I’m back.
Guess I never really left. It was more of a four-year academic excursion that took me about 200 miles west of my hometown, the town I love, Richmond, Virginia.
The great 804; the former capital of the Confederacy, known for its historic charm, artsy commercial districts, and the calming, iconic river that runs through it (thank you, King James I) is where I call home. After I graduate in May, I am moving back to this fine city and beginning my life in an uneven concrete street corner apartment like many other young upstarts who equally love the city.
The Fan, which will be my place of residence, defines Richmond in every sense. The streets, lined with blooming dogwoods in the spring, are adorned with parallel-parked cars in front of the row-house style homes, duplexes and apartments that make up the majority of the development of the district. The Museum District, home to, believe it or not, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, is joined by the Upper Fan District, The Boulevard, the Carytown District, and the Lower Fan, which is home to Virginia Commonwealth University. Downtown Richmond, which is comprised of many commercial businesses, large firms and banks, fine dining, nightlife, and historic environments such as Browns Island and Belle Isle, eventually leads to Shockoe Bottom and the Canal Walk before trickling out to additional counties in the heart of the Commonwealth.
Richmond is about style. The houses, buildings and churches, which show a dramatic influence of Victorian, Tudor, Beaux-Arts and Gothic styles, just to name a few, cast overpowering shadows over the narrow streets. VCU, which is well known for its music and arts, as well as its renowned medical school, is home to an eclectic mix of characters. Students carrying a portfolio of stills for their drawing classes are as common as a professor walking around campus with an extravagant white beard that tickles the pipe in his mouth. Exploring the shops that make up the Carytown District can take a full day. Grab a sandwich at Coppola’s Delicatessen or New York Deli and then browse for classic Dylan vinyls at Plan 9. Venture into American Apparel for a new t-shirt made of organic cotton and then grab an espresso mid-afternoon at Can-Can. Richmond is all about style.
Summer is when Richmond really comes alive. The mighty James, which surges through the middle of the city like a heart valve, allows for free, fun entertainment. At Pony Pasture you can brave the rapids and enjoy a relaxing day in the swale with friends and a brew. Belle Isle, located near the end of Canal Walk and Brown’s Island, is a hotbed for runners, bikers, hikers, adventurers, and free spirits. A suspension footbridge that hangs beneath an overhang at the northern part of the James right before the Dominion Virginia Power building will lead you to an actual island, 54 acres of nearly untouched environmental bliss that acts as a mole on the face of the James.
Festivals occur aplenty during the warmer months, ranging from the famed Greek Festival, which soon will celebrate its 33rd year of good music and better food, as well as the Watermelon Festival at the end of the summer, a Richmond staple for locals for years. Also during the warmer months, the true feeling of a city explodes. The city breathes. It moves, with the people who are jogging with their dogs or playing an upturned white bucket with two ancient drumsticks for pocket change. Bikers zoom by, seemingly faster than cars, and people sit outside on balconies, overlooking The Boulevard, Monument, Grove and Park, smoking, drinking, and enjoying IT.
As for me, my day would consist of the following itinerary: Wake up around 11, enjoy the Village Wake-Up (two eggs over easy, with white toast, hash browns, bacon, two cups of coffee, black) at the Village Cafe on the corner of West Grace and Harrison, followed by a quick trip to the First Tee Driving Range on the outskirts of Belvedere, sitting on a third-floor balcony with good music and friends, dinner at home followed by “Jeopardy” and watching a basketball game, then drinks on West Main until I’m done. It’s not just a city, it’s my city, dammit, and that’s the way I like it.
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