Thursday Doors from Church Hill, Virginia (Gentrification Underway)

Posted on by Prior...

Hello Readers, bringing you to Church Hill, Virginia for a Thursday Doors post. 

Church Hill is a small neighborhood east of downtown Richmond, Virginia.

Church Hill is where Patrick Henry gave his “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech.

Church Hill is also where the largest Civil War hospital was located – over in Chimborazo Park

RED SCREEN DOOR on this typical Church Hill home

In the last few years, Church Hill has been experiencing major construction, also called gentrification, which involves rebuilding in a way that changes the character of a neighborhood by upscaling it – or building to appeal to more affluent residents and businesses. 

New next to the old….

The gentrification topic is a touchy one because it will displace many low-income residents, but it can also be good for an area – as it often helps reduce crime and it can fortify the area with growth.  

How do you feel about gentrification in an area? I am mixed….

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Slideshow with some of the newer structures coming in:

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Slideshow with some of the older homes:

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As we left Church Hill, I saw this vintage chair. The verticals on the chair seemed to sync with the porch rails. And the thin, long home really stood out as a an example of a period house in the Church Hill, Virginia area (linked to PULL up a seat). I guess the extra large trash bins also say something about the weekly amount of waste “we” tend to generate per household – hmmmm – so much to ponder here – with a hint of a door on the porch. 

Church Hill Shines On!

And I hope things work out for the residents that have lived here for so long. 

Thursday Doors is a weekly celebration of doors hosted by Norm Frampton (Norm 2.0).  

Go HERE to leave your link – and/ or check out the other door shares for this week. 

(This is a scheduled post – so I will be back to activate the link to Norm’s blog – and add my link over there)

All photos in this post taken in September 2019 – and thanks to Su (here) for reminding me about my Church Hill photos

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54 thoughts on “Thursday Doors from Church Hill, Virginia (Gentrification Underway)”

  6. What a fabulous site you have, both in terms of layout and content! Gentrification is a topic very near and dear to my heart. It seems as if my entire life, I’ve had a knack for identifying up and coming neighborhoods. For instance, I lived in Hollywood, California from 1999 to 2013. In that time, it went from a drug-infested ghetto, populated with droves of poor homeless people, into a swinging hotspot and burgeoning centre for hotels and condos. For the most part, I was pleased with the development because LA has rent control. That is, until my view from the 3rd story lanai apartment was obliterated by a 5-story apartment building! There are pluses and minuses to almost all forms of change. Now i live in Annapolis, Maryland USA where development has wiped out historical tracts, such as battlefields and thousands of acres of woodland. The result is congestion, crime and all the other pitfalls of urbanization. Cheers!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Hi Russell – I did not know about rent control in LA- and maybe they can do that for church hill!!
      Also – the area in Maryland where u live is near the big old DC and so I bet that fueled development and upgrading with modern – hmmmm
      And thanks for the nice compliment – glad to connect via blogging and I know you know this – but no two blogs are ever the same and I have had a few bumpy seasons where I was not sure I would stay blogging – or I wanted to change my MO. And finding balance with the blog mode is key- or it can be a black hole that sucks time – which has perks and a place- but needs to be monitored and assessed regulatory – ya know?

      Liked by 1 person

  7. I love to see the architecture. The homes there are quite different from ours here. There is one house with a beautiful big tree at the front. How gorgeous.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hi Norah! Not all homes are like this here – but these row homes and townhomes were in back in the day in this area….
      And that tree really whispers of the age of that street!!

