The Valentine Celebrates Construction Milestone with Topping Out Ceremony on April 27th

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2023

Contact:
Christina Swanson, MA
Director of PR & Marketing
cswanson@thevalentine.org

The Valentine Celebrates Construction Milestone with Topping Out Ceremony on April 27th

RICHMOND – The Valentine museum is pleased to announce it will be hosting a Topping Out Ceremony on Thursday, April 27th at 2:00 p.m. to celebrate the completion of the structural framework for The Valentine Moment Campaign construction.

The Topping Out Ceremony marks a significant milestone in the expansion project which will add new collections storage, public spaces for research, and staff offices, allowing the museum to increase accessibility to the collection and better tell Richmond Stories™.

The ceremony will take place at the construction site of the new addition and will be attended by museum staff, board members, campaign donors, and the construction team who have worked tirelessly to bring the project to fruition. Opening remarks will begin at 2:00 p.m. with the final beam placement starting at 2:15 p.m.

“Watching this beam go up will be an exciting moment for us,” said Director Bill Martin. “This project represents a significant investment in the museum’s future and our commitment to serving the Richmond community.”

The Topping Out Ceremony is a long-standing tradition in the construction industry, signifying the placement of the final beam or highest point of a building. It is often marked by the placement of a tree or an American flag on top of the beam or structure.

The Valentine’s construction is slated to be completed by fall of 2023, with the new public spaces opening in early 2024.

###

About the Valentine

The Valentine has been collecting, preserving and interpreting Richmond’s 400-year history for over a century. Located in the heart of historic downtown, the Valentine is a place for residents and tourists to discover the diverse stories that tell the broader history of this important region. Located in Shockoe Slip at the site where the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was signed in 1786, the Valentine First Freedom Center is dedicated to exploring the past, present and future of religious freedom in America.

 

 

/

Richmond History Tours Return for 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2023

Contact:
Christina Swanson, MA
Director of PR & Marketing
cswanson@thevalentine.org

Richmond History Tours Return for 2023

RICHMOND- The Valentine is excited to announce the 2023 Richmond History Tour season! Attendees will explore neighborhoods and historic sites across Richmond, learning little-known stories that have shaped our community. For 23 years, the Valentine’s expert guides have helped residents and visitors learn about important historic sites, discover off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods, and engage with diverse stories that define Richmond.

“The Valentine is offering a great lineup of tours this season,” says Director, Bill Martin, “New walking tours and the return of our well-known bus tours provide great opportunities to learn new stories. There is no better way to experience Richmond’s history.”

The public season kicks off on Saturday, April 8th from 10:00 – 11:30 am, with our Court End Walking Tour. Attendees will learn about one of Richmond’s oldest neighborhoods, Court End, and explore the incredible story of the 1811 Richmond Theater Fire which is brought to life in local author Rachel Beanland’s new work of historical fiction, “The House is on Fire.”

Walking tours are scheduled for Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays between April and October.

The walking tours offered in 2023 include:
• Origin Stories: Court End
• Murals of Jackson Ward
• Highlights of Hollywood Cemetery
• History of Church Hill
• Figures of Freedom (Shockoe Bottom & Downtown)
• Ballot Battle: Richmond Suffrage (Downtown)
• Barton Heights: Northside
• Shockoe Hill Cemeteries
• Manchester (starting in Summer)
• Scotts Addition (starting in Summer)
• Carytown (starting in Summer)
• Monument Avenue: Origins and Reverberations Augmented Reality (starting in
Summer)

This year, we are thrilled about the return of the program’s popular Richmond city bus tours, expanding both the stories we can tell and the accessibility of tours. The season’s
first bus tour will explore historic cemeteries of Richmond on Memorial Day.

Valentine Members also receive access to Director’s Tours, the first of which will feature the Scott’s Addition neighborhood, led by Valentine Director Bill Martin. The full tour schedule can be found at https://thevalentine.org/events/.

Walking tours are $20 for adults, $10 for Valentine Members and free for children under 18. Bus tours are $50 for non-members, $40 for Valentine Members. Private groups and self-guided tours are also available through The Valentine’s website.

###

About the Valentine

The Valentine has been collecting, preserving and interpreting Richmond’s 400-year history for over a century. Located in the heart of historic downtown, the Valentine is a place for residents and tourists to discover the diverse stories that tell the broader history of this important region. Located in Shockoe Slip at the site where the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was signed in 1786, the Valentine First Freedom Center is dedicated to exploring the past, present and future of religious freedom in America.

 

 

/