel was closed and filled-in after the collapse. In the July 2006, a coalition of officials and historical groups made plans to remove the buried engine. If recovered, it would be displayed at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond. Some borings were made into the tunnel from above for examination by camera. Only murky water was found, whereupon further work was delayed by city permitting issues. The bricked-in entrance of the collapsed tunnel can still be seen at the south-east end of the alley just north of Marshall Street, on 18th Street.

Douglas Wilder, the first African American to have been elected governor of a U.S. state1, was born and raised in Church Hill.

In the 1970s, murder rates decreased overall in Richmond, Virginia, but instances of murder in Church Hill doubled.[3]

### 21st Century

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In recent years, Church Hill has undergone gentrification and now experiences much lower rates of crime than it did in the late 20th century.

Church Hill is home to many small businesses, including restaurants, bars, hair salons, and boutiques. In 2014, Church Hill was named one of the "10 Hot Food Neighborhoods Around the U.S" by Zagat. In 2015, Redfin included Church Hill in a roundup of most walkable neighborhoods in the city—while Richmond was named #9 in their list of Top 10 Most Walkable Mid-Sized Cities.

## Preservation efforts

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The Church Hill neighborhood experienced serious physical decline during the 1950s, owing mostly to absentee landlords. The Historic Richmond Foundation was established in 1956 by Elisabeth Scott Bocock out of concern for "saving and enhancing the setting for St. John's Church."[4] In 1957, encouraged in large part by Historic Richmond, City Council created a historic district ordinance while simultaneously adopting the St. John's Church Old and Historic District. The preservation of Church Hill marked the formal beginning of the preservation movement in Richmond.[5]

## Notable Structures, Monuments and Parks

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* St. John's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia)
* Adams Double House[6]
* Chimborazo Park
* Elmira Shelton House
* Jefferson Park
* Libby Hill Park
* Pohlig Brothers Building
* Richmond Hill (a/k/a the Adams-Taylor House or Monte Maria)
* Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument
* St. John's Mews
* Superior Warehouse
* Woodward House
* WRVA Building

## Maps

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* Wikimapia.org

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
3. ^ "Made In Church Hill What is Church Hill, and how has it changed over time?". arts.vcu.edu. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
4. ^ Zehmer, Jack. Church Hill: The St. John's Historic District, 1991. (p. 11)
5. ^ Katie Kelley, Historic Richmond Foundation Architectural Historian
6. ^ "Past Saves | Preservation | Historic Richmond Foundation". www.historicrichmond.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2010.

## External links

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* Church Hill Association
* Historicrichmond.com info about Church Hill
* St. John's Episcopal Church
* Richmond City Watch: Church Hill
* Richmond, Virginia, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
* Church Hill Oral History Collection at Virginia Union University's L. Douglas Wilder Library and Learning Resource Center

* v
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Places adjacent to Church Hill, Richmond, Virginia

| Shockoe Valley | Union Hill |

|
|

|  |
Shockoe Bottom |

Church Hill

| Chimborazo
Chimborazo Park
|  |
| Tobacco Row | Libby Hill

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Neighborhoods in Richmond, Virginia

Downtown|

* Arts District
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* Riverside District
* Shockoe Bottom
* Shockoe Slip
* Upper Shockoe Valley

East End|

* Allen Heights
* Alton Heights
* Ashley Oaks
* Belmont
* Bolton and Taliaferrol
* Bowling Green
* Brauers
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* Cardinal Court
* Chimborazo
* Chimborazo Village
* Church Hill
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* Geffert Place
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* Witcomb Court
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North Side|

* Battery Court
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* Chestnut Hill
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* Edgewood
* Gilpin
* Ginter Park
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* Hermitage Road
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* Highland Terrace
* Laburnum Park
* Magnolia Industrial Center
* North Highland Park
* Pine Camp
* Providence Park
* Rosedale
* Sherwood Park
* Southern Barton Heights
* Virginia Union University
* Washington Park

Southside|

* Ancarrow's Landing
* Ann's Acres
* Bellemeade
* Belmont Woods
* Blackwell
* Broad Rock
* Brookbury
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* Buck Hill
* Cedarhurst
* Cherry Gardens
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* Oxford
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* Purcell's Addition
* Robertson & Bradley's Addition
* Saint John's Woods
* South Richmond
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* Swansboro
* Thurston & Taylor's Addition
* Warwick
* Westlake Hills
* Westover Court
* Windsor
* Woodhaven
* Woodland Heights
* Woodland Park
* Woolfolk
* Worthington

West End|

* 2900 Block of Grove
* Bays Meade
* Boulevard
* Byrd Park
* Carillon
* Carver
* Carver Industrial
* Carytown
* Chinatown
* Club View
* Colonial Place
* Dahlia Farms
* Duntreath
* The Fan
* Garrett Manor
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* Hampton Gardens
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* Harvey
* Henry Place
* Huguenot Farms
* Lee Mac
* Leonard Heights
* Lockgreen
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* Malven Manor
* Mapleshade
* Maymont
* Monument Heights
* Monument Hills
* Museum District
* Nash Plan
* Near West End
* Newtowne West
* Oregon Hill
* Patterson Place
* Portland Place
* Randolph
* Rio Vista
* Rhoadmiller
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* Scott's Addition
* Stonehurst Court
* Stonewall Court
* Sunnyside
* Sydney
* Sydnor's Point
* Texas Beach
* Three Chopt
* Tuckahoe Terrace
* Virginia Commonwealth University
* West Broad Street Commercial Historic District
* West of the Boulevard
* Westhampton
* Willow Lawn
* Wilton
* Windemere
* Windsor Farms
* Windsor Hills

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U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Virginia

Lists
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Other lists|

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