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Beautiful doors on the houses. I especially like the yellow one. Years ago I remember a realtor telling me that if you can’t sell a house paint the front door yellow. Don’t know if that holds true, but that’s what I think of every time I see a yellow front door.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. You are right about how they stand out- and a couple years ago I met a sweet lady in the fan district in Richmond and they painted their row home door yellow so their daughter would always know which door was home and not accidentally walk up to the wrong home – they all looked so similar

      Liked by 1 person

  12. This is a complex problem. From the city, I can understand their motivation to make things better business wise.. Don’t know how it feels for the inhabitants of these neighborhoods, and if they still can live there. All the doors are attractive here:)
    Thank you for coming by with your comment about the artist you saw painting:)

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hi jesh – thanks for your thoughtful comment – and I do know how one resident feels – she is worried and said she feels like they are “driving” them out.
      I might make a second church hill post – not sure yet –
      And really enjoyed your post! Hope
      You have a great day

      Like

  14. That vintage chair is a real charmer.
    I’m not sure that gentrification can be addressed with a single comment. The area may move up, but the low income people have to go somewhere. It has seemed to me that the crime just moves around to another spot, it doesn’t really go down. When Pioneer square in Seattle was gentrified back in the 70s the population of scary (to a teenage girl) folks shifted to be closer to the downtown shopping areas.

    In Seattle, the entire city has gentrified over the past ten years and we have a large homeless population now that has spread throughout the city. There are entire blocks near downtown that are full of tents and makeshift shelters. It feels like we are moving toward what you see in the third world.

    The ridiculous housing market is a contributor (certainly not the only one).

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thanks for your insightful reply! And we saw Lo Do in Denver become transformed and you are right – crime just moves over!
      And had no idea about the homeless situation in Seattle – but did know about the problem in San Francisco – so bad!
      The Seattle situation sounds so sad and the middle class is evaporating – seems like
      How sad about the tents – on one hand I think people should be able to live in the dwelling of choice – but on the other hand – there are sanitation issues – and then the issue of having no choice – ugh…
      Thanks again for the comment

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Nice doors and an interesting topic for debate. We’ve seen neighborhoods virtual disappear and be rebuilt in a new image. Sometimes, it is as you suggest, for the greater good. On other occasions, it has destroyed an element of history that we will regret having lost (in 15-30 years). We’ve had some small successes lately. I take that as a positive sign.

    Liked by 2 people

  17. Pingback: Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge 2019-Week 38 | XingfuMama

  18. Lots o’ doors. I love the lime-y green one!

    I don’t like gentrification. In Philadelphia, for instance, this one section has universities and hospitals attached, etc. They eventually rebuilt the entire neighborhood. The people who serve food and clean and transport patients in those same hospitals now can’t afford to live in the neighborhoods they were forced out of. Gentrification brings up so many other issues that aren’t dealt with. I wouldn’t mind rebuilding, etc., if it wasn’t just another way to marginalize people.

    Liked by 2 people

  19. Great doors and a complex issue. I live in an area containing old, character infused homes, but they do require deep pockets to keep them in good shape. The ‘average’ person cannot afford to live in them, so developers raze them and build new housing that some can then afford.

    Liked by 2 people

  21. An interesting and thought-provoking post. Gentrification is a double-edged sword. It can breathe new life economically and socially, into a tired old neighborhood. But it usually drives up real-estate prices to the point of forcing out lower income residents who can’t afford to live there anymore. There has to be a better way to mitigate the displacement, I just don’t know what it is.

    Liked by 2 people

  22. In Bristol UK, gentrification is moving at a fast pace and some areas and communities are being displaced. Many of the new developments are unaffordable for people who live in the district, and they get squeezed or pushed further out of the city. There are wider impacts on changing the culture of some areas and creating sterile soulless developments that planners take no account of.

    There are ways of developing with local residents, but alas the profit margins are smaller. I am not a fan of gentrification.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hi – that is a good point about maybe finding ways to develop with current residents – and seems this gentrification happens globally
      And scooj – need to quote you on this: gentrification “impacts on changing the culture of some areas and creating sterile soulless developments that planners take no account of”

      Like

  23. Great post & pix. I’m mixed too. Sometimes gentrification brings life… really it amounts to rich get richer & poor aka renters unfortunately…

    Liked by 1 person

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