Ginter Place

 
GENERAL INFORMATION: The Ginter Place project delivered 69 spacious condominium units ranging from 1,500 sf to 2,300 sf, most with private balconies. Also developed were a 66-space parking garage, 76 surface parking spaces, a luxurious clubroom, office space, a visitor guest suite, and various amenity/meeting spaces. 12 future townhouses are to be built on the western perimeter of the property. It is a park-like setting with abundant landscaping, ample surface parking, secure in-building parking and generous storage room for all units, as well as full elevator access. All units have brand-new systems, and are pre-wired for high-speed Internet and cable. Units feature exceptional flooring materials, beautiful trim details, gourmet kitchens, and a luxurious quality that is second-to-none.
 
ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES: Located at 1350 Westwood Avenue, the tower building stands eight stories tall and is clad with red brick laid in Flemish bond. The building casts an impressive silhouette on an otherwise quiet skyline and contrasts with the surrounding smaller-scale residential dwellings. Located to the west of the adjacent Laburnum House, the tower incorporates a silhouette of clean lines and sharp geometric shapes, characteristic of the Modernist International style. The main rectangular tower is capped by a flat roof, and its walls and windows are accented by limestone surrounds and paneled aprons arranged vertically in evenly spaced bays on the east and west sides. The south elevation of the hospital is distinguished by a narrow six-story limestone-clad tower with a curved, concave front wall, serving as the building’s Memorial Chapel. A curved concrete canopy, detailed with stainless steel, shelters the building’s main entrance at the base of the south elevation. Pairs of stainless steel and glass doors provide access to the interior. An addition was added to the west side of the hospital tower in the early 1980’s. Known as the Gloucester Building, the brick west addition is three stories in height. Modern concrete vehicle ramps provide access to two interior parking levels at the building’s west entrance. Certain aspects of the plan of the main hospital and interior features remain intact; including the main building lobby, notable for its stone steps accented by stainless steel railings and tile-covered walls. A double flight of stairs provides access to the historic Memorial Chapel, which enjoys limestone-clad walls and a terrazzo floor.
 
HISTORY/SIGNIFICANCE: Located at 1300 Westwood Avenue, the Laburnum House was constructed in 1908 as the center of a rural estate by Joseph and Isobel Bryan. Joseph Bryan was an influential entrepreneur and newspaper publisher in the city of Richmond who amassed his fortune in the decades following the Civil War. In 1949, Joseph Bryan’s grandson donated the 50-room house and the surrounding acreage to the Richmond Memorial Hospital. The need for a new city hospital had been recognized in a report prepared in 1946, and at the same time citizens and veterans suggested that the new hospital building itself be named as Richmond’s official World War II memorial. An initial design for the hospital was completed by the Cincinnati architecture firm of Samuel Hannaford & Sons, with the local firm of Baskerville and Son, in 1949. Due to delays in fundraising and the onset of the Korean War, the final design was not completed and construction begun until 1954. As part of the final design, a memorial chapel was constructed as a vertical space, occupying the concave limestone tower at the hospital’s entrance. Richmond Memorial Hospital opened in 1957 and had space for 411 beds. After serving the Richmond community for four decades, the hospital closed in 1998 when a new hospital was constructed outside of the city limits in suburban Hanover County. The marble memorial tablets were removed from the chapel when Richmond Memorial Hospital was closed, and were relocated to the new suburban hospital. Its designation as Richmond’s only official World War II memorial gave the building exceptional local importance. One of the regions first modern hospitals, the entire building was erected as a memorial to Richmond’s World War II heroes with an ongoing mission to serve the entire Richmond community. The hospital structure is located within a State and National Historic District and the project utilized Virginia historic rehabilitation tax credits.