via by Brandon Shields

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Richmond is a city of history. A city that promises future and is enriched by the diversity that fills it. It is the Capital of the Commonwealth. The capital oﬀers so much more than what we perhaps may think. A map of Richmond should consist not only the geography and locations of areas that we would perhaps expect in any other map, but also consist of all the things that make this city so unique. Richmond being the absolute historical city that we all know of, it’s important to understand much of it’s historical insights and past. This is what we envision to be a study of Richmond.

Walled Off. pg. 3

Fanning Out. pg. 4

Editorial Team

Powered. Rolled Over. Burned. pg. 6

Kentaro Crockett

John Sampson

Brandon Shields

Droning. pg. 10

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“Richmond, Virginia.” Map. Google Maps. Google, 2015. Web. 29 March 2015.

The Concrete Divide John Sampson Due to its extensive canal and railway systems in the 19th century, Shockoe bottom became the source of Richmond’s slave trade and commercial work force. Shockoe proudly served itself as the country’s center for tabacco processing. In the early 1800’s, brick buildings sprouted across much of the area which led to an increase in factory development. Beers, candles and soap are just a few examples of products that were made in these establishmnets. Several of the buildings can still be seen standing today.

The James River has been much to blame for the periodical flooding that devastated the area many times. To solve this problem, a flood wall was developed along the edge of the city which enabled more confident development of the area as well as supposed resistance to any water-related natural disasters. This allowed for exponential growth in both commercial and residential development along the city limits.

Ironically, in 2004, Hurricane Gaston brought in heavy precipitation that flooded Shockoe Bottom not from the river, but from within it’s walls. This led to major damage, shutting down the majority of businesses in the area. Despite the disaster, Shockoe Bottom rebuilt and continues to develop, benefitting heavily from the floodwall’s protection. Source: Hardinbd. “Profile of Shockoe Bottom.” Land Use and Development Strategy 2 (n.d.): 1-22. Web. “Shockoe Bottom.” National Treasures. National Trust for Historic Preservation, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.

Shields, Brandon. “Floodwall.” 2014. JPEG

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Crockett, Kentaro. “Kuba, Kuba.” 2015. JPEG.

Triangular Dimensions Kentaro Crockett The Fan Area Historic District is undeniably one of the most important areas to the city of Richmond. It was predominantly developed during Richmond’s economic boom period that had much to do with the development of the city and it’s expansion. It is rich in diversity in terms of both culture and architecture. Few of the types of architecture which can be found in the Fan include but are not limited to: Italianate, Richardsonian Romanque, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Bungalow, American Foursquare, Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial and Art Deco. The Byrd family originally owned much of the area where the Fan exists today. Majority of the property was used to grow resources for timber, tobacco, and livestock. In 1791, a small community developed called “Scuﬄetown.” As new roads as well as the James River Canal were introduced in the latter history, the Fan evolved as the wealthy built houses alongside the areas of “Scuﬄetown.” Later, however, the land was subdivided into streets and properties called “Sydney” when the Harvie family estate took ownership of the area. Sydney’s plan as it was referred to never saw itself

being built, however, the project did prove itself to make significant impact in the area as the layout of the Fan today is almost identical to one that was planned for Sydney. Undergoing very little development in the early 19th century due to the real estate crash in 1819, that changed when gradually, houses were built and the city expanded beyond its original boundaries. One of the many significant features to the Fan are the triangle parks that are found throughout the district that enables it to spread and “fan” accordingly in terms of its layout. In among three of the four main triangle parks, restaurants and cafes can be found providing residence’s in the area with fine dining and cafes. Examples of restaurants that can be found include, Garnet’s, Kuba Kuba, and Lamplighter. The second park nearest from Virginia Commonwealth University provide as a playground for young kids. The third features a smaller, but gorgeous landscape with free books to read for any Richmonder seeking to spend quiet time at the park. Furthermore, the district is laid out almost strategically in a way so that the streets face

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Fanning Out. Garnets

Kuba Kuba

Westernmost edge of the VCU campus

Monroe Park is the point at which the fan n forms. fforms.

Lamplighter

Above: Illustration of the Fan district by John Sampson and Brandon Shields Left: Crockett, Kentaro. “Fan Houses.” 2015. JPEG. Right: Crockett, Kentaro. “General Lee Statue.” 2015. JPEG.

asymmetrically on the same direction facing the James River. One of the greatest features for any Richmonder living in the fan is it’s absolute convenience in terms of its proximity from VCU, Downtown, Carytown, the museum district, and etc. Even to this

day, this historic district continues to ever so dazzle and give a striking charm as it did also in past history. The Fan will forever continue to stand out and represent as a piece of treasure of Richmond.

Source: United States. National Park Service. “--Richmond: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. “The Fan Area Historic District.” Fan of the Fan. Rvanews, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.

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Richmond Automated Streetcar

Welcome to Richmond’s revived and the first large-scale automated streetcar system in the United States. Shields, Brandon. “RAS System Map Concept.” 2015. JPEG.

University of Richmond to Carytown

Maymont to Brook/Dumbarton

Forest/Thurloe to Gateway Plaza

Carytown to Powhatan Hill Park

Midlothian Station to 14th/Broad

Rosedale to Shockoe Plaza

Short Pump Station to Richmond Int’l Connector

ar ke t

Chesterfield Station to Ashland/Hanover Term.

