Victorians Institute Annual Conference 2012
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond International Airport (RIC)
The RIC website has complete information, including a list of airlines.
The cheapest flights come in from NY, Newark, Atlanta, Boston, and Cincinnati.
Richmond can be expensive to fly into depending on the point of departure.
Here are some other options: Southwest flies into Norfolk (75 miles away),
and a SW flight plus car rental may be less expensive (and you'd have a car for exploring
Richmond, or potentially stopping by Williamsburg or Jamestown en route.
Baltimore-Washington Airport (BWI)
is quite a distance away (about 120 miles), but it is serviced by Southwest, as well as incoming flights from abroad.
You can rent a car there and drive (I'd recommend driving South on Md 3, then US 301,
crossing the Potomac River Bridge, and picking up I-95 well South of DC).
BWI also has an AMTRAK stop, and one can check the AMTRAK schedules and pick up a train directly into Richmond.
AMTRAK's fare will probably be a little under $100 round-trip--not counting AAA discounts, etc.
Washington National Airport
Oops "Ronald Reagan" Airport is another option. One can take the Metro to the King Street Station (Yellow or Blue Line)
which is very close by to the Alexandria AMTRAK Station where one can take the train to Richmond.
AMTRAK
services Richmond on a regular basis from both North and South.
There are two Richmond stations. The trains that pass through en route to points South (NC, Florida) only stop at the Staples Mill Road Station.
There's a bus in, or taxis--but it's in the 'burbs. Trains running South from NY and ending up in Norfolk also stop at the restored Main Street Station,
a Victorian pile smack downtown. (The magnificent Broad Street station, designed by John Russell Pope, is now a Science Museum.)
Buses--remember them?
Richmond is serviced by Greyhound, and also by a couple of "Chinatown" bus companies like Apex or Today's Bus
which will take you roundtrip from NYC to Richmond for less than $40 (plus your valuable time).
They also go to DC, Boston, etc. Recommended for creative writers looking for material.
VCU art students use them all the time for gallery trips to NYC.
City Buses
The conference hotel is within a reasonable walking distance (10 to 20 mins depending on your clip).
Fairly frequent city buses run East - West on Broad street, and pass right thru VCU's Monroe Park Campus.
Where to Eat
For a listing of local restaurants, see the Downtown Richmond Restaurant Guide and Richmond.com.
Here are also a few restaurants with web links.
A popular place in Carytown is CanCan, a fairly sizable, not ridiculously expensive French joint (that also does brunch). There is no embarrassing dancing on display.
A Richmond tradition is Mamma Zu's -- excellent food, attitudinous. It's in Oregon Hill (just South of Campus--like Rome, we've got seven of them), and is the anti-CanCan.
Zu's has two sisters -- 8 1/2 a little take out joint (think calzone) on Strawberry Street in the Fan (about a half mile from campus) and Edo's Squid, practically on campus
at 411 Harrison (upstairs). Edo's is where we always take our job candidates for lunch. Couscous, also practically on campus, is a vegetarian-friendly Mediterranean restaurant
located at 900 W. Franklin.
Where to Stay
A limited number of rooms have been reserved for conference participants at the DoubleTree Hotel (301 West Franklin).
For a listing of hotels, see Accommodations.
(The Scott House where the conference reception will be held is at 909 West Franklin).
Linden Row, an independent Inn, is more Victorian -- it dates from the 1840s, and has an association with Poe.
The DoubleTree, a subsidiary of Hilton, is a 200 room hotel in a highrise.
FREE SHUTTLE VANS from HOTELS
DoubleTree operates a free shuttle. Other hotels may as well. If you want a ride in the morning to campus or a ride back, ask to book the shuttle when you check in.
In between the two on Franklin Street is the Jefferson Hotel (101 West Franklin), which is a good bit more expensive.
The Jefferson has an excellent French restaurant, Lemaire, as well as a less pricy bar and restaurant, TJs, and a grand 1890s lobby
with giant faux marble pillars, statue of TJ, and Gone with the Wind staircase. They have an afternoon tea and a famous Sunday Brunch.
These three are the only hotels within an easy walk of campus. Others downtown, such as the one attached to the Convention Center on Broad,
are within a walk, but city buses might be a better option. Richmond has multiple clones of all the chain hotels. If you want to stay at Holiday Inn,
the Holiday Inn Central, now Clarion Hotel Central,
(3207 N Boulevard, 804-359-9441) is closest to campus and just off an exit at I-95 near the baseball stadium.
Around Town
Agecroft Hall
A Richmond oddity -- a 15th-century Tudor house brought over in pieces
and reconstructed on the banks of the James, now a museum.
Byrd Theatre
is a 1920s movie palace, complete with mighty Wurlitzer, remote controlled piano
in an alcove, and over-the-top decor. It features second run movies at $1.99.
The Canal Club
for live music.
Carytown
About a mile and a half West of campus is Carytown,
a strip of upscale boutiques, antique stores, delis, wine-shops, restaurants, etc.
[with parking in decks between Cary Street (one way heading East) and Main/Ellwood (one way heading West)].
Hollywood Cemetery
was designed in 1847 but includes the graves of those who died much earlier.
According to cemetery website, two American presidents, six Virginia governors, two Supreme Court justices,
are buried there.
twenty-two Confederate generals, and thousands of Confederate soldiers
From the cemetery is a lovely view of the James River.
Maymont
is a 100-acre Victorian country estate of James Henry and Sallie May Dooley.
It shows the history and culture of the Gilded Age in addition to hosting history events,
maintaining animal habitats and various gardens.
The Museum of Edgar Allan Poe
also referred to as the Poe Museum,
which claims to house the largest and finest collection
of Poe's manuscripts, letters, first editions, memorabilia, and personal belongings.
Plan 9
is a landmark independent record store.
The Valentine Richmond History Center
also called The Valentine Museum,
includes the
Edward V. Valentine (1838-1930) Sculpture Studio , one of four surviving 19th-century sculpture studios in the US
open to the public, in addition to the 19th-century Wickham House and Collections.
Virginia Historical Society
is a private organization, founded in 1831. The Society publishes the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
VMFA houses a significant Art Deco & Art Nouveau Collection.
Richmond.com
lists additional events in Richmond.
Room Share
E-mail David Latané at dlatane@vcu.edu if you'd like to have your e-mail posted for a possible room share.