Brookland Park Boulevard at sunrise (Photo by Megan Irwin)
Boogaloos Bar & Grill wasn’t open for business yet, but on a Thursday in mid-May, the new restaurant welcomed 17 senior citizens from surrounding civic associations for a peek at the exposed brick walls, pressed-tin ceiling and jazz-themed artwork inside — and a close-up view of the changing face of Brookland Park Boulevard.
Most of the guests were African-American, and many have lived in the area for a half-century or more. They were there when the neighborhood transitioned from mostly white to predominantly black, from middle class to lower income. They watched crime increase and properties deteriorate. Now, finally, they’re seeing an influx of investment in the business district and housing renovations. Richmond, it seems, has rediscovered the Brookland Park corridor. “You persevered through some of the darker days,” Wendy McCaig, one of the event’s hosts, told the group. “There’s always been this light here because of you.”
While the seniors dined on sandwiches brought over by Anthony Tucker, owner of Nomad’s Deli across the street, McCaig told me that the nonprofit she founded, Embrace Richmond, has recorded interviews with some of the residents attending this luncheon. McCaig, a Texas native, is captivated by the place and the people. “It’s our senior adults who’ve made it what it is,” she says.
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Lifelong neighborhood resident Cecelia Hawkins shades herself from the sun on the way to the Northside Hardware store. (Photo by Jay Paul)
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Grover Willingham has owned Northside Hardware on North Avenue near Brookland Park Boulevard since 1976, and he bought it from someone who had run it for 30 years before that. (Photo by Jay Paul)
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Ray's Barbershop on Brookland Park Boulevard (Photo by Jay Paul)
Can the new and old coexist comfortably? If Brookland Park remakes itself, will there still be a place for the residents and businesses that have sustained its character for so long?
It’s something I think about as a new resident of the neighborhood. When I moved to Barton Avenue a little more than a year ago, I had some misgivings about the boarded-up houses on the street. Still, our family loved the renovated 1923 Colonial Revival house, and the price was lower than similar properties we’d looked at in other neighborhoods. We liked the idea of walking to the library, the post office and a nearby bakery. We were also drawn to the neighborhood’s diversity after living in a mostly white section of the Near West End. I felt reassured to see my soon-to-be next-door neighbor sitting on her porch. She told me she’d lived there for about a year. “Do you think it’s a good neighborhood?” I asked, when we visited to look at the house again and walk around the block. “Well, I live here,” she said, smiling.
Block organizers on Griffin Avenue gather for a picture. (Photo by Jay Paul)
The Griffites
In the 3100 block of Griffin Avenue, a core group of black and white neighbors has come together to bridge gaps of age and culture. They hold porch parties, game nights and outdoor grilling get-togethers. They set up tables to hand out candy on Halloween, and during the holiday season they decorate trees with felt bows and ribbons. When a resident dies, his or her name is added to a memory tree.
“We are called the Griffites,” says Anita Johnson, one of the key organizers.
This cohesion didn’t happen overnight, though; it started with Christmas cards. When Johnson moved to Griffin Avenue in 2002, she says there were four to six homes with what she terms “high-risk behaviors” — drug dealing, drug use, prostitution. In the 3100 block, “there was maybe one white family.”
In 2004, she decided to revive a tradition started by her mother when her family lived in the Fulton neighborhood. At Christmas time, she wrote out cards for each address on the block and signed them, “From your neighbor” at her address. Now, the high-risk behaviors Johnson observed in 2002 have disappeared, and the neighborhood is more racially mixed. One of the new neighbors is McCaig, who has been a core “Griffite” since moving there about four years ago.
Some residents were suspicious of the newcomers initially, Johnson says. When they’d see her walking down the street with McCaig, “Some neighbors would say, ‘Do you really trust her? You know white people are going to be taking over.’ It has to do with what they experienced in their younger years.” Her response: “If the issue is white people moving in, get to know them.”
‘In the Minority Again’
Kenny Burnett was 11 in the mid-1960s when his family moved from San Diego to Richmond, his dad’s hometown. They bought a house on Hanes Avenue after living in South Richmond for a year. His first impression wasn’t good. In California, where his father served in the military, he went to a diverse school. Here, it was still the segregated South.
“The block I lived on, we were just about the only blacks,” he tells me as we sit at one of Nomad Deli’s two tables. While we talk, a couple of police officers stop by for lunch, and other customers occasionally pipe in.
