Richmond on the James
Stories of Landscape Transformation
Richmond , Virginia
May 24-27, 2023
Conference Registration is Open Until April 20, 2023.
Limited to 50 Attendees
AHLP Membership is required to attend the conference. Please submit your 2023 membership registration form and payment prior to submitting conference registration.
The site of the 2023 gathering of the Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation is Richmond, Virginia, the home city of a founder and long-time AHLP member Hugh Miller, who has sung the city’s praises for decades. Richmond is a “capital city”— a settlement of the Powhattan tribe, English-colonized Virginia, the Southern Confederacy during the majority of the Civil War, and, of course, for most of its recorded history as the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This Alliance meeting provides an opportunity to see the city and nearby countryside in the glory of late spring, a beautiful season for garden and cultural landscape tours.
Meeting attendees will be invited to stay at Richmond’s Linden Row Inn, a group of seven adapted 19th-century rowhouses on Richmond’s historic Franklin Street which is across-the-street from the Main Public Library, the location of meeting sessions and exhibits. Supplementary hotels will be noted for those with other requirements.
Logistics Flyer (.pdf)
The city’s 300-year post-contact history and development highlight compelling and provocative trends in design, economic development, memorialization, and historic preservation. The buildings, landscapes, and archeological sites that are testament to the area’s history will be the heart of the conference tours. We look forward to collaborating and engaging with the leaders of local, regional, and state organizations who can share insights and access into the rich tapestry of Richmond’s history and those who shaped it. Through tours and talks addressing a wide range of historic preservation and landscape issues, Alliance members will explore Richmond as a place with evolving views of its history.
Richmond, because of its pivotal role in the region and its reflection of many aspects of American life and history, including the American Civil War, industrialization, suburbanization, park and cemetery trends, and the complicated legacies of slavery, invites conversations about topics as diverse as waterfront reclamation, urban responses to climate change, historic monument removal, and diversity in preservation. The call for papers that will be issued later in October 2022 will define themes that will be emphasized; however, all topics related to cultural landscapes, history, and preservation will be invited.
Richmond is easy to access via Amtrak and flights to Richmond and Washington airports. Interstate and state highways make car travel a good and interesting option. Conference planners will be delighted to share some of their other favorite cities and sites in the region, if requested. The Richmond area is notable for outdoor scenery and recreation with many opportunities for exploring the James River or for cycling or walking various trails, including the 52-mile Virginia Capital Trail linking historic sites and other attractions.
To maintain the intimacy, vibrancy, and collegiality that characterize Alliance meetings, we will encourage you to register early for the May meeting. Attendance will be limited to the first 50 who register. We hope that you are among them!
Call for Papers (.pdf)
Student Scholarships (.pdf)
