Jay Paul Photo
Richmond magazine creative director Steve Hedberg goes for a ride in his ‘hood.
It seems not that long ago that my wife Debbie and I bought our first house, a 1938 cape on a tree-canopied block in Richmond’s Forest Hill neighborhood. Fourteen years, two kids and a family-room addition later, Forest Hill went from being our first neighborhood as homeowners to the neighborhood we can’t imagine leaving. From family farmers-market outings and sidewalk strolls under the river birches, to my weekly mountain-biking treks, why move?
Steve Hedberg photo
In Forest Hill Park, the Holden Rhodes house, known as the Old Stone House, dates to the 1840s and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
HISTORY
Forest Hill is packed with history as one of the first streetcar suburbs of downtown Richmond. Forest Hill Park was an actual amusement park with a roller coaster, penny arcade and a small lake tucked in between the hills of the James River’s south bank where residents would swim.
Steve Hedberg photo
Pick up a loaded bagel from Kitchenette at South of the James Market.
DINING
Good coffee is abundant with two local java shops: Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream and Café Zata (formerly Taza Coffee & Cream). Maldini’s Ristorante Italiano opened in 2005 and has supplied the Forest Hill and Westover Hill neighborhoods with what I consider some of the best pizza in town. The Irish pub O’Toole’s celebrates 50 years this August, and annually hosts the biggest St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the city, complete with bagpipes, bangers and mash, and old Irish guys in kilts who have had two too many. Many visit the wildly popular South of the James Market for Mrs. Yoder’s doughnuts, but I often opt for a bagel with the works from The Kitchenette, loaded with cream cheese, capers, onions, tomatoes and fresh herbs. Dockery Branch Farms’ Real Country Sausage offers a sausage sandwich that I also have a hard time resisting.
New additions to the neighborhood include Kinsfolk, serving up locally sourced fare and a great Sunday brunch, and WPA Bakery’s second location, a much-anticipated treat for my gluten-intolerant family.
RECREATION
There’s no arguing the fact that Forest Hill and the rest of the South Bank share the best access to the James River Park system. When the weather is right, it’s common to see mountain bikers like myself, hikers, runners and kayakers cutting through the neighborhood on their way to play on the rocks of the James. I often bike the Forest Hill loop and the Buttermilk Trail, both within a few blocks of my house. From there, I can access the entire system of trails that take me all over the city. In the summer, Forest Hill Park hosts Music in the Park, a concert series which this year features all tribute bands. David Bowie will grace the park in spirit through the sounds of the band Life on Mars on July 10, and Diamond Heist will channel Neil Diamond on Aug. 7. The scene is like a Fourth of July party with picnic spreads and kids hula-hooping.
Steve Hedberg photo
Classic 1920s four squares are common in Forest Hill.
LIVING
The neighborhood is a patchwork of architecture, the streets lined with four squares, Colonials and Victorians, as well as smaller bungalows and capes, built mostly in the early 1900s through the 1960s.
Steve Hedberg photo
Robin Cage works on her pottery at 43rd Street Gallery.
SHOPPING
The 43rd Street Festival of the Arts celebrates its 25th anniversary this September. Robin Cage, potter and owner of 43rd Street Gallery, has been the engine behind the popular event. About 75 local and regional artist booths line the neighborhood blocks. Cage’s gallery, 43rd Street Gallery, sells artisan-made pottery and local artwork. In fact, I’m not sure what the neighborhood has more of: Cage’s coffee mugs or Subarus.
Outpost Richmond, part bike shop, part food market, has tuned up my mountain bike and supplied me with a loaf of Sub Rosa bread. RVA Nest features rotating art exhibitions, handmade jewelry, antiques and gifts.
