Historic Hippodrome Theater and Taylor Mansion Renovations

he Historic Hippodrome Theater and W L Taylor Mansion are located in Richmond’s Jackson Ward Historic District. This historic neighborhood was the center of African American commerce, arts and entertainment during the early 20th Century. Renowned architect James Langsford, also described as the Architect of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, was one of several architects to design historic buildings here. His W L Taylor Mansion was designed and constructed in 1907 for Rev. William Lee Taylor, who served as the second “Grand Worthy Master” and President of the True Reformers beginning in 1897. (Booker T Washington Papers, Vol II, 1911-1912, Louis Harlan and Raymond Smock, Editors). The Grand Fountain, United Order of the True Reformers, founded in Richmond in 1881, would later become the True Reformers Savings Bank, the first African American owned and chartered bank in the United States. The adjacent Hippodrome Theater, originally built in 1904, hosted numerous and legendary artists ranging from Louis Armstrong to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson to Ethel Waters throughout the 1st half of the century. The Hippodrome Theater’s fabulous lineup of legendary artists and the vibrancy of the neighborhood’s commercial activity led many to call the Jackson Ward District “the Harlem of the South” during it’s heyday.

he Jackson Ward Historic District currently is the scene of major renovation efforts to restore many of its majestic 19th and early 20th century structures. One of the earliest renovations was the Maggie Walker House. Maggie Lena Walker was one of the neighborhood’s early visionaries, becoming the first African American woman in the United States to charter a bank and serve as its president with the establishment of the St Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903. Her former residence in Jackson Ward was designated a national Historic Landmark in 1975 and was purchased from the family in 1979 by the National Park Service, then magnificently restored. It now is administered by the National Park Service.

he W L Taylor Mansion and Hippodrome Theater are the centerpieces of the latest project to return the Jackson Ward Historic District to prominence. Construction began this fall with both venues projected to open in the spring of 2011. The 800 seat Hippodrome Theater will feature live Blues and R&B acts each month while the W L Taylor Mansion will feature a two-level restaurant and a 120 seat “listening room” for live entertainment nightly in an even more intimate setting. The Hippodrome is featured in “American Blues, Jazz & Soul Food: The Hall of Memories,” an e-book available on Amazon.com. To follow the progress of renovations on both the Hippodrome and the W L Taylor mansion, visit: http://thehippblog.blogspot.com