Landscape Information
This L-shaped, 12.5-acre campus is located along the northwestern edge of the Carver neighborhood adjacent to I-95. The site features a three-story Neoclassical and Art-Deco brick structure established as a segregated high school for African American students in the 1930s.
The property incorporates eight acres of the former Bowe plantation, acquired by Joseph Hartshorn in 1884 for the Hartshorn Memorial College. The institution provided African American women with higher education, merging with nearby Virgina Union University in 1932. After closing, the campus was acquired by the Richmond City School Board, who engaged architects, Carneal, Johnston & Wright, to design a public high school. Dedicated in 1938, the school was named for civil rights activist, entrepreneur and Richmond native, Maggie L. Walker. It closed in 1979 and reopened in 2001 as a public magnet school.
Featuring two symmetrical Y-shaped wings that frame modest diamond-shaped courtyards, the structure’s primary entrance fronts North Lombardy Street, which slopes to the northeast. The second story entrance is oriented on axis with an approximately 50-foot-wide, linear forecourt that bisects an arced entry drive. The drive and forecourt frame two symmetrical, quarter-circle shaped lawn panels edged by oak and magnolia trees. The forecourt is flanked by flagpoles and is embellished by a central bed planted with flowering shrubs, and a stone plinth with a plaque and bust commemorating Walker. An additional marker, located at the property’s southern corner, honors the founding of Hartshorn Memorial College.
The property, not accessible to the public, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 for its significance to Richmond’s African American community.
