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“Where in the World is the Valentine?” Part 6: Don’t Trust Google

Don’t trust Google.

We know what you’ve been thinking all summer:

“I really need to get down to the Valentine. There’s that ‘controversial’ Monument Avenue exhibition on display and I read that article in Style Weekly about the Cook Photograph Collection. There’s even that exhibition with the working Costume and Textiles Lab!”

But you’ve been putting it off because of the ongoing construction. Please make plans to visit and just enjoy the adventure.

But keep in mind: it’s getting a little weird. There have been alarming reports of shape-shifting buildings and disappearing streets. The old Richmond Eye and Ear Hospital disappeared one week and the new VCU Children’s Hospital started appearing the next. Remember the Virginia Treatment Center for Children? It’s gone and a new VCU Adult Outpatient building is already replacing it. And then there are the streets. Well, sometimes there are streets. Other times, just a lot of parking cones, yellow tape and dust.

But despite all these changes to the neighborhood, the one thing that we are sure of is that the Valentine and our exciting exhibitions and programs aren’t going anywhere.

So just a piece of advice: ignore Google Maps. Instead, go ahead and get lost in this great neighborhood, enjoy the evolving Court End area, take in all the VCUHealth developments and discover a new stories about our city.

In this blog series, we’ve touched on a few: the Egyptian Building, Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Richmond and more. But those stories just scratch the surface.

Eventually, you’ll find us and you’ll get a medal (and a good dose of Richmond Stories) for all your efforts. See you soon!

Our friend Beau Cribbs finally found his way to the Valentine and received his medal!

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“Where in the World is the Valentine?” Part 3: Walk Like an Egyptian!

Make another wrong turn trying to find the Valentine? Don’t fret, everyone does.

Not to worry; there are interesting surprises everywhere, especially in this neighborhood.

So you’re lost once again in Court End, and this time, after taking a few wrong turns, avoiding a few closed streets and trying to avoid all the large cranes (more on that in another blog post), it looks like you’ve stumbled into…Egypt?

You’re eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. You might be on a modern day street corner in Richmond in 2019, but towering before you is indeed an Ancient Egyptian Temple…sort of.

Egyptian Building, Medical College of Virginia, Late-19th century, E. Marshall and College Streets, Richmond, Virginia, Cook Collection 0800

The Egyptian Building was built in 1845 for the new Medical College of Virginia, today a part of Virginia Commonwealth University’s MCV Campus. This image is from the late-19th century and the building appears in this photo from the Cook Collection in much the same fashion as it does today.

A National Historic Landmark, the Egyptian Building is considered an important example of the Egyptian Revival style of architecture. Richmonders were fascinated by science, history and archaeology when the building was constructed, so what better way to acknowledge the early Egyptian origins of medicine than with this amazing, historic building?

If you’re fine with putting off your search for the Valentine a few more minutes, take a peek inside and amidst the shadows, you may even spot that early Egyptian physician Imhotep himself.

Take your time. Those road closures aren’t going anywhere. We’ll see you soon and once you track us down, we’ll have your medal waiting.

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