Historic Garden Day

Main Photo: Maymont Park. Taken from the archives of Historic Richmond Foundation (photo by Richard C. Cheek)

The Boulevard Tour

Co-sponsored by The Council of Historic Richmond Foundation and The Garden Clubs of Richmond.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 10a.m. to 4:30p.m.

Contacts:

Darcie Nelson
314 Greenway Lane
Richmond, VA 23226
804-662-5511

Lally Jennings
333 Oak Lane
Richmond, VA 23226
804-285-9534

TICKETS: Tickets will be available on the tour day at any of the properties open. See Page ___ for pricing, advanced ticket locations and other information.

BUS INFORMATION: Coordinators of bus groups are asked to make arrangements for parking and tickets with Trudy Porter at 804-355-0604.

LUNCHEON: Enjoy lunch in the Marble Hall of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for $16 per person. The art museum is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Click here to download a lunch reservation form. Reservations much be recieved by April 18, 2012. For questions about the lunch, please contact Debbie Scott at 804-355-4801 or debs57@comcast.net.

REFRESHMENTS: Complimentary refreshments will be served from 11a.m. to 2 p.m. at the courtyard of the Tuscan Villa Condominium at 509 N. Boulevard.

DIRECTIONS:
From the west: From I-64 take I-195 South via exit 186 toward Powhite Pkwy. Take the Hamilton St. exit toward US-33/US-250/Broad St. Take the ramp toward Broad St. and turn slightly right on to N. Hamilton St. Turn left onto Broad Street and go approx. 1.3 mi. turn right onto The Boulevard. This historic Boulevard neighborhood begins after the statue of Stonewall Jackson at the intersection of Monument Avenue and The Boulevard.

From the east: From I-64 west, take exit 78 toward The Boulevard. Take a slight left to take the ramp toward VA 161. Turn left onto Hermitage Road. Take a right onto Robin Hood Road. Take a left onto The Boulevard. Go about 1.2 miles.

From the south: From I-195N/Downtown Expressway (note this is a toll road), take the Belvidere St. exit and turn right onto S. Belvidere St. Turn left onto Main St. Go approx. 1 mi. to The Boulevard.

From the north: From I95 South take I-195S via exit 79 toward US-60W/Powhite Pkwy. Take the Hamilton Street exit toward US-33/US-250/Broad St. Take the ramp toward Broad Street and turn slightly right on to N. Hamilton St. Turn left onto Broad Street and go approx. 1.3 mi. turn right onto The Boulevard.

This historic Boulevard neighborhood begins at the statue of Stonewall Jackson at the intersection of Monument Avenue and The Boulevard.

PARKING: Parking is available on the neighborhood streets in the tour area. Members of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts park for free at their parking deck at 200 N. Boulevard. For more information on VMFA membership and parking visit www.vmfa.state.va.us.

RESTROOM FACILITIES: Available at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard.

NOTES: This is a walking tour. Please wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes as a courtesy to homeowners and for your safety. No interior photography or sketching, please. No use of cell phones in the houses. Tours are generally less crowded after lunch. All houses are within zip code 23220 and are between Monument Avenue and Cary Street.

PROPERTIES MAY BE VISITED IN ANY ORDER.

The Boulevard is a grand avenue dividing Richmond’s Fan District and Museum District. It is on the National Registry of Historic Places, is a Virginia Historic Landmark, and is recognized as an Old and Historic Neighborhood in Richmond. In 1875 this country road then called “Clover Street” was widened during plans for a park and reservoir, now called Byrd Park, where horse races and fairs were held. In 1884 the city purchased The Robinson Family Farm on Clover Street at Grove Avenue to create the R.E. Lee Camp #1 for Confederate Veterans. Around 1900, Clover Street became known as The Boulevard and when the downtown streetcars were extended to the area around 1909, a neighborhood bloomed. Over the next 30 years houses, churches, museums, and residences for veteran widows lined the picturesque street. Over the past decade The Boulevard has seen a renaissance with residents reclaiming the architecturally diverse houses, and investors restoring grand apartment buildings. In 2010, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts completed a nationally acclaimed contemporary wing and redesigned its gardens. The result is a fun, lively and creative street that is home to passionate city-dwellers, families, art, architecture, and history.

