The Daniel Call House, stripped of its siding, is a block east of the recently built Parc View at Commonwealth apartments, visible at right. (Jonathan Spiers photos)
A house on West Grace Street that was originally built blocks away more than 200 years ago is facing the wrecking ball.
The Daniel Call House at 211 W. Grace St. is slated for demolition after being deemed unsafe by the city. The building’s siding has been stripped in preparation for the demolition, which could occur in coming weeks.
A demo permit for the site is “under review,” according to city documents. As of Thursday, that review was shown to be nearly halfway complete.
Shown in 2022, the building is across Grace Street from the Richmond Police headquarters. (BizSense file photo)
The two-story building and half-acre property are owned by Henrico-based development firm Bank Street Advisors, which purchased the site two years ago for $3.3 million.
Bank Street principal Christian Kiniry confirmed that the building is being demolished. He said the firm does not have specific plans for the property at this point.
The property is in the heart of Monroe Ward, two blocks west of the 15-story Parc View at Commonwealth apartment building that Chicago-based Pinecrest recently completed. Zoning changes approved in 2019 allowed for taller buildings in more parts of Monroe Ward and encouraged development of the ward’s abundance of surface parking lots.
City documents show an asphalt lot on the Grace Street property will remain after the house is demolished.
The house as it appeared in its current location in 1933, three years before it was disassembled and rebuilt. (Image courtesy Library of Congress)
Dating to the late 1700s, the house was originally built on the southeast corner of Broad and Ninth streets, where the new General Assembly Building is today. It was sold to Daniel Call, an attorney, in 1798, then was sold in 1849 to Mann Valentine, who had it moved on rollers the following year to its current location.
The house was disassembled and rebuilt in 1936 by the former Frank A. Bliley Funeral Home, which used the building as a mortuary until 1981, according to an R-Home Magazine article about the house. The rebuild included concrete walls for fireproofing and altered the look of the house with a new porch and an addition off the building’s west side. The house has since been used as a school and for offices.
The 8,000-square-foot structure is not listed on state or national historic registers, and Kiniry said it is not protected from demolition, such as by an easement.
The rebuild included a single-story addition on the west side of the house.
Bank Street applied for the demo permit in September, after site inspections conducted over the summer. S.B. Cox will be handling the demolition.
Bank Street bought the property in September 2022, the same month it purchased the former Richmond Camera building at 215 W. Broad St., a block north. Both properties were owned by entities tied to Richmond Camera President Ted Bullard.
The Grace Street property is assessed by the city at $1.28 million.
Bank Street has been active in Monroe Ward for years. The firm helped develop Quirk Hotel and Common House, and it developed the seven-story One Canal apartment building at Canal and First streets and converted a pair of office buildings at Cary and Foushee streets into 17 apartments.
On the same block as Quirk and the Richmond Camera building, Bank Street is planning an eight-story residential building at the corner of Broad and Madison streets.
The Daniel Call House, stripped of its siding, is a block east of the recently built Parc View at Commonwealth apartments, visible at right. (Jonathan Spiers photos)
A house on West Grace Street that was originally built blocks away more than 200 years ago is facing the wrecking ball.
The Daniel Call House at 211 W. Grace St. is slated for demolition after being deemed unsafe by the city. The building’s siding has been stripped in preparation for the demolition, which could occur in coming weeks.
A demo permit for the site is “under review,” according to city documents. As of Thursday, that review was shown to be nearly halfway complete.
Shown in 2022, the building is across Grace Street from the Richmond Police headquarters. (BizSense file photo)
The two-story building and half-acre property are owned by Henrico-based development firm Bank Street Advisors, which purchased the site two years ago for $3.3 million.
Bank Street principal Christian Kiniry confirmed that the building is being demolished. He said the firm does not have specific plans for the property at this point.
The property is in the heart of Monroe Ward, two blocks west of the 15-story Parc View at Commonwealth apartment building that Chicago-based Pinecrest recently completed. Zoning changes approved in 2019 allowed for taller buildings in more parts of Monroe Ward and encouraged development of the ward’s abundance of surface parking lots.
City documents show an asphalt lot on the Grace Street property will remain after the house is demolished.
The house as it appeared in its current location in 1933, three years before it was disassembled and rebuilt. (Image courtesy Library of Congress)
Dating to the late 1700s, the house was originally built on the southeast corner of Broad and Ninth streets, where the new General Assembly Building is today. It was sold to Daniel Call, an attorney, in 1798, then was sold in 1849 to Mann Valentine, who had it moved on rollers the following year to its current location.
The house was disassembled and rebuilt in 1936 by the former Frank A. Bliley Funeral Home, which used the building as a mortuary until 1981, according to an R-Home Magazine article about the house. The rebuild included concrete walls for fireproofing and altered the look of the house with a new porch and an addition off the building’s west side. The house has since been used as a school and for offices.
