{{About|Richmond's second waterworks, often called the Byrd Park Pump House|the original waterworks|Old Pump House}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = New Pump House | nrhp_type = | designated_other1 = Virginia Landmarks Register | designated_other1_date = September 11, 2002<ref name=register>{{cite web|title=Virginia Landmarks Register|url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/register_counties_cities.htm|publisher=Virginia Department of Historic Resources|accessdate=19 March 2013}}</ref> | designated_other1_number = 127-0193 | designated_other1_num_position = bottom | image = New Pump House - HAER.jpg | caption = New Pump House, HAER Photo, 1971 | location = Pump House Park<br> 1708 Pump House Dr. Richmond, Virginia | coordinates = {{coord|37|32|8|N|77|29|7|W|display=inline,title}} | locmapin = Virginia#USA | built = {{Start date|1881}}-1883, 1905 | architect = Wilfred Emory Cutshaw | engineer = Wilfred Emory Cutshaw<br> Charles E. Bolling | architecture = Gothic Revival, Beaux Arts, et al. | website = [https://www.friendsofpumphouse.org/ Friends of Pump House] | added = November 21, 2002 | area = {{convert|2|acre}} | refnum = 02001366<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> | sigdate1_label=Began operation | sigdate1 = May 4, 1883 | sigdate2_label=Ceased operation | sigdate2 = August 31, 1924 }} The '''New Pump House''', also known as the Byrd Park Pump House, is a historic pumping station that served the city of Richmond, Virginia from 1883 to 1924.
== Description == Constructed between 1881 and 1883, the building is a three-part, "I" plan, Gothic Revival style granite structure. It features a steeply pitched roof, projecting gables, Gothic arches, and lancet windows. A one-story, L-shaped annex containing a coal-fired boiler, a hydroelectric turbine, and steam-powered generator was added in 1905. Unusually, the building features a large open-air ballroom on its second floor.
Also on the property are the contributing Beaux Arts style 1924 Hydro Electric Pumping Station constructed of brick, concrete, and stucco and the 1881 Worthington Steam Pump Building, a one-story Italianate style pump house built of brick coated with stucco. The complex was built as the waterworks for the city of Richmond.<ref name="VAnom">{{cite web|url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/Richmond/127-0193_New_Pump_House_2002_Final_Nomination.pdf|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: New Pump-House |author=Justin W. Gunther |date=February 2002|publisher=Virginia Department of Historic Resources}} and [http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/Richmond/PumpHouse_photo.htm ''Accompanying two photos'']</ref>
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2002.<ref name=nris/> thumb|South elevation, showing the open-air pavilion
==History== A public water system for Richmond was originally proposed in 1828 and a plan developed by Albert Stein was approved in 1830.<ref name="WateringRichmond">{{cite book | title=Watering the City of Richmond |author=George H. Whitfield | publisher=The William Byrd Press, Inc. | year=1930 |url=http://www.waterworkshistory.us/VA/Richmond/1930WateringRichmond.pdf}}</ref> As part of this plan, a water-driven pump house was constructed at the west end of Tredegar Street. It was completed in 1832 and supplied the Marshall Reservoir (located at what is now Clark Springs Elementary School) until 1909.<ref name="RichmondWaterWorks">{{cite web |url=http://www.waterworkshistory.us/VA/Richmond/ |title=Richmond Virginia Waterworks}}</ref><ref name="1909Report">{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Superintendent of the City Water Works to the Mayor of the City, for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 1909 |location=Richmond | year=1910 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhzLxYfSLDMC&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref>
Increasing demand for water and fears of contamination from nearby cemeteries<ref name="VAnom" /> led to the construction of a new 55-million gallon reservoir starting in 1874 and ending in 1876.<ref name="ReservoirProject">{{cite web |url=https://www.rva.gov/node/5521 |title=Byrd Park Reservoir Rehabilitation Project}}</ref><ref name="VAnom" /> That reservoir, located in present-day Byrd Park, is still in use as of 2025. Later, in 1880, the city council authorized the issuance of $400,000 in bonds to pay for the construction of a new pump house.<ref name="DailyDispatch1880-04-12">{{cite news |date=1880-04-12 |title=Local Matters |location=Richmond, VA |work=Richmond Daily Dispatch |page=1}}</ref>
===Operation=== The New Pump House, as it was then known, was first tested on June 29, 1882. City officials and dignitaries observed the test, arriving via a special train chartered for their trip.<ref name="DailyDispatch1882-06-30">{{cite news |date=1882-06-30 |title=New Water-Works |location=Richmond, VA |work=Richmond Daily Dispatch |page=1}}</ref> Work on the building continued for another year, and the building officially began operations on May 4, 1883.<ref name="DailyDispatch1883-05-8">{{cite news |date=1883-05-08 |title=The Pumps a-Pumping |location=Richmond, VA |work=Richmond Daily Dispatch |page=1}}</ref>
