SALVADOR DALÍ April 1966 Salvador Dalí never set foot in Richmond in April 1966, but Richmonders still felt his eccentric presence. Dalí sent his “military advisor,” Captain Peter Moore, along with his pet ocelot to present a proposal for a new statue on Monument Avenue. The statue, designed to honor Captain Sally Tompkins, the first American woman to serve as an Army officer during the … Continue reading SALVADOR DALÍ
MICKEY MANTLE AND YOGI BERRA 1954-1964 On April 8, 1954, the Yankees came to Richmond. Led by center fielder Mickey Mantle and catcher Yogi Berra, the team was playing an exhibition game against its newly acquired minor-league organization, the Richmond Virginians, at Parker Field on the Boulevard. The “Vees,” making their home debut, were defeated, after a thunderstorm that the Richmond Times-Dispatch said “turned Parker … Continue reading MICKEY MANTLE AND YOGI BERRA
WINSTON CHURCHILL AND DWIGHT EISENHOWER March 8, 1946 There was a roar of excitement in Richmond as Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister who led Great Britain in World War II, and General Dwight Eisenhower, supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, descended upon the city. Traveling by motorcade through the packed crowd of flashing cameras and eager citizens, Churchill brought the world’s eyes to Richmond. … Continue reading WINSTON CHURCHILL AND DWIGHT EISENHOWER
AMELIA EARHART February 2, 1934 The first aviatrix to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928, Amelia Earhart, arrived in Richmond to promote not flying, but women’s fashion design. On the third floor dress department of Thalhimers, then Richmond’s largest department store, Earhart publicized her own dress line that incorporated decorative plane elements, like a seatbelt belt. Earhart also wanted to bring attention to gender … Continue reading AMELIA EARHART
CHARLES LINDBERGH October 15, 1927 On October 15, 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed The Spirit of St. Louis before a crowd of National Guardsmen, photographers, and thousands of cheering citizens in a field east of Richmond. Only four months earlier, the aviator had completed the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean that electrified the world and made him an instant celebrity. City officials escorted … Continue reading CHARLES LINDBERGH
