You might not know this about me, but I'm a big fan of history and am especially fascinated by abandoned buildings. I also get pretty excited about street art. In both cases, the bigger, the better. In 2012, more than a dozen artists took part in The RVA Street Art Festival, where they painted huge murals on the exposed walls of the massive abandoned power plant. If you ever want to lure me into a trap, the scenario presented in the previous sentence is probably a good start.
Built in 1899, the former Virginia Electric and Power Co. hydroelectric plant has been empty and unused since it closed in 1965. It's located on the Haxall canal - part of Richmond's stunning Canal Walk. The canals in Richmond were originally designed as part of a bigger system meant to ship freight from the coast to the Ohio River. It was never finished, and most of it was eventually converted into railroads. In the 1970s, there was a renewed interest in what was left of the canals and a chunk of it was restored.
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The view of the canal and the power plant from a foot bridge.
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It took me a long time to actually get to the power plant to see the murals because of living in a different state and then other excuses, but I finally went last weekend and took a bunch of pictures. It was even more magical than I'd imagined.
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| A mural about how the heart and soul of our city smells bad by Hamilton Glass |
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| Vizie and Dalek collaboration (Left) and My personal fav by Pose (Right) |
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| Chair Sculpture by Susan Whittier, Mural by Art 180 |
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| Chris made a friend. |
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| Still giddy after a long day of tromping around Richmond with my camera. |
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Richmond by Bill Pickett
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There is so much amazing street art in Richmond. I have more to show you guys, so stay tuned!
You can see all of my RVA Street Art posts
here.
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