Walking down Monument Avenue doesn’t really feel like walking down a street in a small-sized U.S. city – it feels more like strolling around Paris or Barcelona.
The avenue’s newest monument was added in 1996 & honors Richmond native & tennis great Arthur Ashe. This monument was built not without controversey, racially driven & historically driver, since all the other monuments paid homage to men involved in the Confederate States of America. The Arthur Ashe monument is a bit removed from the others, & is the furthest west of of the monuments.
If you go…
What appears to be a short walk with monuments on every block on the Richmond tourist map is actually a 1.5 mile grand boulevard with the monuments spaced out by three or four city blocks. If you’re prepared with decent shoes & maybe a bottle of water (which we weren’t), it’s definitely walkable. If you’re not prepared, & it’s the middle of the summer, you’ll be exhausted by the end of it & frustrated by Richmond’s lack of easily hail-able cabs. You can also drive, as there is lots of street parking allowing you to hop out of the car & look at the monuments.
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