Union Station – Richmond, VA

Union Station – Richmond, VA

I’m a sucker for old buildings- especially ones with domes. So, naturally, I immediately fell in love with the incredible architecture and charm of this gorgeous building upon my first visit to Richmond. This beauty was once Union Station but now has been revitalized into the Science Museum of Virginia!

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History

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The history ¹⁾ History of the Museum. (n.d.). Science Museum of Virginia. Retrieved September 4, 2020. https://www.smv.org/about/history-of-the-museum of this gorgeous building isn’t super in depth, but, much like it’s design, I find it fascinating.

The site was purchased in 1904 by the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac (RF&P) Railroad line. The conception of the actual building, however, didn’t come until 1913 when the talented John Russell Pope was selected to design the “Union Station”, later known as the “Broad Street Station”.

The building process began with a groundbreaking in 1917, but wasn’t completed until 1919 due to lack of materials (and workers) from World War I. Nevertheless, the building continued and, on January 6th, 1919, the first train chugged out of the Broad Street Station. The station stayed in operation until 1975, when the last train departed.

In 1976, the building was sold to the state and it’s first museum exhibit was unveiled in 1977. That was the start of something new, as the museum kept expanding, renovating, and restoring.

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All Aboard! To the Present!

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With all the expansions and renovations, this building has become the perfect home to the what is now Science Museum of Virginia. It is a great place to spend a couple hours for children of all ages (by “children”, I really mean anyone from like 5 to 115). When I first visited Richmond for a job interview, the building backed right up to the Science Museum. I obviously fell in love. Despite visiting and moving in early 2019, it took took me a few months to finally visit and, boy, I was pleasantly surprised when I finally did step foot in the building.

In the summer of 2019, the museum had a Pompeii exhibit and I used that as my kick in the pants to go explore. I was met with the sound of people, as any tourist location typically has, but part of me could look around at the interior and imagine what it must have been like when it was a train station. With the hustle and bustle, the exchange of tickets, and the old station itself, all that was missing were the train whistles. But that’s just the beginning. You get a history buff in there and then add exhibits? I mean, win-win.

There were lots of fun hands-on activities that were perfect for the whole family, exhibits geared for educating children, and they have some pretty cool traveling exhibitions that come around. But to be honest I didn’t participate in most of these activities because I went on a Saturday and there were so many people that all I wanted to do was read about the depressing tragedy of Pompeii and not smile. So… I did that.

Covid-19 Update

Of course, with Covid, all this has changed. The museum closed in March and is actually reopening this weekend (Labor Day 2020) with safety protocols in effect. According to their website, they are currently allowing 12 visitors (wearing masks) into the museum every 15 minutes and are “Tuesday through Sunday and will be closed on Mondays for deep cleaning”. To read up on their new policies, check out their website HERE.

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From Autumn, With Words:

Here we have yet another sad moment where we don’t have writing on this postcard. Which sucks because it’s gorgeous, obviously. So here I go, writing another random letter to myself:

“Dear Friend,

Richmond is fantastic! So much great food, pretty views, a river?! But like a beautiful domed beacon on Broad Street stood the Science Museum. Obviously I walked around and somehow got stuck in a portal where I was transported to 1927 when it was a train station and the strangers didn’t appreciate my shorts, but like… it’s fine.

Anyways, come visit!
From Autumn, with words”

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We have reached the end. Long story short, go visit the museum. It’s super cool. Be safe, stay distanced, and love life!

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Quick History Timeline

• 1904 – Site purchased by the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac (RF&P) Railroad line
• 1913 – John Russell Pope selected to design “Union Station”
• 1917- Ground breaking! Construction starts
• 1919 – First train departs January 6th
• 1975 – Last train departs November 15th
• 1976 – Sold to the State (who planned to demolish it! What?!)
• 1977 – Museum’s first exhibit was put up January 6th (coincidentally, 60 years to the day since the ground breaking)
• 2019 – Autumn visited and fell in love