The 8,000-square-foot structure is not listed on state or national historic registers, and Kiniry said it is not protected from demolition, such as by an easement.
The rebuild included a single-story addition on the west side of the house.
Bank Street applied for the demo permit in September, after site inspections conducted over the summer. S.B. Cox will be handling the demolition.
Bank Street bought the property in September 2022, the same month it purchased the former Richmond Camera building at 215 W. Broad St., a block north. Both properties were owned by entities tied to Richmond Camera President Ted Bullard.
The Grace Street property is assessed by the city at $1.28 million.
Bank Street has been active in Monroe Ward for years. The firm helped develop Quirk Hotel and Common House, and it developed the seven-story One Canal apartment building at Canal and First streets and converted a pair of office buildings at Cary and Foushee streets into 17 apartments.
On the same block as Quirk and the Richmond Camera building, Bank Street is planning an eight-story residential building at the corner of Broad and Madison streets.
What a shame! Certain to be replaced by a hideous, Stalin-esque, monstrosity to better fit in with the neighboring structures.
Do you know and have see what this is being replaced with? What is this “Stalin-esque monstrosity” design you speak of, and what does that opinion even mean, I’m not sure I’ve seen any of this design type you speak of. I do generally prefer finding and working with historic buildings, in this case the building has been relocated, removing it from it’s historic context, rebuilt multiple times, including concrete walls, thus losing any historic details, and has been altered beyond recognition from any of it’s historic roots. On this i would tend to agree, with the loss of it’s… Read more »
Darned shame. A very attractive building that could be incorporated into new development.
Good to see Davis Market was spared…
understandable, but sad
Despite the name, they should really demolish the Davis Market across the street
you had a lot of character inside still; at least back in the early 2000s when the city considered it for an extended drug court/courthouse annex. It really was a great daycare center for downtown as well.
Too bad it’s gonna be replaced with an expanded parking lot and a weed field.
Not for long. VCU continues to grow and more student housing is probably on the way. Bank Street isn’t wasting its money on demolition without something in mind.
It was always “the other” Bliley funeral home, to me. Given the current and projected development for that area, it’s becoming more of an oddity as time passes. Richmond has enough historical structures already preserved. VCU has gobbled up more than its share. Might as well let this one go too.
Yes, this building is becoming an oddity as time passes. Davis Market on the other hand fits right in. When you walk around that block you don’t even notice Davis Market or the Parking Deck—they blend in perfectly! Why is that?
If you hung the Mona Lisa up inside a truckstop, it would also be an “oddity,” but that would be no reason to shred it. Move it? Perhaps. Clean up the truck stop? Maybe. But shred the painting? Obviously absurd.
The “oddity” is exactly why these types of buildings need to be preserved: they are diamonds in the rough.
Mmmm. An unremarkable old building is demolished. I won’t cry. It stands out like a sore thumb in the neighborhood. And it didn’t make very good use of the lot it was on. I don’t think this is anything to lament.
Wow I’m surprised you take that stance, John! I think it’s a beautiful building. The hideous Soviet bloc buildings on that block are what stand out to me.
It does not stand out like a sore thumb.
It stands out like a diamond in a coal mine.
We can bulldoze it and make it fit in with its surroundings (Davis Market, east parking lot, south parking lot, parking deck), or we can pick it up, clean & polish, and watch it shine.
“unremarkable” – that says a lot about your appreciation of Richmond’s history.
Too bad it can’t be moved somewhere and repurposed.
That’s my thought, too, Karl. Much as I’m glad that block might be freed up for (hopefully) high-rise residential/mixed use development, etc., I SO wish than rather than being simply torn down, this handsome old house could be carefully disassembled and moved to a different location. Brett is correct – the historic “context” of this building has been lost, since it has been relocated from its original location. But it HASN’T lost the historic context of the age and architecture, even though it was rebuilt decades ago and only barely resembles the original structure. Of course, it would be expensive… Read more »
I believe it housed a men’s clothing store in the early 80’s I bought my wedding suit there.
And to think it also housed a mortuary… wow… makes me think of the legendary Barnabas Collins from the classic 1960s daytime drama “Dark Shadows”.
Given all the previous moves and renovations it appears to be something of a “ship of Theseus”. That being said, its too bad it couldn’t be moved yet again, and repurposed.
Is that the strange looking old house that sat there with beaded masonsite siding that didn’t appear age appropriate?
I hate to see this happen, but would really like the opportunity to go and do as much architectural salvage as possible prior to the demo occurring if it does. Even if the building has to go, my company would love to save what can be saved and keep it out of the landfill. I will be trying to reach out to the owners about this for sure.