Downtown

Richmond is the birthplace of the First African Baptist Church. This church had been a church where Whites, Free Blacks, and Slaves would worship alongside each other. However, the church separated from the First Baptist Church once African Americans were given permission to establish their own church in 1841. The First African Baptist Church was regularly rented by whites for concerts, minstrel shows and political rallies, including a debate by working-class whites over union versus secession, held in a church where a slave-owning white minister led free blacks and slaves in regular worship: surprising as the scene might seem, to Richmonders during this time it was wholly unremarkable. The old church building is now a property of Medical College of Virginia.

This was the first building and home of the Medical College of Virginia, which now surrounds the structure.

This art gallery used to be an old fire station. In addition to art, they have an antique steam engine, a library, and a craft shop,.

The site of a Civil War-era iron foundery which supplied ordinance to the Confederate Army. The American Civil War Center aims to be the definitive museum on interpretation of the conflaguration from all perspectives. Also on the grounds are a statue of Abraham Lincoln and his son Todd.

A group of literary enthusiasts created the state's first monument to Poe in the writer's hometown. The Old Stone House is the oldest residential building that is still standing in Richmond. It houses an exhibit about Poe’s childhood in Richmond. Although Edgar Allan Poe never lived in the Old Stone House, he still had connections to the home itself and its surrounding neighborhood.

The White House of the Confederacy has been restored reflect its use as the executive mansion of Confederate President Jefferson Davis during the Civil War. Open to the public with regularly scheduled guided tours that are arranged and given by the Museum of the Confederacy.

Located between the neighborhoods of Oregon Hill and Randolph on a bluff overlooking the James, Presidents Tyler and Monroe have their final resting places here. So does the locally renowned Jefferson Davis, and it's worth the trip through winding roads to see reverent Southerns laying flags on his grave. Also in the cemetery are Confederate Generals George Pickett and J.E.B. Stuart and local authors James Branch Cabell and Ellen Glasgow. The lines of small headstones marking the mass graves of Confederate dead is truly an eerie and powerful sight.

The Lucky Strike Factory has been renovated into stylish loft apartments and condos. A good view of the painted smoke stack can be seen from nearby Libby Hill park, where the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument is located.

Maggie Lena Walker’s home is preserved as a tribute to her life as a civil rights leader, bank president and education leader in Jim-Crow Richmond Virginia. Ranger-led tours of the home start every hour starting at 10AM.

Home to Virginia's governors since 1813 and the oldest governor's residence in the country still used for its original purpose. Half hour tours available from T-F 10AM-2PM.

Shockoe Bottom 500 capacity club, featuring large stage upstairs and smaller stage downstairs. Hosts internationally known mainstream acts as well as local acts, mostly rock.

The Fan Theater venue, hosting larger mainstream acts.

Downtown art gallery and performing arts center that hosts touring and local indie rock.

One of the newest venues on the scene, The National filled the much-needed absence of a large club venue in Richmond, and hasn't slowed down since. With a general admission capacity of 1,500, it hosts larger touring and local acts. Features seven full bars, 300 padded stadium seats with cup holders in the balcony, and a state of the art sound system. The National Theater in Richmond opened in 1923. It was a popular site in the downtown scene in Richmond. It hosted vaudeville, silent movies and a live orchestra. It was designed by architect Claude K Howell. From the outside, the building looks like an Italian Renaissance villa. It has featured bands like Blues Traveler, John Mayer, Jack Johnson, Ben Folds, Elvis Costello, Melissa Ethridge, Pat Benatar, Justin Timberlake, and Matchbox 20. Payments accepted are cash, AMEX, Visa, Mastercard, and Discover cards. Tickets can be purchased at the door or through Ticketmaster.