Due to its location at the Three-Mile Locks of the James River and Kanawha Canal, the New Pump House was designed to use the available hydraulic power to drive its machinery. Originally, this was achieved using partial vertical turbines, though these were later replaced by Leffel turbines in 1891.<ref name="1903Report">{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Superintendent of the City Water Works to the Mayor of the City, for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 1891 |location=Richmond | year=1892 |publisher=C.N. Williams |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ohxbAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA6-PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> Three turbines powered three sets of piston pumps capable of moving {{convert|12000000|usgal}} of water per day to the nearby reservoir, an elevation of approximately {{convert|170|ft}}.<ref name="VAnom" /> thumb|Pump Room thumb|Pump flanges for one set of triplex piston pumps. Originally, the drinking water distributed by the New Pump House was taken directly from the James River and underwent very little treatment aside from passing through settling basins located upstream. Richmond would not begin chlorinating its drinking water until 1913.<ref name="RichmondsDrinkingWater">{{cite web |title=Richmond's Drinking Water |url=http://www.virginiaplaces.org/watersheds/richmonddrinkingwater.html#:~:text=The%20city%20built%20Williams%20Dam,presence%20in%20the%20clear%20water.}}</ref>
===Social Venue=== The New Pump House was designed with a covered, open-air pavilion on its second floor, which was later enclosed in 1899 to prevent the infiltration of rain.<ref name="VAnom" /><ref name="1899Report">{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Superintendent of the City Water Works to the Mayor of the City, for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 1899 |location=Richmond | year=1900 |publisher=Ware and Duke |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LTs5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PP7#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> Several dances and social events were held in the building over the years of the building's operation, and it was possible to travel to the building via mule-driven canal boat.<ref name="VAnom" />
===1905 Annex=== A two-room addition to the building was completed in 1905. This annex contained a coal-fired Babcock & Wilcox boiler which supplied steam used to drive a 250-kW alternating current generator in the adjacent room.<ref name="1905TimesDispatch">{{cite news |title=Will Supply Water for Lee District | work=The Times-Dispatch |date =1905-05-28 |location=Richmond, VA |page=5}}</ref> The steam was also used to prevent the pumping machinery from freezing up during periods of cold weather.<ref name="VAnom" /> A 250-kW hydroelectric generator was also added at this time. Electricity generated at the New Pump House was used for lighting and powering additional pumping equipment closer to the reservoir.<ref name="1905TimesDispatch" />
===Abandonment=== Advances in technology made the building's pumping machinery obsolete, and it was replaced by the adjacent hydroelectric pumping station on September 1, 1924.<ref name="1924Report">{{cite book |title=Department of Public Utilities, City of Richmond Annual Report for 1924 |location=Richmond | year=1925 |author= George H. Whitfield |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vx8wAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA49#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> The pumping machinery would later be sold for scrap shortly before World War II.<ref name="1983TimesDispatch">{{cite news |title=City trying to find use for 1883 pump house | author=Overton McGehee | date=1983-12-12 |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch| page=1}}</ref> The city of Richmond planned to demolish the structure in the 1950's, but later sold it to First Presbyterian Church for $1. Ownership eventually reverted back to the city, where it remains today. <ref name="2001TimesDispatch">{{cite news |title=The Pump House - Tour an Effort to Restore Interest in 119 Years of History | author=Christina DeNardo | date=2001-07-21 |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch |page=B-1}}</ref>
==Revitalization== Attempts at revitalizing the building have occurred since at least 2001.<ref name="2001TimesDispatch" /> In 2017, Joseph Costello, an urban planning master's degree student at Virginia Commonwealth University founded the [https://www.friendsofpumphouse.org Friends of Pump House] as part of his thesis project.<ref name="FreePressArticle">{{cite news | url=https://richmondfreepress.com/news/2018/may/11/personality-joseph-p-costello/ | title=Personality: Joseph P. Costello | date=2018-05-11 | work=Richmond Free Press}}</ref> The organization performs needed repairs and advocates for the building's revitalization, in addition to leading tours and hosting other special events. Since 2021, they have overseen the restoration of many of the building's original windows and have announced plans to replace the aging slate roof.<ref name="2024AnnualReport">{{cite web |url=https://www.friendsofpumphouse.org/uploads/1/1/5/3/115357711/2024_annual_report.pdf |title=Friends of Pump House 2024 Annual Report }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{HAER |survey=VA-34 |id=va1319 |title=James River & Kanawha Canal, Pumphouse, Richmond, Independent City, VA |photos=11 |data=2 |cap=1}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia}}
Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Virginia Category:Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Category:Italianate architecture in Virginia Category:Gothic Revival architecture in Virginia Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in Virginia Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1883 Category:Buildings and structures in Richmond, Virginia Category:National Register of Historic Places in Richmond, Virginia Category:Water supply pumping stations on the National Register of Historic Places Category:1883 establishments in Virginia Category:Former pumping stations Category:Former hydroelectric power stations Category:Former power stations in Virginia