He attended the mostly white J.E.B. Stuart Elementary School, named after a Confederate general. Soon, things began to change. “A black family would move in, and a white family would move out,” he says. In 1960, Chandler Junior High School (where Richmond Community High School is now) became Richmond’s first public school to admit black students. With the advent of busing in the late 1960s, he says, “white families abandoned the neighborhood.”
“I hear from whites and blacks that they want a mixed culture.” —Kenny Burnett
Now, they’re coming back. “In my block, if it wasn’t for the two houses I own, we’d be the only blacks, almost,” says Burnett, who lives in the Hanes Avenue house where he grew up. “We’re in the minority again.” He says some of the black residents felt threatened when whites started to move back in, thinking they might be priced out of the neighborhood, or lose influence. Now, “I hear from whites and blacks that they want a mixed culture.”
Burnett, a retired elevator technician who once won the Mr. Richmond bodybuilding contest, acquired several residential and commercial properties at a bargain when prices dropped. He owned the building that now houses Two Pillars Tattoo and Sign Shop when it was a Dollar Up general merchandise store, and he still owns the building at 2410 North Ave.— a property that he says was once prohibited from being sold to a nonwhite person.
“More is getting done now than it’s been in years,” Burnett says of Brookland Park Boulevard. “I feel it’s going to change for the better.”
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Unlimited Performance barbers Chris Strane, left, and John Smith (Photo by Jay Paul)
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Norvelle Taylor, owner of Norvelle’s Shoe Repair, waits on his sister, Darnell Hawkins, as she stops in with her dog, Taylor, and boyfriend, James Brown. (Photo by Jay Paul)
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Corinne Tucker, left, and Sara Kennedy enjoy breakfast at the Luncheonette. (Photo by Jay Paul)
A Happening Place
Driving down Brookland Park Boulevard for the first time about six years ago, I remember thinking, “This used to be a happening place.” It was, some of the longtime residents say. They recall a drugstore, restaurants, a fish market, a tailoring business, an ice cream shop, a Safeway grocery store, a bowling alley. Some remember riding on the streetcar.
“It was a real neighborhood,” says Gracie Hilliard, a resident since the late 1950s, during the lunch at Boogaloos.
When Willie Hilliard, president of the Brookland Park Area Association (and Gracie’s nephew), started working at Trent’s Barber Shop 17 years ago, not much was happening on Brookland Park Boulevard, he says. Today, “we see buildings being sold and renovated. The community is getting more diverse by the day.”
“A lot of people didn’t think it would ever come back … or that anyone actually cared about Brookland Park.” —Willie Hilliard
Although the oldest houses in the Brookland Park Historic District were built around 1910, the bulk of the residential and commercial building occurred in the 1920s. In 2014, the association began an annual event in July called the Brookland Park Community Celebration to bring attention to the neighborhood and commemorate the 100th anniversary of its annexation by the city of Richmond.
“That started the trend of getting people to see the value of the area,” says Willie Hilliard. “A lot of people didn’t think it would ever come back … or that anyone actually cared about Brookland Park.”
There have been other efforts. In 2005, the VCU Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs’ Urban Commercial Revitalization Class prepared a 59-page plan for the city at the request of 3rd District City Councilman Chris Hilbert. Its suggestions included recruiting businesses, establishing a senior housing facility, reducing “real and perceived” crime, and marketing its numerous beauty and barbershops as a destination for customers from around the region. The plan’s summary concluded, “While there are many challenges to overcome ... this area has immense potential.”
About three years ago, the city initiated a facade program that provided funds to paint storefronts along Brookland Park Boulevard in an effort to create a more consistent look and color scheme. The Richmond Police Department established foot patrols, which neighborhood residents and businesses credit with making the area feel safer.
In November of 2012, the Nehemiah Community Development Corp., which owns the building where the Luncheonette restaurant opened in April, began holding a series of listening sessions.
“Upwards of 85 people came out on a cold, rainy night,” recalls Derek McDaniels, executive director of Nehemiah, a nonprofit focused on commercial corridor revitalization. “It evolved from the listening sessions into what is the vision held by the community [for] the future.” At that time, McDaniels says, there were about a dozen vacant buildings along the corridor. Two suggestions that came out of the sessions were opening a coffee shop and a bike shop. Aided by an investment from the city — about $90,000 toward acquiring the property and $30,000 for renovation — Nehemiah opened Streetcar Café and Streetcar Cyclery in 2015.