7 S. Boulevard
This stucco and brick house is one of several on Boulevard built in the Tudor Revival-gone miniature style. It features decorative brickwork and half timbering over the arched entrance door. A sweeping gable gives the house a gingerbread cottage quality.
The owners retired to the city from the west end, but both lived in the neighborhood as children and their home is full of inherited treasures. A drawing of the Uffizi gallery on an oversized wooden triptych by the Milanese artist Piero Fornasetti hangs over an early 19th C French library table in the entry. Mrs. DeBiasi’s great grandparents’ matching chairs circa 1860 sit around the fireplace in the living room. An Italian traveling trunk with decorative metal latches and leather handles which arrived in this country with Dr. DeBiasi’s grandmother serves as a table in the second sitting room. Kitchen Art designed the kitchen with a cork floor and hickory cabinets which store glassware from Mrs. DeBiasi’s grandparents. Favorite art throughout the house is a Diane Clements painting and a glass sculpture by Dino Rosins, not to mention many pieces by the resident artist Dr. Debiasi. Outside is a brick and stone patio filled with holly, jasmine and a pink quanson cherry tree.
Owners: Dr. and Mrs. Gilbert DeBiasi

1 N. Boulevard
This Colonial Revival townhouse with a mansard roof and two story Corinthian columned front porch with was built in 1914. It served as a doctor’s office and apartments before being returned to a single family home and a bed and breakfast. The owner of the home is in the lighting business as is evidenced by the varied and beautiful lighting throughout the house. The living room has an original turned staircase and fireplace. The dining room has an entertaining-friendly custom curved banquet seating made for the space and original art by Robert Sesco. The original butler’s pantry was turned into a surprising “hall” bath. The inviting kitchen has a lively mural painted by Richmond’s Happy the Artist and depicts the family members as vegetables!
The back portion of the upstairs serves as bed and breakfast appropriately named The One, in reference to the house address and the beautiful stained glass transom over the front door. There are two suites with a shared parlor and a separate entrance for guests. The gardens wraps the side and front of the house and is enclosed by a wrought iron fence.
Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Sean Brooks

6 N. Boulevard
This house, along with the two on either side of it, was designed in 1921 by architect Marcellus Wright, the architect who designed Richmond’s Landmark Theater. Although the three houses have identical floor plans each was given a unique façade with different brick types and tile roofs. The current owners worked with a historical preservationist to locate the original plans, which are stored at the Library of Virginia, and renovated the house back from a tenement to its original state. They added a half bath in the original servant’s room off the kitchen, a third floor master suite, and a finished basement making room for their young family.
Notable art includes a Rob Tarbell “smoke series” and a piece commission by Martin Brief depicting an artistic interpretation of a written legal opinion argued (and won!) by the man of the house in front of the Washington Supreme Court. The dining room sports a collection of Native American art including oil paintings, folk art and a ceramic tobacco store-style Indian. The black and white kitchen with Anjou pear walls dares to have all open cabinetry creating a lively family space. The kitchen overlooks a patio and play yard for the children shaded by a Japanese maple.
Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Eric B. Martin

10 N. Boulevard – Garden Only
Enter from the alley after touring 6 N. Boulevard and find a beautiful garden used to its full potential. Gardenias, nandina, crape myrtle, oak leaf hydrangea, foster holly, camellia, and hostas are complemented by colorful annuals year round. The trellises are adorned with a combination of Lady Banks roses and Carolina jasmine. Atop the carriage house the owners have created a full vegetable, flower and herb garden with walkways along boxed planters and a built-in irrigation system. The long yard’s stepping stones, porch and patio are fun for the owners and the two pooches who call it home. Exit the garden along the right side alley to the front porch and yard with cherry laurels, gardenia, crape myrtle, nandina and potted annuals.
Owners: Mr. Brian W. Spencer and Mr. Matthew W. Ziehl

