Historian urges Richmond council to act on decades-long decay at Westham Train Station

Local author and historian Seldon Richardson told the Richmond City Council on April 14 that the former Westham Train Station on Robin Hood Road, built in 1911, has been neglected for more than two decades and urged city leaders to intervene before the building is lost.

Richardson said the property is deteriorating and described the pattern as "demolition by neglect," a process in which an owner allows a historic building to decay until it must be torn down for safety reasons. He compared the situation to other historic losses in the city and told council he had sent registered letters to the mayor and to the director of the Department of Economic Development requesting action that he said produced no response.

Richardson said he had launched a GoFundMe to raise $10,000 for emergency roof stabilization and suggested the city consider moving the structure or transferring it to another locality with stronger preservation commitment. "The people of Richmond, the Richmond taxpayers, deserve better from you," Richardson said.

Richardson also said the Westham Station is slated for inclusion on a list of most endangered sites in Virginia and urged the council to use available authority to preserve the resource. The council did not take immediate action on the comment; it was received during the public comment portion of the meeting.

The speaker named Virginia Union University and the Lee Street Armory as other local examples where historic structures were allowed to decay, and he asked the council to respond to citizens' written requests for help and to consider emergency stabilization while a long-term solution is found.