Hippodrome Theater (Richmond, Virginia)

Today, The Hippodrome Theater has been restored to a fully functioning performance venue in hopes of reclaiming its prominent role in African-American cultural history.

[1] The Deuce was a famous center of black commerce in Richmond and the street was lined with stores, restaurants, banks, and theaters.

[3] These performers included talents such as Billie Holiday, Bill Robinson, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Moms Mabley, James Brown, Ida Cox, Ella Fitzgerald and countless others who performed on the Hippodrome's stage.

[1] The mansion was built in 1907 by the architect John A. Lankford and today it functions as the Speakeasy Grill restaurant, which specializes in southeastern cuisine.

[1] The Hippodrome Theater and the Taylor Mansion are part of Stalling's current project of returning Jackson Ward and the notorious Second Street to the important African-American cultural sphere it functioned as during the early 20th century.