They’re just some of the people, places and objects that together help define the Richmond region, its history and what makes our community so special.
And stay tuned for the start of our series coming up this summer.
28 photos from the Times-Dispatch archives
In August 1951, saleswoman Eunice Hester tried to help Robert Matthews select a fragrance for his lady at the Miller & Rhoads department store in Richmond. A caption that accompanied the published photo referred to “the dilemma of the he-man caught in the task of perfume selection.”
In March 1949, smoldering embers and charred, jagged walls were all that remained of the Dunlop Mills in South Richmond. The two brick buildings, which had survived damage during the Civil War, were lost to the fire, which took more than 200 firefighters six hours to put out.
In February 1967, ducks braved single-digit temperatures as they made their way across a frozen lake at Byrd Park in Richmond.
This August 1984 image shows part of death row, including haunting artwork, at the Mecklenburg Correctional Center.
8/27/2015: This September 1955 image shows center-of-street parking spaces on the Boulevard in Richmond. The Public Works Department considered them a safety hazard and cut the number of spaces by half; the city manager would not allow officials to fully remove center-strip spaces.
In September 1947, a blacksmith was busy at Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond. Tredegar opened in 1837 and was a major manufacturing center for the Confederacy during the Civil War. It survived the evacuation fire of 1865 and continued as a production facility through most of the 1950s, producing items for the Allied effort during World War II. Today the facility houses the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar.
In July 1967, members of the YMCA-sponsored Camp Weyanoke learned about boating. The 250-acre camp, on the James River in Charles City County, was expecting more than 400 area boys that summer. In addition to sailing, boys ages 8 to 15 enjoyed horseback riding, archery, riflery, water-skiing, canoeing, rowing and camping.
In March 1970, this treehouse in Sherwood Park was considered unsafe by Richmond officials, who told the owners to remove it. City Councilman James G. Carpenter took an interest and pushed to save it by proposing a treehouse law before City Council; city planners later backed the proposal.
This April 1972 image shows the Greek-American Importing Co. on East Marshall Street in Richmond. In the 1950s, the market’s array of offerings included 53 types of macaroni and 39 spices.
In August 1980, Rudolph Cunningham placed a chicken into the rotisserie oven at Stonewall Market on Grove Avenue in Richmond. The market was opened in 1946 by Stanley and Marilyn Linas. Decades later, in an era of supermarkets, Stonewall Market still maintained a strong base of customers who had groceries delivered to their kitchens. Marilyn Linas even admitted that she had not met many of her customers in person, as much of their business was done over the phone.
In August 1962, two boys carried tobacco sticks to a South Richmond barn for the curing process. While many U.S. tobacco farms began to use harvesting machines and curing racks at the time, Virginia still largely used hand labor and mules.
In November 1970, the Thalhimers Toy Parade made its way through Richmond’s streets — this view is along Broad Street at Belvidere Street. The event featured floats, high school marching bands and drill teams, clowns and other entertainment.
In June 1950, children prepared for lessons at Brook Pool in Richmond as part of Swim for Health Week. The program, sponsored by Thalhimers and directed by the city’s recreation department and the YMCA, encouraged Richmonders to learn to swim. During segregation, this was the only pool that served the city’s black residents.
On July 4, 1988, Festival Park in downtown Richmond hosted a country music concert featuring Exile and Juice Newton, among others. The free event closed with a laser show in which patriotic images were projected onto a screen suspended over the audience.
In September 1974, the 392nd Army Band of Fort Lee performed at the dedication of two new parks in the Fan District in Richmond. Paradise Park (pictured, between the 1700 blocks of Floyd and Grove avenues) and Scuffletown Park (between the 2300 blocks of Park and Stuart avenues) were built with money from the U.S. Interior Department.
In November 1968, University of Richmond teammates closed in for a tackle during a 35-0 victory over Virginia Military Institute at City Stadium in Richmond. UR was leading the Southern Conference in defense against the run.
In July 1967, Richmond city employees prepared signs that would alert motorists to a new traffic pattern. In August, one-way traffic on First through Fifth streets downtown was to be reversed to accommodate the increased traffic from the nearby Interstate 64/95 interchange. The change also required the rerouting of 11 bus lines.
In October 1966, Abercrombie, a 5-month-old, 50-pound sheepdog, sat at his beloved piano. At the command to “make like a country squire,” he would plop himself in front of the keyboard and play — with no grace and little harmony. Abercrombie’s owner, Edward Brown, managed the Baldwin piano store in Richmond.
In October 1957, two female members of the Henrico Volunteer Rescue Squad unloaded a stretcher from their ambulance. The men’s and women’s units of the squad received top honors in statewide competitions for appearance and first-aid performance.
In May 1934, workers from G. Krueger Brewing Co. transported beer barrels on West Broad Street in Richmond. The company, which was founded in Newark, N.J., joined the American Can Co. in 1934 to experiment with putting beer in a can, and Krueger chose Richmond as its test market. In 1935, it sold the first can of beer in history in Richmond, and many breweries soon followed suit.
This September 1987 image shows an illuminated Broad Street in Richmond from the City Hall observation deck during a series of torrential rains around Labor Day. The James River rose to 15½ feet above flood stage and filled 24 square blocks of the city with 6 feet of muddy water. More than 50 streets were closed downtown.
8/6/2015: In May 1982, skydivers made their descent during an air show sponsored by the local International Aerobatic Club at the New Kent Airport. The event also included radio-controlled model flying, a hot-air balloon exhibit and aerobatic flying.
In January 1967 the new Bull & Bear Club was located on the 23rd floor of the Fidelity Bankers Life Building at Ninth and Main streets in Richmond. Among other amenities, members enjoyed a lounge area where they could monitor the New York Stock Exchange via a ticker behind the bar. The club, which later moved to the James Center, closed in May.
In May 1968, Royal Excuse led Annapolis Girl early on, but Annapolis Girl ultimately won the half-mile Thoroughbred event at the Goochland County Races. Almost 3,500 spectators gathered at the Goochland Fairgrounds to watch the day’s contests.
In October 1963, the Richmond Grays fired shots from Colonial muskets during a Bell Tower rededication ceremony at Capitol Square in Richmond. Gov. Albertis S. Harrison Jr. presented the tower key to the head of the First Virginia Regiment; the historic military group’s headquarters and museum were to be based in the renovated tower.
In April 1976, students assembled canned goods during Food Day in Monroe Park in Richmond; Bishop Walter Sullivan, who was on the organizing committee, looked on from the back of the group. The event helped needy area residents, and in addition to food collection, it featured seminars on nutrition and food stamps.
In July 1953, Richmond homemaker G.F. Sutliff sported casual attire while shopping at a neighborhood market. The 1950s was the first decade that women began to wear shorts as more than just beach attire.
8/3/2015: This February 1978 image shows a block of West 31st Street in Woodland Heights. The South Richmond neighborhood, which was built from 1908 to 1920, saw a surge of new residents in the 1970s, mainly young families drawn to the charming architecture and large yards.