“Where in the World is the Valentine?” Part 1: The Great Adventure!
This first blog by Director Bill Martin kicks off our six week “Where in the World is the Valentine?” series
Join us this summer for a great adventure to find the Valentine. More fun than any theme park and better than the beach, we invite you discover the transformation of the VCUHealth campus and at the end of your trek find one of Richmond’s most enduring and elusive treasures…
The Valentine!
This trip to our neighborhood will be filled with off-roading, disappearing buildings, wandering spirits, obstacle courses and, of course, a decent amount of time travel. Who needs to leave town when all of this adventure is awaiting you right in your back yard (just around a few parking cones, through a road closure and past a few giant cranes, of course)?
Let’s begin with the basics. Each week, we will post an official update, providing directions on this great adventure. From there, you will enter the maze and hopefully find the parking lot at the Valentine. We’ll make sure to provide helpful (or not so helpful) hints on how to get here and who (or what) you may find along the way.
Whatever you do, don’t give up!
We will keep it simple. Here are the entry points for this week; happily ignore whatever Google Maps tells you.
From East Broad:
Take a left on 11th Street and begin your journey. Cross Marshall Street and turn left on Clay Street. The Wickham House and the Valentine will be on your left. While beautiful, you will need to drive slowly. This is where all of our schools kids on field trips enter the building.
Clay Street ends with the ugliest building in the city (pictured below), so make sure you’re not so distracted by this eye-sore that you miss the turn. Carefully Turn left on 10th and then an immediate left into our parking lot.
From West Broad:
Take a right on 11th and follow the directions above, including the reminder to not let the ugliest building in Richmond sour your experience entirely.
From Leigh Street (the easiest option):
Turn onto 10th Street and just after you pass Clay Street (and the previously mentioned ugliest building in the city), make a left into the Valentine parking lot.
Next week, we will begin providing a few notes to guide you during your visit to the Valentine and the historic Court End Neighborhood. You never know where you might end up; how about a side trip to Egypt? But more on that later.
If you can traverse these obstacles, overcome peril and hardship, and finally reach your destination at the Valentine, you’ll have the best fun of the summer and you will receive a medal for your bravery, courage and fortitude! Can you meet the challenge?