Fo re st

Powhatan Hill to Richmond Int’l Airport

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A Shock to the World Brandon Shields Richmond is known for many historical feats. Known predominantly as the River City, the former capital of the Confederate States of America was a prominent crossroad in all forms of transportation. Many people may perhaps not recognize Richmond as the pioneer in urban planning but the city developed the first “reliable” electric streetcar system in the United States. Before the rise of the automobile, the streetcar, or “trolley”, was a large-scale public transportation project that was able to move many people throughout the city in a fashionable and timesaving manner. However, the history of our nation’s trolley was burned into ashes when alternative and more personal transportation methods were developed in the latter.

streetcar system. Furthermore, Carytown experienced significant impact making way for its expansion overtime, eventually giving its appearance as we see it today.

Powered.

Rolled Over.

In the late 1800’s, Richmond and an engineer from New York—Frank Julian Sprague— collaborated on the electric streetcar system. In 1887, at a cost of $185,000, the city tasked Sprague with a 90-day contract to create the first reliable streetcar model system. The system developed had 4 wheeled cars, or trolleys, that were powered by an overhead wire, or a troller. In 1888, regular service of the Richmond Union Passenger Railway began with 12 miles of track serviced by 23 trolleys. The streetcar system made significant impact on the passengers, investors, and the entirety of the city itself. It’s economic impact allowed recreational and retail centers around the city to expand. Forest Hill Park and Lakeside drew public interest for their pleasure gardens due to their accessibility by the new

If the streetcar were to still exist today, we would probably see an even more sophisticated and expansive version of the old street car system with light-rail transportation as well. The system would perhaps play an important part as an attraction to the city of Richmond and should provide significant growth to the tourism industry. By observing the older version of the electric streetcar map, we can make possible assumptions as to how a current version of it may perhaps look like today. The original grid of the railway system connects stations to major locations such as the University of Richmond, Lakeside Park, Maymont, Hollywood Cemetery, Shockoe Bottom, Church Hill, and etc. Assuming how a newer version of the map would like, the transportation system, if it still existed today, could probably expand stations and include significant accessibility to areas such as the Richmond Speedway, Short Pump, Carytown, Manchester, and to Richmond International Airport. The original Richmond trolley system molded together the bits and pieces of Richmond that we see today. Although it has been quite long since the cities last decision to abandon the transportation system, we can still see many of what is still reminiscent from the pioneering feat of its historic past.

Revived.

Source: Kollatz, Harry, Jr. “Richmond’s Moving First.” www.richmondmagazine/com. Target Communications, 4 May 2004. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. Background Image: Illustration based on the historic Richmond Union Passenger Railway system of 1930. Illustration Source: Murden, John. Street Railway Map of 1930. 26 March 2015. JPEG.

Eye in the Sky The abundance of drone surveilance has kept many weary about the use of the device. Our goal was to obtain a custom snapshot of the city from a very unspecific point in the sky that no google maps god-eye camera could provide. To prevent misinformation about drone usage, Andy our pilot was ready to give a transparent overview of his intentions with the drone. The bystanders were more entertained than anything. Crockett, Kentaro. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Drone overlooking Richmond, Virginia.â&#x20AC;? 2015. JPEG.

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Droning

Aerial Photography: An Interview with Andy Fabian John Sampson An interview with Andy Fabian, a VCU engineering student, was conducted to find out and see how he built his drone. He and his drone was credited for allowing us to capture the landscape image of the city of Richmond as seen on the previous spread. He now has substantial knowledge behind drone making and has took on commissions by real-estate to capture extraordinary shots for the market. “Building a drone takes time, but is remarkably

straightforward. Start by choosing your shape. “X” is the standard, but there are also tricopters, “deadcat,” style copters, mini racing copters, and others. Next put the frame together, which is all of the solid parts. Rigidity is key here—any flex or slop will translate into poor handling and low performance. Third, mount the electronics—the motors, circuits, and radio equipment. There’s a lot of wiring going on, so keep all of the wires neat and out-of-theway. If you’ve never soldered before, now’s the time to

learn—there’s nothing quite as disappointing as a connector vibrating loose in mid-flight. Finally, there’s software setup. Airplanes fly with natural, aerodynamic stability, but drones don’t have that and use artificial, computer-driven stability instead. Tuning the computer is like tuning a classic car—it unlocks the potential of a beautiful machine.” Source: Fabian, Andy. Personal Interview. 3 February 2015.

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Specifications Drones: custom-built octocopters Compatible cameras: GoPro, Sony NEX5, Canon T2i Camera stabilization: 3-axis electric gimbals, plus rubber anti-vibration mounts Maximum flight time: 10 minutes Maximum altitude: 400 ft Speed: 40 mph Range: 1 mile+ Control modes: manual, auto altitude, auto altitude & position, fully autonomous Dual-operator capable: Yes - a second operator can control & monitor the camera while the first operator flies the aircraft Emergency systems: radio fail-safe, battery fail-safe, crash detection

Notable work: footage of the Rappahannock included in the award-winning documentary “Rappahannock” Favorite flight: flying the drone from the passenger seat of a golf cart to keep the drone in sight while covering the 841-yard hole at Meadows Farms. Biggest oops: trying to do a flip in a drone that wasn’t capable of flips. When the drone got upside-down, it assumed it had crashed and shut off. 100 feet in the air. Source: Fabian, Andy. Personal Interview. 3 February 2015. Illustrations by John Sampson.