Real Water

Arguably conceived in the spirit of "if you build it, they will come," the Richmond Canal Walk has yet to live up to the hype surrounding its inception. Promoted as a catalyst for development and a tourist draw, the canal and its immediate surroundings remain mostly quiet and undeveloped, though picturesque.



The Canal Walk is actually a restoration, of sorts - an attempt to resurrect an urban waterfront that existed in the Nineteenth Century as the main artery of commerce. The canal system in Richmond was actually a series of canals, lock and basins that permitted mule-drawn and manually-powered barges to navigate past the falls in the James River to points west, as well as providing power for industry.

Here is a map of downtown Richmond as it existed in 1876.



Note the extensive network of water in the downtown area - particularly the Central Business District.

In the 1980's the James Center was developed on the site of the largest basin, creating a precinct of unremarkable office towers, mediocre public plazas and surface parking lots.



Suppose the development of post-industrial downtown had maintained these waterways in an extensive form. Arguably, downtown Richmond would be a very different place.

Street Boxes

Ever wondered about those ubiquitous boxes along city streets? Presumably, the boxes are the (illegitimate?) progeny of the respectable newspaper box (soon to disappear vis-a-vis the demise of the newspaper?). The Times-Dispatch and USA Today hook up and the Free Press is the result of the union. Or something like that. It is curious that that although the boxes appear periodically, they never seem to disappear - they take on other roles, like trash receptacle or reliquary.


Interestingly, according to a representative of the Zoning Department of the City of Richmond, there is no mechanism in place to regulate the placement, maintenance or removal of paper boxes - they are considered a part of Constitutionally protected free speech. So - when a paper box becomes an exhibit of empty gin and Joose containers...

From the City or Richmond Urban Design Guidelines (published in 2006) in reference to Newspaper Boxes:

One or more newspaper vending machines can create an eyesore or visual clutter in the streetscape. Therefore, newspaper vending machines should be consolidated into newspaper/utility enclosures or racks.


Apparently, there is a disconnect somewhere.