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| Broad Street Historical District (c. 1950s) |
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| Broad Street Historical District (c. 2016) |
Site Name:
Broad Street Commercial Historic District
Date of Construction:
Late 19th through Early 20th Century (1880-1930)
Reason for Construction:
The buildings of the Commercial District of Broad Street were developed and designed to give each building a distinctive personality. The area blossomed as a central location for Richmonders to shop as well as eat, evolving into one of the more popular weekend hangout spots in the city.
Site History:
Broad Street has a rich history beginning as a small street running through the center of town, but has turned into one of the busiest and most shop populated streets in the area. Almost double the width of any other city street, this important corridor has carried wagon, rail, streetcar, bus and automobile traffic since the 1830s. Broad Street ran from Belvidere to 4th Street when originally constructed. Richmond had the nation’s first electric streetcar system, and Broad Street was the central hub. One of the historic photographs we recovered had a picture of these cable cars and they took up a lot of the street. I couldn’t imagine life today if they still ran down the median of Broad Street. Typically small family run shops like food and recreational shops were built along the north side of the street, while the big department stores were located along the south side of the street. Above storefront apartments provided housing for African Americans and newly arrived immigrants, which added to the vitality of the community.
Area History:
Richmond emerged as a major city during the post-colonial era, when Richmond was a major commercial and industrial center. Richmond was a major trade capital as it was along the crossroads of tobacco, coal, and flour manufacturing. In addition to these products, Richmond was one of the first American cities to manufacture steel and brick supplies. For much of this time, the main road splitting to the North and South side of the powerful city was Broad Street. During both World Wars, Richmond was able to successfully launch an industrial revolution, which diversified the population as well as establishing a prosperous economy. However with this period of prosperity, racial tensions grew as a result of economic imbalance created from the discrimination that was seen throughout the United States at the time. Richmonders really pushed for equal education and integration of schools, which as we know first-hand was successful. In the 1980s Richmond began to emerge as the research and governmental-rich city that we know today, as well as trying to solidify their national presence as a hip and cool place to live, work, and visit.
What has changed about the site?
Broad Street is now 15 miles and still home to some of the largest shops and companies in the Richmond-Metro area. Broad Street continues to represent progress and the future of industry from the city all the way through Short Pump. It grows and expands updates to the modern times and adds shops every few years. We will see just how far out it stretches in the future of this great city.
What about the surrounding area has changed?
Downtown Richmond has been built upwards like many other cities within the United States. A city that began with a measly centralized road, Broad Street, has blossomed to one of premier river cities in America. The downtown area has gone from a small agricultural market to an American leader in law, electricity, and banking. The city has expanded from 60,000 people to a metropolitan area with 1.25 million people.
Reflection:
We learned a lot from this project about Broad Street and the surrounding shops and companies. Walking Broad gave us a lot of chances to see the different shops along the way and buy a lot of really good food. Our experience allowed us to really see what Richmond was long ago and how far its come over the years and how great our river city is we have a truly unique experience living here.
Sources:
"Old and Historic Districts of Richmond Va." Richmond City Government. Accessed March 17
"The Progress of Broad Street." Mapping American History. 2011. Accessed March 17,
2016. https://urmappingamericanhistory.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/the-progress-of-broad-street/.
“Richmond History.” City Data. 2009. Accessed March 17
Henry Haas and Mike Rhyner
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