Urbanite Digs: The source for urban living

The history of the Jackson Ward neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia is one that is not only a great story, but one that is culturally significant, both in the development of a thriving local economy and in the growth our nation. Soon after the Civil War, many African Americans, including ex-slaves, soldiers, and persons who had gained their freedom before the war moved into the area.

Jackson Ward as a distinct community began in 1902 as the African American response to the Jim Crowe laws separating blacks from whites. By the 1900s the large number of African Americans who had settled into the area considered the Ward “a city within a city.” Jackson Ward evolved into a thriving, self-sustaining economy centered on Second Street. Famed Second Street (referred to as the Deuce) was home to many businesses and entertainment activities and venues. Performers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and Duke Ellington played at the Globe or the Hippodrome Theater, winning the Ward the title the “Harlem of the South.” African American celebrities and sports figures, such as Joe Louis and Willie Mays, who were denied service at white establishments, patronized the hotels and restaurants on 2nd Street.

Other names given to Richmond’s Jackson Ward were “America’s black wall street” and “the cradle of black capitalism.” This is due to the many cooperative banks, insurance companies, and entrepreneurial endeavors founded in Jackson Ward that later took root in numerous northern cities. One of the earlier examples was The United Order of True Reformers. It was a benevolent society founded by Rev. William Washington Browne and it grew to become the largest African American business enterprise in America, stretching over twenty states at the turn of the 20th century. In 1888, the Reformers received a charter from the State of Virginia and started the first bank chartered by African Americans in America. Rev. Browne’s home, the first location of the bank, still stands in Jackson Ward.

One of Jackson Ward’s most famed and beloved residents was Maggie L. Walker. Born in 1867, Maggie would rise from humble beginnings to become the first woman to found and become president of a chartered bank in America. Her bank, the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, opened its doors in 1903 in the building that housed the Independent Order of St. Luke. In 1899 Maggie Walker was elected to the highest office of The Order. This benevolent society’s purpose was to provide sick and death benefits to African Americans. During her tenor at the I.O. of St. Luke, its membership grew to over 100,000 in at least 22 states. Maggie Walker also was an entrepreneur and started a newspaper, an emporium, and was one who tirelessly championed the rights of minorities and women. Her home in Jackson Ward stands as memorial to her accomplishments.

Ironically, with the civil-rights movement came the demise of the economic unity of the Ward. De-segregation in the early 1960s gradually opened up all of Richmond to blacks forcing the small businesses of Jackson Ward to compete with the entire city. Neglect, urban redevelopment, and other construction have since reduced the Ward’s size. The approximately forty blocks remaining make Jackson Ward the nation’s largest National Historic Landmark district associated with African American history.

Jackson Ward is also home of the largest collection of cast iron porches outside of New Orleans. The National Register of Historic Places lists more than 600 historic structures in Jackson Ward. But development, shifting cultural norms, and neglect over decades has landed Jackson Ward on top of the list of the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the 11 most endangered historic places in America. The Hippodrome Theater actually made the list twice. First, for being located in Jackson Ward and secondly as an endangered American movie theater.

The Jackson Ward area is comprised of 19th and early 20th century structures in the Queen Anne, Italianate Revival, and Colonial architecture styles. Many commercial and cultural sites still remain, some restored, but others still needing to be saved. They range from social structures such as the Hippodrome Theater, the Armory, and Booker T. Washington School to historic business sites such as Southern Aid building, the Mutual Insurance building, and many storefronts. In the historic home category, the W.W. Browne house, Maggie Walker home, and the Tucker Cottage figure prominent on the list. Museums located in Jackson Ward include the Fire & Police Museum, the Black History Museum, and the National Park site of the Maggie Walker home.

The Ward, centrally located in downtown Richmond, is surrounded by a tremendous amount of economic revitalization. This makes the preservation of its historic structures economically viable as well as important. Within a quarter mile radius of Jackson Ward are seven new office buildings that make up the Virginia Biotechnology Park. To the east and west are the Medical College of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University who have spent close to a billion dollars to expand their campuses and for new student housing. There are plans for a $100 million dollar Virginia Performing Arts Center and for two new hotels on the fringe of the Ward. The largest and most recent economic driver is the new Richmond Convention Center. The convention center is across the street from Jackson Ward’s eastern boarder and one block away from Second Street, which is the traditional home of the entertainment, shopping, and business corridor in the area. The convention center’s 700,000 square feet of exhibition space and accessory parking commands a need to locate supporting businesses and entertainment venues nearby to serve its patrons.

It has been said, “buildings are the physical manifestation of who we are as a culture.” Jackson Ward is filled with “these minor monuments” to individuals and groups who, through hard work, self-reliance, and an ambition to live a better life created a thriving neighborhood. Jackson Ward played a vital role in the lives of African Americans in Richmond by providing a community of homes, businesses and services where they were treated with dignity and could raise their families. Its example of entrepreneurship and self-reliance also helped to shape and unite African American communities across America. This alone begs for the preservation of the Jackson Ward Historic District and its structures as tributes these pioneers. However, Jackson Ward also has a vital role to play in Richmond’s future. Whether its for persons looking for a home and a sense of community, businesses looking to participate in the American Dream of commerce, or its rebirth as a vibrant historic and entertainment district, the Ward’s best days lay ahead.