Rich history relegated to drain cover

It's sad enough that the Navy Hill neighborhood was first decimated by Interstate 95 and later eradicated by the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park.

Progress has its price, but Richmond's black enclaves paid a disproportionate toll. Whole neighborhoods should not vanish without a trace, particularly one with the rich history of Navy Hill.

Named for a naval war memorial that was never built and originally settled by German immigrants, Navy Hill and the proud school that bore its name produced such local black luminaries as Maggie L. Walker, John Mitchell Jr. and Albert V. Norrell.

After the Richmond Children's Museum moved away in 2000, Navy Hill flatlined. All that remained was one block bearing its name and a stone marker on a grassy patch above the interstate.

In what may be the final indignity heaped upon Navy Hill, that commemorative marker now sits atop a manhole cover behind a parking deck at the corner of Navy Hill Drive and East Duval Street.

Dedicated "to the memories of our demised loved ones" on July 17, 1993, it reads:

Love and memories never die as days roll on and years pass by. Deep in our hearts memories are kept of the ones we loved and shall never forget.

But forgotten they are.

"This is such a miserable situation," said local historian Selden Richardson, who brought the matter to my attention. "It's really hard to pick out a scrap of happy in it."

At the very least, Richardson wants the monument taken off the manhole and placed in its original position. But he'd like to see Navy Hill recognized beyond its street sign and the humble marker.

"It's pretty breathtaking in its erasure," he said of the neighborhood. "It's so pathetic and so poignant it just defies description. Maybe this last gasp of this interesting and historic neighborhood will get some attention."

Robert T. Skunda, president and CEO of the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park, said the memorial was removed three to 3½ years ago and placed into safekeeping, "so that a truck driver wouldn't inadvertently run over it," after construction began on the Philip Morris USA Center for Research and Technology and later, BioTech 8.

In returning the monument near its original site, Skunda said the contractor sought an area where the stone would be visible and safe. The contractor placed it on the storm-sewer cover "thinking it was out of the traffic lane and it would at least be visible to anyone at that location . . . essentially we're dealing with a [marker] that is off of our property and in the right of way."

"I wouldn't have even known who to contact whether there was any concern or dissatisfaction" over the displaced marker, Skunda said. "No one has bothered to contact me except for the press."

Finding a permanent spot for the memorial may require approval from the city of Richmond or the Virginia Department of Transportation. But Skunda said he'd be happy to work with Navy Hill representatives.

Anyone who cares about Navy Hill needs to take Skunda up on his offer before the last shovelful of dirt is tossed on its memory.