If you wanted to party in Richmond in the late 19th and early 20th century, there was no chicer venue than the Pump House on the edge of the James River.
After donning your finest raiment, you’d hop aboard a flat-bottomed boat at Seventh Street and take a leisurely ride up the canal to enjoy the festivities at the Pump House’s second-floor pavilion. There, you’d dance the night away, catching a breeze off the James as a live band played.
Richmond’s old Pump House will relive some of its former glamour this Saturday with the Swing Into Spring event, a one-night affair that will include dancing, live music from Jay Brown’s Grace Street Jazz Band and a complimentary tour of the Pump House. Proceeds from the event will contribute towards the restoration of the Victorian Gothic structure.
Mac Wood, secretary of the nonprofit Friends of Pump House, says attendees to the event will enjoy “swing dancing, jazz music, Victorian arches, cocktail attire, and being able to see the inside of a ballroom that was once host to the elites of the East Coast.”
Constructed between 1881 and 1883, the Pump House’s lower level contained a water-pumping station while the upper level featured a large open-air pavilion that hosted lavish events and dances. The building closed in 1924 and its machinery was sold for scrap before the start of World War II. The structure was abandoned for the better part of a century before restoration efforts began.
The Pump House was designed by Wilfred Emory Cutshaw, a longtime city engineer who was largely responsible for rebuilding Richmond after it was devastated by the Civil War. Cutshaw’s other efforts include the creation of Monroe Park, Old City Hall, what’s now Arthur Ashe Boulevard, a public reservoir at Byrd Park, and the development of city hills into public parks, including Libby, Chimborazo and Gamble’s hills.
Wood got involved with the efforts to rehabilitate the Pump House after he painted a mural on the staircase for Texas Beach in 2018. Bryce Wilk, then the superintendent of the James River Park System, recommended that he check out the Pump House.
“I’d been going to Maymont my whole life and didn’t even know it existed,” says Wood, who is a welder in addition to his work as a muralist, sculptor and illustrator. “It was so secret.”
Wood says that a $100,000 grant that the Friends of the Pump House received last year will allow them to repair the remainder of the structure’s first floor windows. Repairing the roof is next.
“Until the roof is repaired, there’s going to continue to be structural damage to the building and it’s going to become a more expensive project to fix further down the road,” Wood says.
The Friends’ ultimate goal is for the building to be open to the public and host offices for the James River Park System.
“This would be a multi-purpose building,” Wood explains. “The James River Park System owns the land that it sits on, so it could be a park facility, an education space. We already have field trips to the building. It would be great if those kids were able to take off their hardhats while they’re in here.”
This weekend’s event is a sequel to one that took place two years ago.
“It was fantastic,” Wood says of the previous ball. “It was beautiful to have people in the building and experience the grandiosity of it.”
While the ballroom event is limited to just 20 tickets, the park’s grounds will be open for a public picnic. The Art Deco Society of Virginia will be in attendance, coming out in Gatsby-style regalia.
“It’s a day to experience the ambient music coming from the building, dress up a bit, have a picnic,” Wood says.
Friends of Pump House’s Swing Into Spring event takes place Saturday, May 4, at Pump House Park, 1708 Pump House Drive. For more information, visit friendsofpumphouse.org.