“The idea was to take a building that had been offline, restore it and put it back on the city tax rolls,” says Denise Lawus, deputy director for neighborhood revitalization with the Richmond Department of Economic and Community Development.
After some management hiccups at the café, Nehemiah took over operations, then closed it last fall, leaving the space empty for about six months. Rob Gassie, who ran Streetcar Cyclery as part of the nonprofit, was preparing to open a new shop, Bing Bicycle Co., across the street, but those plans have fallen through.
McDaniels still considers the investment well-spent.
“Had that not occurred, the 60-year disinvestment would have continued,” he says. “Coffee shops create social capital.”
The goal for the coffee shop, McDaniels says, was to be a catalyst. That’s also the idea behind an effort currently underway. In March, through a $20,000 grant from Capital One, the nonprofit Virginia Community Capital began offering business advisory services — including mentoring, access to resources and technical assistance — along the Brookland Park corridor. The grant is part of Capital One’s national $150 million Future Edge initiative.
“The North Side as a whole is an area that we, as a longtime part of the Richmond community, are hoping to support making an active and vibrant area again,” says Sarah Midkiff, Capital One grant manager. “We hope to see more small businesses open their doors and create jobs.”
Historic tax credits and funds available through city programs such as the Commercial Area Revitalization Effort (CARE) and the Enterprise Zone Improvement Program have also helped businesses such as Black Hand Coffee Co.’s new Café Nostra upgrade their buildings and purchase equipment.
“I started off very, very hopeful, and I still continue to remain hopeful,” says Kelly Jones, owner of Da Spot Recording Studio, which moved to Brookland Park Boulevard about six years ago. But he’s seen talk about rebuilding fizzle out before. “There’s a lot of rotation in terms of businesses coming and going. A lot of businesses just don’t seem to make it.”
When Mayor Levar Stoney attended a May meeting of the Brookland Park Area Association, members told him they’d like to see a more streamlined process for business permits. Other concerns included a lack of parking, trash in the alleys and a recurring problem with graffiti.
“The street parking is all that’s really out here,” says Jones, the association’s vice president. “Most of the merchants are parking on the street, so there’s no room for potential customers.” Zoning restrictions also limit the kinds of businesses that can open on the corridor, he says.
Some residents and business owners expressed frustration with the seeming lack of progress at long-vacant properties such as the 1920s-era movie theater and the bank building, both of which have changed hands within the last two years. Kyle Johnston, who bought the Brookland Theater, said last fall that he had not finalized plans for the site, but hoped to start renovations this year. He could not be reached for an update. LaMar Dixon, who owns the former American Bank & Trust building, has been developing plans for apartments and a co-working space for business startups.
“We believe there are a lot of entrepreneurs in the neighborhood,” Dixon says. If they succeed in launching a business, “that can be a catalyst for more development.”
Asked how he’d characterize the Brookland Park community, Willie Hilliard says “feisty,” adding that residents support the businesses and want to see the area do well. Still, “I’m concerned with some of the home prices going up and how they fit into this neighborhood.” He also wonders whether the middle-class families moving in will support the public schools. “If the school system doesn’t improve, what’s going to keep these people here?”
Barry and Monica Gamble walk on the Cannon Creek Greenway with their children, Amanda and Apollo, and dog, Penny. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Invested in the Community
On a Saturday in mid-March, Monica Gamble is picking up trash with other RVA Clean Sweep volunteers along North Avenue, south of Brookland Park Boulevard, with her then 7-month-old son, Apollo, on her back and her dog, Penny, at her side. Down the block, her husband, Barry, is also pitching in with their toddler daughter, Amanda. Before they had children, the couple lived in Church Hill, but Monica says they couldn’t afford to buy a house there. They found a 1928 bungalow just east of the Richmond-Henrico Turnpike.
They like the close community feel, she says. The neighbors all talk to one another; when the Gambles put the new house under contract, people came over and introduced themselves. Most own their homes; many are retirees. The Gambles want their children to grow up around people who look like Barry, who is African-American. “That was more important to us than anything else,” Monica says.
Crime is a concern, though. During January, there were three homicides in the area around Brookland Park Boulevard. Two of the victims were found shot to death in their cars; neither lived in the neighborhood. In one case, a woman was shot through a window of her house on Cliff Avenue, just three or four blocks from the Gambles’ house, as she went to investigate a loud noise at the back door. No arrest had been made as of mid-June.
