Please join us for a PRESS CONFERENCE
AT 1:30 AT FRANKLIN AND FOUSHEE STREETS!

We have just learned that the City of Richmond has changed its position and plans to issue a demolition permit for the historic Second Baptist Church.

Historic Richmond reached out to the Jefferson Hotel and its owners informally and formally with offers to partner with them to assist with the adaptive reuse of the Second Baptist Church building and to explore nontraditional preservation approaches for the structure and the façade. We were rebuffed. In addition, due to its architectural significance, we nominated the historic Second Baptist Church building for the Preservation Virginia and National Trust’s most endangered lists.

If you care about the imminent loss of this beautiful historic resource, please

(1) contact the Mayor and your City Council representative to register your concern that the City of Richmond failed to follow the appropriate process for review by the Commission of Architectural Review for proposed demolitions in City Old & Historic Districts; and

(2) contact the Jefferson Hotel to register your dismay at the demolition of this historic architectural landmark.

Mayor Stoney ([email protected])
Planning Director Kevin Vonck ([email protected])

Richmond City Council Members:

The Honorable Andreas D. Addison (1st District) [email protected]
The Honorable Katherine Jordan (2nd District) [email protected]
The Honorable Ann-Frances Lambert (3rd District) [email protected]
The Honorable Kristen Nye Larson (4th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Stephanie A. Lynch (5th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson (6th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Cynthia I. Newbille (7th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Reva M. Trammell (8th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Michael J. Jones (9th District) [email protected]

Jefferson Hotel:

For more information about the historic Second Baptist Church building, its architectural significance as part of the Franklin Street streetscape, and the importance of historic preservation for a vibrant city, please see more information on our website, here.

About Second Baptist Church: The 1906 Second Baptist Church sanctuary was designed by William C. Noland of Noland and Baskervill, one of Richmond’s prominent architects and founder of the firm that is now known as Baskervill. The historic Second Baptist sanctuary building, a monumental neoclassic temple with a columned portico, is considered the finest design of its kind in Richmond. Second Baptist is part of a Franklin Street City Old & Historic District created in 1977 and expanded in 1987 to protect an eclectic and glamorous array of historic civic and residential architecture. Second Baptist is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which describes the building as “one of the most architecturally correct porticoes in the city. The design is derived directly from a Roman temple. It is the most distinguished progeny of Jefferson’s Capitol in Richmond.” Today, Second Baptist’s classical façade is a striking landmark on Franklin Street. Many consider Franklin Street to be the essence of Richmond with its fine buildings defining the architectural character of Richmond. Franklin Street never looked better with Monroe Park and VCU’s Monroe Park Campus, the YMCA, The Women’s Club, The Garden Club of Virginia and Linden Row recently revitalized.