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Main Street Restoration
Located in the Shockoe Valley historic district, Main Street Station was opened on November 27, 1901. The Times-Dispatch reported that thousands of people were on hand at the opening and passengers had trouble getting to and from the trains because of the crowds.
The headhouse, train shed, tracks and several miles of viaducts cost around $2 million in 1901 dollars, which translates to approximately $42 million in today’s dollars. Wilson, Harris & Richards of Philadelphia were the architects. Main Street Station is a Beaux Arts masterpiece with the largest intact train trestle in the United States. The train shed in the back is one of the last of its kind in the country.
Increased traffic, longer trains, and heavier locomotives hindered the functionality of the station over the years. During the period commencing just before World War I and ending just after World War II, numerous plans were proposed to improve the situation. But the traffic dropped dramatically after WWII, making changes unnecessary. The Seaboard moved its train to Broad Street Station, and Amtrak continued to use the station until October 15, 1975. The station remained vacant for several years following.
SWA Development Corporation bought it in 1983 with plans to turn it into a shopping mall. On the eve of the conversion, a spectacular fire destroyed the upper floors and roof of the headhouse. The building was restored, including exact replicas of the terra cotta roof tiles fashioned from the original 1901 molds. It opened as a shopping mall in 1985, and was transitioned into offices for the Commonwealth of Virginia two years later.
Greater Richmond’s current restoration of Main Street Station–a symbol of the city to many–promises to strengthen the transportation network of the region and bolster economic vitality downtown. The $48.2 million renovation of the Main Street Station property into a multimodal transportation center will serve the Richmond region from one centralized location.
And then RightMinds came on the scene.
RightMinds President and CEO, Chris Thurston, a lifelong resident of Richmond, had long admired Main Street Station as an architectural centerpiece of the city. In early 2004, he began a search for a new corporate headquarters. Hearing about the historic renovation, and that the building’s upper floors would become dramatic office space, he immediately reached out to the building’s owners, the City of Richmond.
After two years of painstaking discussions, coordination, design, construction, upfit, inspections, and approvals, including a unanimous vote by the Richmond city council, RightMinds leased and moved into the top three floors of Main Street Station in December 2006.
Because of its prominence, architectural heritage and integrity, creative character and environment, its progressive interior design and furnishings, and the latest and greatest network and communications technology, it has become known as one of the premiere office locations in the region.
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