Home(s) for the holidays in Church Hill

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It’s a fool’s errand to try to coordinate an editorial and meteorological forecasts. But sometimes things just work out. I had already planned to file a column about the Church Hill Association’s upcoming Holiday House Tour before Mother Nature blanketed the East End in a few inches of beautiful, pristine snowfall this morning. Now that she has, though, this spotlight on one of the city’s most charming seasonal traditions feels especially apropos.

“We are trending very well this year” on ticket sales, outgoing association president Vernon Plack told The Lookout in a phone interview Thursday, before the neighborhood was remade into a winter wonderland. But for same-day ticket sales especially, he added, “it depends a lot on the weather.” In 2023, the forecast called for rain, and it sure did. But it’s hard to imagine better weather to inspire purchases in the run-up to the event than this morning’s Norman Rockwell-esque snowfall.

Now in its 59th year, the 2025 Holiday House Tour kicks off at noon this Sunday, December 7th. (As of publication, there’s no precipitation predicted.) The snow may not last, but the event—which spans the greater Church Hill area with 16 total stops—has its own festive spirit in spades.

“This is an extremely diverse neighborhood with an incredible amount of history, and we are trying to give people as good a view of that as possible,” Plack said. In addition to the nine private homes throwing open their doors this Sunday, the tour will also include stops at historic sites in the neighborhood, like the Hogwarts Tudor Revival-style Bellevue School on E. Grace St., which was built in 1914. Along the way, volunteer docents will speak to each stop’s unique history; refreshments will be served at the 1859 St. Patrick Catholic Church, and the MediaNoche boutique on E. Leigh St. (housed in an 1880 stable building, thank you very much.) The Libby Hill Park House won’t be open for the event, as renovations are ongoing, but tourists will get close look at the improvements that have already been lovingly made to the early 20th-century outbuilding. A full list of the stops, which reach as deep into the neighborhood as Q St. up north and Chimborazo Boulevard to the east, can be found here

The CHA (in which, full disclosure, I am a dues-paying member) doesn’t ask participating homeowners to decorate for the holidays. ”What we basically say is, ‘We want this to be a positive experience for you, we don't want you to overdo it, your home in and of itself is beautiful,’” said Plack. But many homes will deck their halls, if they haven’t already. And thanks to the ladder crew that recently hung E. Broad St.’s streetlight posts with big red bows, and Richmond Fire Station 1’s gussied-up horse-drawn fire truck, the day won’t want for holiday glitz.

For tourists, the Holiday House Tour promises a flight of holiday fancy at an affordable price (tickets are $35.) But it’s the most important fundraiser of the year for the CHA, a 501(c)(3) organization, and thanks to the event’s longevity and popularity, the fees add up. “We're hoping to, on a net basis for the holiday weekend, clear $11,000,” Plack said, citing the CHA’s public budget. (The org spends money promoting and coordinating the tour, as well as its annual Candlelight Walk, a spectacular free event that takes place this evening.) “We exceeded that by a decent amount in 2024, and our hope is that will also be the case to some degree or another in 2025.”

Holiday cheer, neighborhood pride, and fundraising for a good cause are always the name of the game for the Holiday House Tour. But 2025’s outing, taking place so shortly after the release of the second draft of the city’s controversial rezoning proposal and its finalized Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan, is freighted with additional significance. “Part of this is obviously to provide people an opportunity to view these houses, but a lot of it's educational as well,” said Plack, referencing the historic plaques, literature, and oral histories from homeowners themselves that tourists may encounter on the tour. “I think many would argue that these types of homes are worth some level of protection, and of course, you need to balance that out with all the other issues that we face in terms of affordable housing, so the CHA is well aware of that as well.”

Don’t expect any arguments over the merits of MX-6 zoning to break out at the event this Sunday, though. (Unless you’re planning to start one, I guess, in which case: maybe don’t?) Between the neighborhood’s natural beauty, the warm welcome of neighbors, and the rising spirit of the holiday season, the 2025 Holiday House Tour is generally a jovial affair. Score your tickets now, and make a holiday wish—if not for the snow to stick around, then at least to keep the rain away.

