RECENT COMMENTS
Creighton Court among most endangered places in Richmond
Richmond’s inner-city neighborhoods such as Creighton, Gilpin and Fairfield courts comprise, in total, the largest concentration of public housing between Washington and Atlanta. While memories run deep, some people won’t shed tears in the coming years while these unlovely, ill-landscaped masonry housing blocks give way to something, anything, new.
But a question some historians and preservationists are asking is whether or not some part of these complexes should be retained. They contain poignant history. Not only were they homes for hundreds of families since the middle of the 20th century, they are the manifestation of a great social experiment dating to before Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal years.
— ∮∮∮ —
— ∮∮∮ —
PHOTO: TOP Mosby Court Central / BOTTOM Creighton Court
Let the historians and preservationists waxing nostalgic for these spend a couple nights in the courts. After that they’ll realize that any speck of this miserable experiment should be blasted away. We can take pictures if folks want something to remember.
Now this is a news flash.
As part of my childhood I grew up in a similar type of project but they came out of the Roosevelt era … New Deal public housing for whites. I am not sure if these later incarnations were similar counter attempts for blacks (or for any low income person?) In any event, not worthy of historical protection in my opinion. Crime is more of an issue than the buildings.
In the words of Queen Elsa, “Let it go…. Let it goooo”.
Endangered;
M.L.K. students.
East end tax base,
A vote for newbille or Jones .
Good. I want to operate the bulldozer. What preservationist wants to save these places? It was a failed experiment, like Sixth Street Marketplace and we got rid of that. It’s time to take pictures for posterity and let’s build a better city.
Most people don’t know that the planting schemes for these projects (like those big trees that line the streets) were the work of Charles Gillette. He designed gardens for the Governor’s Mansion, Virginia House, and many mansions along Cary Street Road, the University of Richmond, and hundreds of other sites until he became known as the “Father of the Virginia Garden.” Hopefully we’ll be treated to the improbable sight of the Garden Club of Virginia going to bat for the preservation of Creighton Court, proving once again that anything can and probably will happen.
What a joke. Tear that B**** down. This will benefit the community and the people of Creighton court.
I can think of plenty of tenement type buildings in the area that, because they have been upgraded and now cater to a more upscale clientele, are considered charming. But if the low income and/or working class residents that originally lived there were brought back (and at the same density per unit?), they would be slummy. But I’m not sure the public housing courts can ever become “charming”, “historic, or what have you. Inherently, the question “can these be gentrified” seems a little offensive, even with the caveat that the current residents should be relocated to buildings/homes that better suit their needs…