105 N. Boulevard
This 1915 brick vernacular home with Tuscan columns is a true Cinderella story. A decade ago the house was nearly condemned from neglect and the gardens were a tangle. Current owners purchased the house from a builder/renovator who could see the beauty in the original columns, leaded glass, mouldings, oak floors and diamond paned windows. Current owners have decorated in a fresh and fun fashion to complete the transformation. The art collection includes work by Eastern Shore and regional artists including photographer Diane Ginsberg. Artists Scott Upton and Eleni Summers were given freedom to create paintings for the focal points in the dining room and staircase landing, respectively. The lady of the house is the resident chef and her studio is the gorgeous granite and stainless steel kitchen with deep red walls. An appropriate still-life of a kitchen scale by Richmond artist Laura Loe hangs over the breakfast table. The basement was recently finished as a family room with separate exercise and laundry rooms accessible from the garden or first floor.
The serene, comfortable stone-floored screened porch overlooks a rare double lot with a brick patio, seating areas and garden with a woodland park feel. Two wall sculptures are by Eastern Shore’s Copper Creations. Hydrangea, fern, azaleas, Japanese maple, and a ring of dwarf magnolias surround the main attraction: an approximately 100-year old holly tree.
Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Saul G. Glick

200 N. Boulevard – The Virginia Museum of Fine Art (VMFA) and Buildings on the Grounds– Rest Stop and Lunch
The original VMFA building was designed by the Virginia architecture firm of Peebles and Ferguson in 1936. The new award-winning museum expansion completed in 2010 was designed by London-based architect Rick Mather, in partnership with SMBW, a Richmond architectural firm. Included in the expansion was a redesign of the 131/2 acre grounds and the E. Claiborne and Lora Robins Sculpture Garden. The garden serves as a stage for performances and outdoor gallery space to display permanent and temporary works from the VMFA sculpture collection. Among the up to a dozen large sculptures on display at any time is the Jun Kaneko totem-like figure which was part of the inaugural exhibition of the remodeled museum. The grounds feature century-old trees, a reflecting pool surrounded by water lilies and cattails, and a terraced slope with a waterfall staircase.
Tours will be given from atop the terrace at 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm highlighting the century and a half of neighborhood architecture and gardens that can be viewed from that vantage point. Tour guides include volunteers from neighboring Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

2900 Grove Avenue – The Confederate War Memorial Chapel (behind the VMFA building)
The grounds of the VMFA were once home to the Robert E. Lee Camp #1 for Confederate Veterans also called The Confederate Soldier’s Home. The camp chapel was erected in 1887 in memory of the more than 260,000 Confederate dead and as a chapel for the Confederate veterans. Marion J. Dimmock, Sr. designed the American Gothic Revival structure and Joseph F. Wingfield built it. The chapel was used regularly for meetings, Sunday services, and "Last Roll Call Services". More than 1,700 funeral services were held here until the last resident veteran died in 1941. The home was then closed and the camp buildings were demolished, except for the chapel and the Robinson House, the original farmhouse on the property. The chapel was restored in 1960-1961 and is granted the same status as a Confederate monument. The stained glass windows are original and depict themes from the war and memorials to fallen soldiers including General John Pegram.
The Chapel is open today from 10am until 4pm and has been decorated as a Victorian wedding courtesy of The Friends of the Confederate War Memorial Chapel.

The Robinson House History– (Next to the new VMFA wing. Not open to the public.)
In the 1830’s Anthony Robinson, Jr. purchased 170 acres of land west of the planned development of “Sydney” (the present day Fan neighborhood). Robinson built a two-story Italianate house in the mid 1850’s for his family and lived there until after the Civil War. In 1865, Robinson’s widow Rebecca housed Union soldiers here in exchange for protection from looters. In 1883 Robinson’s son Channing sold the property for use as the Confederate Soldier’s Home grounds. The house was used as an administrative building and a war museum for the camp. During this time, the third floor and cupola were added to the house. The house originally had an additional small porch on the west side and a full length porch on the east side. An image of the historical garden that existed around 1884 and spanned from the east façade to The Boulevard is located in front of the building today. The Robinson house is owned by the VMFA.