📜 Possum Poetry

Possum Poetry is original verse written exclusively for The Lookout by Penelope Poubelle, the Lookout’s litter critter-at-large. If you spot roadside trash you’d like her to immortalize in doggerel, email a photo to [email protected]. All submissions anonymous!

🚧 Government Rd. repair project still stuck in RFP stage

The day before Thanksgiving, Richmond BizSense published a report you might have missed noting that the city’s Department of Public Works took a year and a half to bid out the $8.6-million contract to repair Government Road, only to receive zero bids on its initial request for proposal and have to do it all again. Per reporter Jonathan Spiers:

The delays ensure another year without the use of the neighborhood’s main southeastern gateway. Government Rd. is one of three major roads in/out of the East End currently closed to traffic: there’s also E. Richmond Rd. (closed for bridge work in February 2025) and the westbound lane of Williamsburg Avenue (closed for a sewer project in the summer of 2023) On one hand, the closure is a huge inconvenience; on the other, it sure has cut down on tractor-trailer traffic on E. Broad St.! But in all seriousness, two years in with nary a shovel in sight? No bueno.

Cynthia Newbille, Richmond City Council President and the 7th District’s longtime representative on the body, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

🛑 Newbille noncommittal on Parks & Rec-less driving

Your humble Lookout editor found himself exiting Riverbend Roastery right at the instant a flatbed truck owned by the city of Richmond sailed through the stop sign at E. Broad and N. 27th Sts. one Saturday morning last month. The driver didn’t even appear to hit the brakes; he hit the intersection at around 25mph. It’s this publication’s considered editorial position that any jagoff who runs a stop sign in this neighborhood (or anywhere) deserves to be repeatedly and onerously penalized. But for a city worker to do so behind the wheel of a city-owned three-ton vehicle at one of the most heavily pedestrian-trafficked intersections in Church Hill? That’s a more vexing transgression, because Richmond taxpayers are directly funding it—and our own endangerment.

I managed to grab the vehicle’s plate number, and sent it in to DPW requesting more information on their protocol for addressing this sort of behavior. Turns out it was actually a vehicle operated by Richmond’s Department of Parks & Recreation, not DPW. As for what happens to city-employed stop-sign scofflaws, city public information manager Tamara Jenkins told The Lookout that “[a]n investigation will be completed, with appropriate disciplinary action taken in accordance with existing policy/collective bargaining agreement. Due to this being a personnel matter, no further information can be shared.” She noted that residents that observe traffic violations by city-owned vehicles that Richmond Police Department isn’t around to address (so like… all of them, basically) can send complaints to [email protected].

Given the hit-and-run crash just a few blocks west on E. Broad St. on Halloween, and the city's recently renewed commitment to Vision Zero, The Lookout contacted Councilmember Newbille to request her perspective on dangerous driving by Richmond employees in Church Hill. Her council liaison, Sam Patterson, responded after deadline with the following note:

I let him know that I’d since learned it was a DPR truck, reiterated my request for a comment from Cm. Newbille, and offered to extend my deadline. Patterson did not respond.

📢 Happenings on The Hill

• Get lit: The CHA’s Candlelight Walk is one of my favorite events in the neighborhood all year, and it’s free, so don’t miss it this evening (12/5) at 7:30pm at Jefferson Park. Details here.

• Get fed: Sunday Bagel is popping up at Giorgo Market on E. Marshall St. tomorrow (12/6) from 9am until noon/sellout. Get the deets.

• Score gifts: At the Pizza Bones’ annual holiday market, which takes place concurrent with the Holiday House Tour, 12-5pm this Sunday (12/7). More info.

• Score more gifts: At Kind Hearted Goods’ holiday party, which takes place next Thursday (12/11) at 5:30pm and promises something called a “doodle booth.” Flyer here.

Happenings on The Hill is a digital bulletin board for events, causes, and other items of interest to East Enders that don’t necessarily merit full editorial treatment. Got something for a future edition? Email the relevant details, links, etc. to [email protected] for consideration!

📸 A Very CHill Photo

Want to share your Very CHill Photo from the neighborhood? Email it to [email protected] with your name as you’d like it to appear for publication, and the camera you shot it on.