Ginter House is the historic 1892 former residence of

Lewis Ginter Major Lewis Ginter (April 4, 1824 – October 2, 1897) was a prominent businessman, financier, military officer, real estate developer, and philanthropist centered in Richmond, Virginia. A native of New York City, Ginter accumulated a considerabl ...

. It is owned by

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

(VCU) and is home to the Provost's office. It was used as Richmond's first public library from 1925 until 1930, was used as part of a school, and was the main administrative building on the Monroe Park, Virginia campus of VCU for more than 40 years.History
by Ray Bonis Office of the Provost, VCU It is now used as administrative offices.

History

The home was built from 1888 to 1892 for Ginter, a cigarette magnate and philanthropist who developed an area of Richmond's north side and built the Jefferson Hotel. Harvey L. Page and William Winthrop Kent were brought in from Washington, D.C. to design the home. It is three and one half stories high and includes a

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...

al three-story tower. It uses brownstone at its base, pecked brownstone on the first floor, patterned brick, and stone panels. The roof employed Spanish tile. The home has a mahogany library and ironwork done by G. Krug and Sons. Ginter never married and lived in the home with John Pope, his younger business associate and long-time friend, and Ginter's niece Grace Arents. When Ginter died on October 2, 1897, the home and his fortune were left to Arents (1848-1926).

Richmond Public Library and Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health

In 1924, Ginter House became the first site for the newly founded Richmond Public Library. The home's library was used by students of the Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health which was established across the street in 1925 (now Founder's Hall). When the new Richmond library (aka Dooley Library) was opened in 1930, its books were moved to the new location and the Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health purchased Ginter House and property in 1930. It was used for its library, as classroom space and offices. It later became used only for administrative functions. The school became Richmond Professional Institute (RPI). It merged in 1968 with the

Medical College of Virginia The VCU Medical Center is Virginia Commonwealth University's medical campus located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, in the Court End neighborhood. VCU Medical Center used to be known as the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), which merged with the ...

to become Virginia Commonwealth University. An east wing was added as part of a

WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...

project in 1939 and a west wing was added on to the back in 1949. An example of Richardsonian architecture, it is located on the corner of Shafer Street and West Franklin Street at 901 West Franklin Street. The home features decorative woodwork, ornate fireplaces,

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows,

leather wallpaper Leather wallpaper is a type of wallpaper used in various styles for wall covering. It is often referred to as wrought leather. It is often gilded, painted and decorated. Leather was used to cover and decorate sections of walls in the houses o ...

and

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

detailing.Ginter House
VCU

Summer residence

In the late 19th century, Ginter built a large luxurious, Victorian-style Mansion in Richmond's North Side for his summer home where he lived with John Pope. Westbrook had a tower, the top floor of which was used by the Major as a private barbershop. The home was filled with dark wood paneling in oak, birch, mahogany and cherry. Fireplaces were constructed with imported tile in various designs and colors. It became a psychiatric hospital in 1911. The house was demolished in 1975.

History

Richmond Public Library and Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health

Summer residence

See also

References

Further reading