409 N. Boulevard
This 1908 townhouse constructed of coursed ashlar stone rounds out the architectural offerings of the street as the only modified Queen Anne style townhouse on Boulevard. A 1999 interior fire led to a sensitive rebuilding which retained many original features but opened the space for modern living. The current owners have lived here less than one year, but were no strangers to old homes or Richmond as they moved here from a century house in Washington D.C. and are collectors of Richmond art. In the living room is a signed Paul McGehee print of the View from Hollywood Cemetery and an 1860’s engraving of the same scene. An oak china cupboard in the dining room houses a great aunt’s Royal Crown Derby “Mikado” china and a grandmother’s cut glass collection. The chef’s kitchen with marble countertops and black walls is accented by colorful pottery and a bright oil painting by Wade Harrell of a Fan neighborhood scene. Uninterested in composting in a city yard, the avid gardeners house a worm farm in their basement to nourish the teeming garden landscaped by Austin Garden Company with herb, vegetable and perennial gardens and a miniature crabapple tree shading an outdoor room complete with a fireplace mantel.
Owners: Mr. and Mrs. J. Stanley Austin

500 Block N. Boulevard - The Tuscan Villa Condominium - Refreshment Stop
The Tuscan Villa was designed in 1928 by Richmond architect Bascom Rowlett, the architect of other well-appointed apartment buildings such as Rixey Court on Monument Avenue and The English Village on Grove Avenue. The Tuscan Villa was converted to condominiums in the 1980’s. The building is one of the best examples of Mediterranean influenced architecture in Richmond. It is a three-story building with a plain stucco finish and a low-pitched clay tile roof. Four ells create three courtyards with crepe myrtle and liriope lined paths. Decorative sculpture, recessed loggias, iron balconies, and cartouches, and the sun-scorched yellow stucco and verdigris trim paint add to the building’s Italian allure. The five building segments are named for regions in Tuscany: the Lucca, The Siena, The Leghorn, The Florence, and The Pisa.
The Tuscan Villa Condominium Association is graciously allowing refreshments to be served from 11am – 2pm in the courtyard.

509 N. Boulevard, # 14 at The Tuscan Villa
Small is the new glamorous in this under 1,000 square foot first floor condominium decorated by noted interior designer and owner Howard Wells. The owners downsized five years ago and edited their collections of 16th to 20th C art and antiques to only their best and most cherished belongings. The formal dining room was moved to the front parlor to take advantage of their private loggia and Tuscan Villa courtyard view during dinner parties. The remaining space is used efficiently and every area is masterfully designed and decorated creating a sophisticated but comfortable home. A sampling of the antiques includes an 18th C English Chippendale grandfather clock, late 19th C campaign chest, and a collection of religious artifacts including carved wooden Santos, a 16th C Corpus, and an oil-on-tin angel painting from a monastery. Art highlights are a Louis Briel portrait, 19th C oil by the French artist Vernier, an oil-on-board by David Tanner, and several original paintings by local favorite Parks Duffy. The granite and cherry wood kitchen with a collection of Old Paris tea and coffee pots leads to the most creative of small gardens on a 4’ x 10’ back porch.
Owners: Mr. B. Howard Wells and Mr. William Boyd Clements

2701 Park Avenue
Tucked between Monument Avenue and Boulevard this 1928 mansion was designed by architect Isaac Skinner. The original blueprints have been passed to each of the only four owners who have lived here. The Georgian Revival’s front door has Ionic pilasters with a neat pediment. The property is surrounded by a rounded-top brick wall.
The formal first floor rooms have the opulent yet comfortable style of an English country house. Stand-out antiques include an 18thC breakfront bookcase and a bronze jardinière from Jacqueline Kennedy’s estate in the living room where you will also see the original electric servant bell. The library’s mantel and corner cupboards were antiques when built into the room and now share space with an art collection featuring many dog friends. A new kitchen incorporates the original glass-front cabinetry and telephone in its built-in nook. The dining room with 1920’s French opera chandelier overlooks a double lot garden purportedly designed by Charles Gillette. Although no plans remain, some plantings including a holly tree alee are thought to be original. An arbor with wisteria connects the kitchen door with outdoor seating area. The garden’s crowning glory is the double Charleston-style porch with striped awnings, a favorite spot of the owners.
Owners: Mr. Robb Moss and Mr. Michael Maddix