“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.
