NY Giants & Cleveland Indians at Mooers Field - 1946

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a great article in today's paper about the history of baseball in Richmond.

There used to be an amazing photo below of the New York Giants and Cleveland Indians playing at Mooers Field in Scott's Addition on April 11th, 1946, but the Times-Dispatch told me I had to pay them $250, or remove it. How nice of them.

Singing VCU/MCV nurses - Late 1960s

This is such a great photo that hardly any description is needed. Medical College of Virginia nurses singing in their dorm, late 1960s.

Richmond Coliseum under construction - 1970

There's been a lot of talk recently about replacing Richmond's 42 year old coliseum. So let's take a trip back to 1970 to look at the construction of what was then a state of the art arena.

BANG at Parker Field, opening for Steppenwolf - 1971

Here's video footage of the band BANG opening for Steppenwolf at Parker Field in 1971. There's no sound on the original video, just some BANG studio recordings. They definitely had sort of a Sabbath/Zeppelin vibe. BANG went on to release their debut album in 1972 on Capitol Records. They followed that up with two more albums on Capitol before breaking up in 1973. They reformed in the late 90s and released a few more albums in the early 2000s. More info here for those that are curious. Love the WLEE banner on the stage in this video. Watch the whole video below to get the history of the band!



Here's a song from their debut album:

Reynolds Metals buildings to be redeveloped.

There's a great story in today's Richmond Times-Dispatch about the revitalization of the former Reynolds Metals property along the Haxall Canal in downtown Richmond.

I've been waiting for this to happen since my old roommate and I used to ride our mountain bikes around the then completely desolate canal walk in the early 90s. We've come a long way since then, and this seems like it will be another positive step for downtown Richmond.

The images below give a before and after view of one of the 1970s buildings that is to be torn down, and a look at the renovation of the pedestrian bridge:

 

Before And After - Broad Street at 1st - 1985

Today's Before And After comes from August of 1985. Although all the buildings are still intact, there's been lots of changes to the businesses over the last 27 years, and the addition of trees. But Harvey's Progressive Barber Shop still remains, even with the same sign!

1985

2012

Photo courtesy of VCU Libraries

Update on the former Triangle Adult Book Store

The Richmond Times-Dispatch had a story and photo yesterday on the transformation of Triangle Book Store (first mentioned here) into En Su Boca. It gives some insight into the building's past, and the photo below (not the best, I had to scan it from the newspaper) gives a hint to what the interior looks like. Text of the article is below the photo.

The difficult task of converting the former home of a pornographic bookstore into a dining establishment has fallen to restaurateur Patrick Stamper.

Stamper, who also co-owns Bellytimber Tavern in Richmond, is renovating the former Triangle bookstore — which sold adult movies, toys and was equipped with private viewing booths — on the Boulevard.

"It was gross," he said about cleaning and tearing up the building's interior.

The new restaurant, which is expected to open this spring, will be called En Su Boca, an upscale San Francisco-style taqueria. He's bringing in San Francisco chef Eric Stangarone to help develop the menu.

The process of converting the eyesore began several weeks ago.

Stamper said he decided to tackle the space because it was a good location for a restaurant — as well as a service to the community.

"Look around. You've got a baseball stadium (and a) popular movie theater right up the road" and several established restaurants, he said, referring to The Diamond, Movieland at Boulevard Square, Buz & Ned's and Stronghill Dining Co.

"I see (En Su Boca) as the kind of place people can sit outside on a summer night, have a margarita and watch the fireworks."

Transforming the building is a difficult, labor-intensive process, but Stamper said he's encouraged by what he's finding under the detritus of the bookstore: the shell of the original gas station.

The building was a gas station in the 1950s and '60s before converting to a porn shop in the 1970s. It was sold last year.

"It's a really solid place," Stamper said.

The 1,300-square-foot building is small, but he hopes to knock out a back wall and add a few hundred square feet. He also plans to incorporate the bay door to open up to outside seating.

He think most people eventually will forget what the space used to be. But that's not happening yet.

"At least once a day somebody stops by looking for the porn shop," Stamper said.

Photo and story courtesy of The Richmond Times-Dispatch