General and Special
What Do You Think You're Looking At? #147
The General Assembly Building in Richmond, Virginia looks like a grand old building, doesn’t it?
Believe it or not, it just opened months ago! It does incorporate a historic façade from 1912, the rest of that previous building having been demolished to make way for this larger, more modern, and more accessible building.
However, the historic façade is on the other side of the building. What you’re looking at here is actually all new. That’s very nice, classy, classic design. It doesn’t look like a cheap imitation of something old. It’s understated, and just works.
Here’s the historic façade on the other side. This is actually before the demolition and rebuild (the only image on Google Maps), but it basically looks the same today:
Here it is being saved and propped up for use in the new structure:
A little bit on the building overall:
After years of construction and inconveniences, the General Assembly Building on Broad Street finally opened last month. Standing at 14 stories tall, featuring the perfectly preserved original 1912 façade, and boasting 414,884 square feet of offices, meeting rooms, and halls for hearings, the commonwealth has much to brag about.
With all eyes on the tunnels connecting to the Capital, the two-story grand atrium painted like a summer sky, and other amenities, however, folks have largely missed the gamechanger to the downtown dining scene that the building’s café represents. Need one say more than “the only publicly-owned pizza oven in Virginia?”
Bonus: just next door is the late-1800s Old City Hall. Look at this beauty:
Old and new—with a touch of old, too.
Related Reading:
The Office Space is All Tied Up
What Do You Think You’re Looking At? #28
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Nice! I'm glad they didn't do the typical starchitect half modern glued to the historic half. Historic preservation is an odd thing. Of course you want a rebuild like this to be in context but be something ersatz like on Main Street at Disney World. I agree with you they did this perfectly as it looks like it was always there, but that is rare and takes both skill and and a certain view of the wold that is perhaps not "pure" from a historic preservation standpoint. That "purity of view" in my opinion is what results in a modern and historic pieces bolted together. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but from where I stand a very high quality imitation is generally the way to go.