Oddities Beneath Richmond (hidden springs, buried trains, lost ballpark and more) #011

By Billy Briefman · September 19, 2025 · 1:07:50 read

Category: Arts & Culture

Show: Unscripted RVA

Got thoughts? Send us a text here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2513071/open_sms Did you know? The Byrd Theatre is owned and operated by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Byrd Theatre Foundation depends on donations year-round to operate and care for the Theatre through a

Got thoughts? Send us a text here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2513071/open_sms

Did you know? The Byrd Theatre is owned and operated by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

The Byrd Theatre Foundation depends on donations year-round to operate and care for the Theatre through an Annual Fund, which you can donate to here: https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/byrd-theatre-foundation/annual-fund-eoy-2025

Richmond keeps secrets. This episode pulls them up to the surface—starting with Mayo Island: once a downtown ballpark where legends supposedly launched homers into passing train cars, now a $15M city purchase slated to become public parkland. From there we trace riverfront moves to Browns Island’s amphitheater, then pivot to a photo of Monument Avenue as a tobacco field—proof that the city changes faster than our memories.

We head into Broad Street nostalgia: the Sixth Street Marketplace catwalk and a reminder of when the Arts District felt like a future. Then to Carytown’s icon—the Byrd Theatre—where new seats meet an old myth: the active spring still running beneath the building.

We talk about the origin story of Short Pump is actually called Short Pump, why “third spaces” matter more than dating apps, and how Richmond might rebuild its social muscle without the bar scene. Oddities, infrastructure, and the places we actually meet each other—it’s all under the surface.

This podcast is produced by Vera House — a creative club and premium media studio based in Richmond, Virginia. Our studio exists to champion local brands, creative expression, rva culture, and produce high-impact content for founders, makers, and modern businesses.

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This podcast is produced by ⁠Vera House⁠ — a creative club and media studio based in Richmond, Virginia. Our studio exists to champion creative expression, elevate culture, and produce high-impact content for founders, makers, and modern brands in Richmond.

Cast: is produced by Vera House — a creative club and premium media studio based in Richmond, Virginia. Our studio exists to champion local brands, creative expression, rva culture, produce high-impact content for founders, makers, modern businesses.