1. Rat basketball is actually a spectator sport at the Science Museum of Virginia. Rat Team SMV plays on a miniature court for visitors. You have to see it to believe it.
Source: Youtube user Mupstar23
2. For Earth Day 2014 the city’s Earth Day Richmond Community Impact Project attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the biggest recyclable structure made entirely out of aluminum cans.
3. Everyone’s favorite creepy writer Edgar Allen Poe grew up in Richmond. The Edgar Allan Poe Museum houses many of his works and some personal effects, and is considered to be the oldest building in Richmond.
4. Pocahontas once lived in what is now Henricus Historical Park.
5. Actor, producer, screenwriter and director Warren Beatty, and his sister, Academy Award winner Shirley MacLaine were both born in Richmond.
6. Professional tennis player, Arthur Ashe Jr., won 3 Grand Slam titles, the singles title at Wimbledon, and the Australian and U.S. Open. Ashe was the first African American to do so, and he was raised right here in Richmond.
7. In June 2011 the city helped set the Guinness World Record for the Largest Swimming Lesson at Swansboro Park, at the same time as many other lessons held around the world to bring attention to the importance of teaching children to swim.
8. The Nascar Sprint Cup is held each year at the Richmond International Raceway. The Raceway is thought to be one of the best places to watch Nascar.
9. From 2003 to 2009, the Richmond Highland Games & Celtic Festival featured ferret-legging competitions—where contestants would put a live ferret in their pants and see how long they could endure it. Seriously.
10. The 4th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Marshall, was buried in Richmond.
11. The state capitol building was designed by someone you might have heard of - Thomas Jefferson himself.
12. The Bottoms Up restaurant bears water markings that resulted from rising waters during a 2004 hurricane. Hurricane Gaston hit Richmond in 2004.
13. Take a walk or drive down Monument Avenue to see many of Richmond’s biggest historic figures cast in stone, like Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson. And you’ll get a glimpse of spectacular 19th and early 20th century architecture too.
14. Who could possibly imagine “The Today Show” without Matt Lauer. He never would have gotten to where he is today without Richmond, where he worked as a local talk show host.
15. Moviegoers love Byrd Theater, but not just for watching movies. The 1928 movie palace has one of the nation’s only operational Wurlitzer organs. It is played every Saturday night.
16. Richmond was voted the Best River City to live in by “Brown’s Island Outside Magazine”.
17. Buzzfeed named Richmond the city with the best street art in the entire world.
18. The U.S. News And World Report granted the “Best Affordable Place To Take A Vacation” distinction to Richmond, while “Bloom’s Business Magazine” similarly determined that Richmond was the “most fun and affordable U.S. city”.
19. Frommer’s named Richmond among its 2014 Best Destinations list with the likes of Scotland, Hawaii, Bali and others.
20. Richmonders and visitors didn’t really need the U.S. News and World Report Travel Guide’s confirmation that it was the “Best U.S. Historical Destination.” But, I suppose it is nice to be recognized.
21. “Forbes Magazine” placed the city in the top ten for “up and coming” entrepreneurs. It is also…
22. Richmond was also named one of the top 10 cities to see Christmas lights.
23. And (unsurprisingly) one of the top 10 cities for celebrating the nation’s birthday.
24. ... And finally, because this could go on forever, Richmond is a top city for “keeping New Years Resolution.” So probably fewer smokers, and more people who exercise regularly and stay on healthy diets. No wonder Richmond is also on the list for best cities to live in.
25. Patrick Henry’s famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech was made in Richmond. Church Hill, specifically, St. John’s Episcopal Church.
26. The largest Civil War hospital was in Richmond, in Chimborazo Park, which is now encompassed by Church Hill.
27. The first African American governor was from Richmond. Lawrence Douglas Wilder was born and raised in the Churchill District, and was elected Governor of Virginia in 1989.
28. The John Marshall Hotel is right downtown has hosted presidents—and at least one king. Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter each stayed there, and the King, Elvis Presley was also a guest.
29. The 17th and Main Streets Farmers Market in Richmond is reportedly one of the oldest of its kind. Supposedly, Native Americans once traded produce close to the site.
30. The 135-acre Hollywood Cemetery is not a resting place for the stars as you might think, but rather for 22 Confederate generals, perhaps thousands of confederate soldiers, two U.S. Presidents, and six Virginia governors. It’s second only to Arlington National Cemetery in the number of visitors it receives.
31. The 10 Tiffany stained glass windows in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church are dedicated to Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
32. It was the early 1900’s when Maggie L. Walker broke the glass ceiling and the South’s pervading color barrier at that time. The African American entrepreneur/social activist was the first woman bank president in the United States—in Richmond.
33. At one time the Richmond Coliseum was the largest sports arena in the state, until the John Paul Jones arena was constructed. The coliseum is now the home arena for indoor football. The Richmond Raiders is the home team. The arena is used less for sporting events as it is for concerts and other attractions.
34. Montgomery, Alabama was the original Confederate Capitol. The capital city was switched to Richmond in 1861.
35. The best view of the city is from the courthouse. No, really. The ideal vantage point from the glass paneled observation deck is in the early afternoon.
36. It may not be the festival capital of the world, but it probably should be. Richmond celebrates everything: Holidays, ethnicities, seasons, freedom, dogs, and just about anything else you could commemorate with a party.
37. The Richmond State Capitol building might look a little familiar. It’s designed like the U.S. Supreme Court Building in the Neoclassical Architecture, distinguished by Greek and Roman influences.
38. UVC has been called one of the nation’s premier urban public research universities by “U.S. News and World Report.”
39. Maymont Park has pretty much everything you could want for a day enjoying the great outdoors in Richmond. A koi pond, zoo animals like bears and eagles, and several gardens including a Japanese Zen garden and a Roman garden.
40. Richmond basically has its own water park right in town with the James River Park System. The river has Class IV rapids for an eighth of a mile, and you can go paddling, hiking, birdwatching and fishing.
41. There are no horses in Pony Pasture, disappointingly. But it is a great place to bring your dog.
What’s your favorite fun fact about Richmond? Tell us in the comments below!
