The historic Fan district of Richmond, Virginia gets its name from simple geography. The streets that extend west from Belvidere Street to the Boulevard form a fan pattern, rather than a more traditional grid. It is located at the east end of the city's West End. It is often compared to New Orlean's Bourbon Street, but the architecture is actually distinct. Although it's often stated as containing one of the longest intact stretches of Victorian architecture, most of the houses are actually Edwardian. Despite that, the Fan offers attractive architecture, spectacular equine statuary (on Monument Avenue) and many locally owned eateries. The Fan Richmond has a cohesive neighborhood organization, the Fan District Association, which helps protect and preserve the history and architecture of the neighborhood. It also organizes the Fan District Association Holiday House Tour in December. In addition to giving residents a voice in the welfare of their community, it has a Fan Rewards Card that gives discounts at local businesses. Restaurants cover a wide variety of cuisines including Italian and Japanese.
The district is home to VCU's Monroe Park Campus. Local public schools are good quality and Richmond has a nationally ranked Gifted and Talented Program. There are also numerous private schools either in The Fan or close by, including Saint Benedict Catholic School, Luther Memorial School and Richmond Prep. Both secular and religious options are available. The public high school is Thomas Jefferson High School, which has an International Baccalaureate program and is located in a dramatic building designated as a Virginia Historic Landmark. Geographically, the Fan district borders the Boulevard, the Museum District and the Carytown district. The Museum District is sometimes called the Upper Fan and the boundary between the two is not that clear. It is so called because of a six block tract of museums along the west side of the Boulevard. These include the Virginia Historical Society and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. This puts children and adults alike within easy reach of interesting museums as well as the overall architecture and historic value of the neighborhood. The other, inner end of the fan by the Virginia Commonwealth University directly borders downtown Richmond, meaning it is even possible for a fit person to walk to downtown. To the south of the Fan District is Byrd Park and the Hollywood and Mt Calvary Cemeteries, which lead into the James River waterfront. This means there are plenty of open spaces for walking and play. In the district itself the smaller, but elegant, Monroe Park is an easily accessed option.
For entertainment, there is the 1928 Byrd Theatre, now a second run theater, but still a majestic movie palace in style. The VCU's campus has two theaters - Grace Street Theater provides dance performances and concerts by students and Altria Theater does musicals, comedy, concerts and other events. The Firehouse theater on Broad Street shows contemporary American plays in, yes, an old fire station. The district also contains the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, a not for profit arts center with a gallery and classes. There is definitely plenty to do even without going into downtown Richmond proper.
Getting out of Richmond is also easy from the Fan district. The Downtown Expressway runs along the southern edge between the district and Byrd Park, joining I95 for routes north and south. You can easily get to I64 as well. Richmond Main Street Station is at the other end of downtown. The GRTC provides bus service throughout the city, including to Main Street Station and to the suburban Staples Mill Station (often a better bet for trains up and down the east coast than Main Street, which has somewhat limited service). Commuting to downtown is easy, with even the potential option of walking or cycling in pleasant weather. Getting out into the suburbs is just as simple. While it is right next to downtown, though, there is little in the way of commercial office space, keeping things fairly quiet except for visitors to the various museums. The neighborhood contains attractive, large single family homes, most of them in Edwardian or Revival styles. There are also some condominiums and apartments, including the prestigious One Monument Avenue complex. Some of the large homes were converted into apartments during the Great Depression or the 1950s, and remain split to this day, allowing for attractive apartments and duplexes in architecturally gorgeous buildings. At one point, these addresses were considered Richmond's West End and highly prestigious, but the city has since grown beyond that. This positions the Fan as an elegant retreat right next to downtown. Large properties and a good mix of neighborhood parks and access to larger green spaces, as well as quality schools, make the neighborhood a good place to raise families. A variety of entertainment options are also available. Overall, the Fan has an elegance and refinement to it, a place where you can live and play and easily get to work.
