The Way I See It # 397

An Urban Observation:


When someone asks me where I live they are usually very surprised. My usual answer is “The 900 block of W. Franklin St.” Their surprise is not rooted in the safety or general “word on the street” about W. Franklin St, as it’s actually a safe and welcoming block, but instead it is rooted in the fact that most wouldn’t peg the 900 block as a residential street. Virginia Commonwealth University has purchased most of the old Victorian real estate on W. Franklin and turned the charming town houses into administrative buildings for the University. The President’s House is on my block, which I like to think gives my own address some sort of regality (even if it doesn’t), and my very own address is across from the Wilder School of Political Science and two doors down from the Buford House (Art History). This juxtaposition of the few residences that have invaded the block and the University buildings creates an aura of collegiate academia—one that I am happy to live amongst.
It’s 4:00 PM on the 900 block, and due to the blistery cold weather, not many people are outside. On a sunny day people can be seen strolling down the sidewalk under the line of trees. Many people walk their dogs toward the dog park up N. Harrison, and more so are there students walking to class. W. Franklin is one of the few side streets of the VCU campus among which students frequently utilize to get to class. But for right now, there aren’t many people about (reasons for this include the weather, and perhaps for the lateness in the day), and the street is predominantly empty.
At one end of the 900 block runs Shafer St., and on its corner is the Chesterfield apartment building, which holds a wonderful restaurant, Cous Cous, and also one of two VCU bookstores. Now it is apparent that the 900 Block of W. Franklin has bee utilized by different types of building zones: restaurant, retailer, administrative buildings, and actual residences. All of these different zones provide an inviting feeling when one steps onto the block, and it feels almost as though you have everything you really need at an arm’s reach.
Perhaps what is more responsible for the inviting feeling one gets from living and walking here is the Victorian charm of the architecture that is prevalent on W. Franklin St. I myself live in the downstairs parlor of one of the Victorian homes that nestles up to W. Franklin and it’s odd to think that at one time whole families rather than apartment dwellers such as myself used these homes. In fact, this very Victorian architecture that is seen on W. Franklin is one of the many things that draws VCU students to attend the University. The charm of these large, elaborately decorated homes adds a sense of sophistication and wonder to those who live and work here.
As for neighborly interaction, normally when it’s cold outside I don’t see much of anyone. However, when the weather is warm, it is not unusual to see a gaggle of people on every stoop down the block, talking academics, “I don’t understand why my students in Art history 103 aren’t getting the concept of the Golden Rule!” (at Buford House), or talking about anything in general. The neighbors are jovial and in good spirits when the weather is up, and it’s just as common to see people from the street join in their conversation, and even make their way up onto the stoops. However, due to this cold, windy, weather, most people are walking fast and trying to get home or to class. All kinds of people interact on W. Franklin, whether it be professors heading to office hours, bike kids making their way across town, VCU students, workmen working on restoring the buildings, or just regular inhabitants of the block, everyone and everything seems to mesh together quite nicely. I personally couldn’t imagine a better place to work or live.