Monroe Park
{{Short description|Park in Richmond, Virginia, United States of America}}
{{For|the unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware|Monroe Park, Delaware}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox park
| name = Monroe Park
| alt_name =
| photo = Monroe park VA.jpg
| photo_width =
| photo_alt =
| photo_caption = Monroe Park facing east
| type = Public Park
| location = Richmond, Virginia
| coords = {{coord|37.5465354|N|77.4502613|W|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coords_ref = {{cite gnis|1479112|Monroe Park}}
| area =
| created = {{Start date|1851}}
| operator = City of Richmond
| visitation_num =
| status =
| open =
| website = [http://www.monroepark.com/ monroepark.com]
| map =
| map_width =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| embedded = {{Infobox NRHP
| name =
| embed = yes
| nrhp_type = cp | nocat = yes
| partof = Monroe Park Historic District
| partof_refnum = 84003572
| built = 1851
| architect =
| architecture =
| designated_nrhp_type = July 05, 1984{{NRISref|version=2009a}}
}}
}}
Monroe Park is a {{convert|7.5|acre}} landscaped park {{convert|1|mi}} northwest of the Virginia State Capitol Building in Richmond, Virginia. It is named after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States (1817–1825). The park unofficially demarcates the eastern point of the Fan District and is Richmond's oldest park. It occupies the center of the Virginia Commonwealth University Monroe Park Campus.
Description
Monroe Park is pentagonal in shape, with an arrangement of paved paths among lawns and mature deciduous trees, intersecting at a cast iron fountain in the center of the area. This Victorian park is currently in the planning process of a historically sensitive, extensive renovation. The Monroe Park Advisory Council, an organization constituted by Richmond City Councilman William Pantele in 2003, in partnership with the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities and Richmond's Department of Community Development are leading the renovation initiative.
=Features=
{{Main|Statue of Williams Carter Wickham}}
File:Gen'l_W.C._Wickham_Monument,_In_Monroe_Park,_Richmond,_Va._(16811310506).jpg
A bronze statue of Williams Carter Wickham designed by Edward Virginius Valentine was erected in the Park in 1891.{{cite web|title=Williams Carter Wickham, (sculpture).|url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!14761~!0#focus|accessdate=July 2, 2020|publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}{{Cite book|last=Sedore|first=Timothy S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGu5swwHDMEC&q=%22Williams+Carter+Wickham%22+monroe+park&pg=PA150|title=An Illustrated Guide to Virginia's Confederate Monuments|date=2011|publisher=SIU Press|isbn=9780809386253|via=Google Books}} The work was the gift of Williams' fellow soldiers and the employees of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.{{Cite book|last=Layton|first=Robert C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKZ2CQAAQBAJ&q=%22Williams+Carter+Wickham%22+monroe+park&pg=PT93|title=Discovering Richmond Monuments: A History of River City Landmarks Beyond the Avenue|date=2013|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9781614239529|via=Google Books}}
In 2017, Clayton and Will Wickham, two of Wickham's descendants, requested that the city of Richmond remove the statue.{{Cite news|last=ROBINSON|first=MARK|title=Confederate descendants ask Richmond Mayor to remove statue from Monroe Park|work=Richmond Times-Dispatch|url=https://www.richmond.com/news/local/confederate-descendants-ask-richmond-mayor-to-remove-statue-from-monroe-park/article_3b313c75-c6f9-5273-8842-00944669f305.html}}{{Cite web|agency=Associated Press|date=August 31, 2017|title=Descendants of Confederate general seek statue's removal|url=https://wset.com/news/local/descendants-of-confederate-general-seek-statues-removal|website=WSET}} In their letter to the city council, the brothers wrote that "as a plantation owner, Confederate general and industrialist, General Wickham unapologetically accrued power and wealth through the exploitation of enslaved people".
Public objections to the sculpture's presence in Monroe Park increased during the 2020 George Floyd protests. In June 2020, protesters toppled the sculpture using ropes.{{cite news|last1=Rahman|first1=Khaleda|date=June 7, 2020|title=Confederate Leader Williams Carter Wickham Statue in Virginia Capital Torn Down, Graffitied Overnight|work=Newsweek|url=https://www.newsweek.com/statue-confederate-general-virginia-torn-down-1509209|accessdate=June 6, 2020}}{{cite news|last=Fultz|first=Matthew|date=June 7, 2020|title=Crew heard cheers as Confederate general's statue toppled in Monroe Park|publisher=WTVR-TV|url=https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/crew-heard-cheers-as-confederate-generals-statue-toppled-in-monroe-park}}{{Cite news|last1=GORMAN|first1=SEAN|last2=MORENO|first2=SABRINA|title=WATCH NOW: Confederate statue removed from Monroe Park after protesters tore it down Saturday night|work=Richmond Times-Dispatch|url=https://www.richmond.com/news/local/watch-now-confederate-statue-removed-from-monroe-park-after-protesters-tore-it-down-saturday-night/article_d440d8b2-48a2-54d1-823c-773b51bf233d.html}}
History
The land on which the Park is located was purchased by the City of Richmond in 1851{{cite web|title=Monroe Park Historic District National Register Nomination|url=https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/127-0383_Monroe_Park_HD_1984_Final_Nomination.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630170826/https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/127-0383_Monroe_Park_HD_1984_Final_Nomination.pdf|archive-date=2021-06-30|publisher=Virginia Department of Historic Resources|accessdate=2023-11-18}} at the cost of $13,592.56.{{cite book|last1=Clinger|first1=David|title=The Ghosts and Glories of Monroe Park: A Sesquicentennial History|date=1998|publisher=The Dietz Press|location=Richmond, Virginia|isbn=0-87517-102-8|page=3}} Originally, the land was used as the State Agricultural Fair Grounds in the mid-19th century. During the American Civil War the area was used as a military camp and military hospital. A central stone fountain was donated by U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Albert Ordway in 1872.{{cite book|last1=Clinger|first1=David|title=The Ghosts and Glories of Monroe Park: A Sesquicentennial History|date=1998|publisher=The Dietz Press|location=Richmond, Virginia|isbn=0-87517-102-8|pages=13}} It was later replaced with the current cast iron fountain in the early twentieth century. Monroe Park was home to the City's first baseball games.{{cite web |url=http://www.markerhistory.com/monroe-park-marker-sa-67/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117132800/http://www.markerhistory.com/monroe-park-marker-sa-67/ |archive-date=2011-11-17 |title=Monroe Park SA-67 {{!}} Marker History}}
References
- {{Commons category-inline}}
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{{James Monroe|state=collapsed}}
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Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Richmond, Virginia
Category:Parks in Richmond, Virginia