History of the A.P. Hill statue in Bellevue

Richmond.com has an excellent article on the A.P. Hill statue at Hermitage and Laburnum Avenues in Bellevue in Richmond's Northside. Included are some great pics of the statue/intersection from the 60s and 70s.

Beautiful Ginter Park - 1907

This 1907 ad for the Lewis Ginter Land & Improvement Company claims that Ginter Park has "Highest elevation of any suburb, thus ensuring pure air and good health." Note how few lots have houses, and that the trolley goes up Chamberlayne Ave, turning West on Laburnum Ave and crossing Brook "Turnpike."

Click the photo below for the high resolution image.

Ad courtesy of The Library of Congress

Bellevue Park - 1907

Here's a great ad from 1907 for lots in Bellevue Park in Northside, now essentially a part of Bellevue. John Pope Ave is listed on this map (now just Pope Ave), as well as Virginia Ave (now Princeton Ave). Also listed is Rosetree Ave. Those familiar with Bellevue know this road doesn't exist today. Anyone know if it was ever built?

Ad courtesy of The Library of Congress

Boulevard & Parker Field - 1960

As the debate continues on whether to build a new baseball stadium in Richmond, and where, let's take a trip back to March of 1960. We were still 6 years away from the Richmond Braves, and Parker Field was home to the Richmond Virginians. The Virginians were a AAA team affiliated with the New York Yankees at the time. They finished the 1960 season with 82 wins and 70 losses, their best record of the 11 seasons they played in Richmond (1954 to 1964).

Photo courtesy of The Library of Virginia's Adolph B. Rice Studio collection

All Roads Lead to Azalea Mall - 1983

Today we take a trip back to 1983 for this Azalea Mall ad. Some of the businesses listed below can still be seen on the faded rusty sign in the weed covered parking lot where the Azalea Mall used to be.

Beautiful Ginter Park - 1910

From the May 1st, 1910 issue of The Times-Dispatch comes this ad for Ginter Park, one of Richmond's first streetcar suburbs.

Bellevue Ave - April 1978

The 1200 block of Bellevue Ave in Northside, looking towards Brook Rd, from April of 1978. While this block has changed a fair amount in 33 years, Bellevue Cleaners is still on the corner of Brook and Bellevue, and from what I can tell in this photo, looks exactly the same. I love the Drug store and Bi-Rite Market signs, and I still have a Bellevue Hardware yardstick in my house, left by a previous owner.

Photo courtesy of VCU Libraries

Azalea Mall - Late 1960s

Northside's Azalea Mall in it's late 60s heyday. Richmond's first enclosed mall opened to much fanfare in 1962, closed in 1995 from among other things, competition from the new Virginia Center Commons a little to the north, and was demolished in 1999.

Driving by today you'll still see the sign in the photo below, but it's now rusted and surrounded by cracked asphalt, weeds, litter and small trees. Don't be fooled by the desolation though, the Azalea Garden Center is still open at the rear of the property, near Westminster Canterbury. It's a great family run business, and I highly recommend it.