In Church Hill, a mapping maniac is born

A problem—maybe the problem—with open-source projects is that they require the ongoing dedication of volunteers, and lots of ‘em. (Until the advent of fully automated luxury communism, that is. It will fix everything.) It was one of the chief obstacles MapRVA’s team flagged when The Lookout interviewed them in mid-2025 about their extremely cool, so-new-it-was-nameless Richmond georeferencing tool. Now known as Yesterdays, the platform functions as sort of a local cross between Google Street View and GeoGuessr, asking users to help locate archival photos from the city’s history on its current grid. When we spoke, the database had 14,000 images. “That's part of the reason that we're kind of trying to advertise this,” MapRVA member Mike O’Brien told me.

Not even six months later, that figure has ballooned to nearly 35,000 pictures, sourced mostly from local archives like The Valentine, Richmond Public Library, and Virginia Commonwealth University. But volunteers have done yeomanly work piecing together a navigable record of Richmond street life, mapping over 8,500 of those to physical addresses around town. Anybody can log time on Yesterdays, and having done it myself, I can attest it’s fun as hell. Still, in keeping with the Pareto principle, a few power users are responsible for the bulk of the work. And as it so happens, the biggest one lives right here in Church Hill.

“This is basically all my free time now,” John Pole told The Lookout in a recent interview at Patrick Henry’s Pub. “It’s been awesome.”

Pole, who lives near Chimborazo Park with his wife and three children, is not a geospatial engineer trade. He wasn’t even a member of MapRVA when I interviewed O’Brien and his cartographical compadre, Jacob Hall, in October 2025. But once Pole read The Lookout’s coverage of the project and began tooling around on the site, he was hooked. “I’m in deep,” he said.

This being a digital project from a bunch of self-avowed map nerds, it’s actually very easy to quantify just how “deep.” When Pole and I rendezvoused for pints in early February, Yesterdays was closing on 8,000 images georeferenced. Today, as I write this, the count stands at 8,566. According to the platform’s statistics, Pole has logged 3,403 of those—just a hair under 40% of the total. Next closest are O’Brien and Hall, at 2,317 and 1,389, respectively. “At this point, between between Yesterdays, OpenStreet Map, and OldInsuranceMaps, it’s probably at least 15 hours a week,” he told me, shrugging sheepishly. “Kids go to bed early.”

Georeferencing photos on Yesterdays calls for a combination of local history, deductive reasoning, and a little strategy, too. Pole’s process varies with each photo, but he’s seen enough of them that the knowledge—of neighborhoods, parks, even specific angles of the skyline—has begun to compound upon itself. In other words, the more of Richmond’s visual past he maps, the better he’s gotten at it.

“A month and a half ago, I spent an entire night doing Shockoe Hill Cemetery,” he said by way of example. When he and Hall encountered a photo from 1952 showing a seemingly impossible view looking north from where the Richmond Coliseum now stands, he was able to get his bearings by recognizing the usual layout of the path in the Gilpin graveyard, which could be seen in the distance. (Your humble Lookout editor could only make it out by squinting, and only once Pole pointed it out.) It dawned on them that the photo looked so strange because there was no interstate cutting through the valley in the foreground; President Dwight Eisenhower didn’t sign the Federal Highway Act until 1956. Mark down another photo successfully logged.

Pole is not a total homer, and has mapped photos all over the city. But when he stumbles on photos snapped closer to home, it’s a special thrill. “There are not a ton of Chimborazo” Boulevard, he said ruefully. “I’ve tried.” But he’s managed to map hundreds—if not thousands—of photos around the East End, weaving together space and time to entertain himself and contribute to the neighborhood’s shared understanding of itself. “Anything in East End, I can immediately look [at the photo] and it's like, ‘I recognize that house,’” he said. Yesterdays “has brought more of the history of Richmond to life within me, and it has also connected me to more people in return.”

Towards the end of the interview, I asked Pole if his Ahab-esque mania for mapping Richmond in photos was focused on a particular “white whale.” Was there a specific image out there that he’s just waiting to pop up on his screen someday? He thought for a moment, then grabbed his phone and began scrolling furiously. “Have you ever heard of the Marshall Street Viaduct?” I had not: turns out it used to run from the promontory of Jefferson Park over Shockoe Valley before the city demolished it in the mid-‘70s. It was replaced by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge due north; you probably know it as the Leigh Street Viaduct.

“That’s not the white whale, we’ve got pictures of that” Pole said dismissively. “The white whale is the elevator on the Marshall Street Viaduct to get you from the bridge down to the street level below. We know it exists, but we have yet to find a clear picture of it.” Happy hunting.

📜 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!

🐱 Introducing Banjo and Kazooie

Welcome to East End Animal Friend, a new recurring feature spotlighting the many creature companions of Church Hill and its surrounds. Fill out this form to introduce your beloved animal(s) to the neighborhood in a future edition of The Lookout!

Where and when did you get your pet? Adopted as a bonded pair from [Richmond Animal Care & Control] 2023.

What's your pet's favorite thing to eat? Banjo LOVES her dry food. Both love Churus.

Does your pet have a neighborhood animal friend they like to play with? They love chatting to the birds from the window and spying on another orange cat friend in the Oakwood neighborhood.

What is your pet's favorite thing about living in the East End? Our new house here in Oakwood has stairs with a ledge, and they love sitting on it overlooking the downstairs to watch visitors from above!

🐶 Previously: Ernie, the blue-tick coonhound rescue

☕️ A long-awaited Church Hill North coffeeshop nears opening

“It should open in February.” That’s what Alexa Schuett told The Lookout midway through last month about her newest neighborhood business, Peaberry Coffee. The shop has been the subject of much anticipation among Church Hill North residents ever since Schuett, whose burgeoning local hospitality group already includes Liberty Public House, Riverbend Roastery, and Chimbo Sandwich Shop, announced plans to open a new cafe at North 32nd and S Streets roughly a year ago.

A couple weeks ago, Peaberry Coffeehouse completed the obligatory small-business rite of launching its official Instagram account, posting photos of its newly renovated retail space in the ground floor of the new, bright blue two-story building at 1301 N. 32nd. With February half-gone, I figured it was time to check back in for an open date. As of this morning, Schuett says Peaberry is just waiting to clear its final inspection with the city, and was tentatively targeting a March 9th opening. Not quite February, but not too far off, either.

📢 Happenings on The Hill

• Bouq it over: Second Bottle has bouquets from Field Floral as of this morning, but only while supplies last. Go, go, go!

• Keep it clean: The Friends of The East End are hosting a graveyard cleanup at Evergreen and East End Cemeteries tomorrow (2/14) from 10am-1pm. Info here.

• Book it over: Honey Baked Bee is hosting The Book Nook for a Valentine’s Day pop-up tomorrow from 10am-2pm. More info.

• Mend it: Top Stitch is doing its monthly tomorrow from 11am-3pm with Living Eco Inspired (zero-waste refills) and Windblown Sister Botanicals (folk herbalism.) Plus of course, mini mending. Scope the flyer.

• Love it: Spotty Dog is hosting something called LOVERS WEEKEND with Warm Flowers, featuring specialty treats and bouquets all weekend, also while supplies last. Details here.

• Open it up: After soft-opening in January, Second Arrow making it official with a grand-opening party Sunday (2/15) from 4-6pm in its new space. RSVP here.

• Let’s Flockin’ party: The Richmond Democratic Socialists of America are hosting a benefit concert to raise awareness for their anti-surveillance campaign next Tuesday (2/17) ar 7pm at Gallery5. 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.