“It was a street we walk down,” Monica says. “For a while, I had anxiety at night.”
But they’re not thinking of moving. They’ve become invested in the community. They walk to the library on North Avenue, and they run on the Cannon Creek Greenway trail (which extends from East Brookland Park Boulevard to Valley Road). They even got tattoos — Monica’s is an image of Swiss chard; Barry’s says “Bopo,” their daughter’s nickname for her brother — at Two Pillars a few months after the shop opened last fall. When they found a local tot lot in disrepair, Monica put out word on social media and contacted city government. And when Apollo and Amanda are old enough to start school, they plan to send them to Stuart Elementary.
Laverne Winfree’s kitchen wall is covered with the names of people she’s praying for. (Photo by Tina Eshleman)
Praying for Unity
“Mother” Laverne Winfree, as friends call her, was one of the seniors at the Boogaloos lunch. The 79-year-old Norfolk native has lived in Brookland Park since 1962, first as a single woman sharing an apartment with a roommate, then in a house on Lamb Avenue with her husband (who died in 1992), and now on North Avenue, where she’s been since 1986. For about 15 years, Winfree provided child care in her home. At one time, she says, “I knew most everybody down the street on North Avenue, both sides.” As older residents died and families moved out, it became more transient. Fewer houses were occupied by their owners.
The wall in Winfree’s kitchen is filled with the names of people she’s praying for. She also prays for neighborhood business owners. She prays for unity.
When I tell her where I live, she shows me the name of a family with young children who moved to Barton Avenue around the same time I did. Like me, they are white, newcomers on a street where the majority of residents are black. More change is coming, though: Several “For Sale” signs have appeared in front of houses on Barton in recent weeks, and a vacant house owned by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority was slated for auction in late June.
“For me, I don’t know any color,” Winfree says. “I want to bring the community together. I’m expecting great things out of the neighborhood.”
Then and Now
Photo at left courtesy Willie Hilliard/City of Richmond Real Estate Assessor’s Office; photo at right by Jay Paul
The 1940s Art Deco building at 2 E. Brookland Park Blvd. was once a People’s drugstore. It’s now the site of a Boost Mobile store.
Photo at left courtesy Cinema Treasures; photo at right by Jay Paul
Opened around 1925, the Art Deco-style Brookland Theater at 115 W. Brookland Park Blvd. closed in 1957. Its new owner, Kyle Johnston, specializes in renovating historic properties.
Photo at left courtesy Willie Hilliard/City of Richmond Real Estate Assessor’s Office; photo at right by Jay Paul
High’s Cream used to serve cones in the 1920s Colonial Revival building at 23 W. Brookland Park Blvd. It’s now the Cuts 4 U salon and barbershop.
Keeping the Lights On
As new businesses fill empty spaces along Brookland Park Boulevard, corridor stalwarts are still going strong. Here’s a look at a few old-timers and newcomers.
Michaela’s Quality Bake Shop, 9 W. Brookland Park Blvd. Michael Hatcher, aka “The Cake Man,” grew up around the corner from his bakery. After working at Thalhimers bakery, which supplied the company’s department stores, he bought and renamed the old North Side Bakery. In business for 18 years now, he still makes the iconic Thalhimers six-layer cake.
Boogaloos Bar & Grill, 210 W. Brookland Park Blvd. Nerisa Ford heard about the Brookland Park neighborhood from FedEx delivery truck drivers she employs through Just Us 3 Transportation. Her restaurant was set to open at the end of June, serving Cajun-style dishes such as étouffée and red beans and rice. She says it will have a relaxed vibe.
Savage Apparel Co., 126 W. Brookland Park Blvd. Todd Curran started looking for a new base for his activewear company soon after moving with his wife, Erica, from Boston to Richmond in 2014. He settled on a 1920s-era building on Brookland Park Boulevard, which he saw as a place with potential to be a “standout neighborhood.”
Unlimited Performance, 105 W. Brookland Park Blvd. Several of the barbers have worked at this shop for 17 years or more, and on weekends, they arrive as early as 5:30 a.m. Originally at 21 W. Brookland Park Blvd., the shop owned by Leroy Lundy and Jerilyn Smith-Lundy moved down the street into a larger, remodeled space in 2014.
Brookland Park Community Celebration: This fourth annual event with food, merchandise vendors and live music is set for July 22 from 3 to 7 p.m. For more information, call 804-852-7463.
