The West End (Richmond, Virginia)

The West End is an urban and suburban region of Richmond, Virginia. The West End covers parts of the City of Richmond and Henrico County. Since there is no one municipal organization that represents this specific region, the boundaries are loosely defined as being north of the James River, west of I-195, and south of Broad Street. A primary conduit through the West End is Interstate 64.

Geographic Description

This section is arranged by exits off Interstate 64. In previous decades, the term "The West End" generally referred to the western area of the city itself. However, in recent years, the urbanized area has expanded residentially and commercially into Henrico County as far west as Short Pump, and new developments in the western portion of the city and county in combination are now also considered to be part of "The West End."

A common tool of differentiation used locally is to refer to the westernmost part (generally beginning at the Richmond-Henrico Line going west to Short Pump) as "The Far West End," and to refer to the section closer to and within the city limits as "The Near West End" or "Westhampton."

In addition to Richmond, Virginia addresses, the West End includes the census designated places of part of Glen Allen, and all of
Short Pump, Tuckahoe, and Wyndham.

Staples Mill Road, Willow Lawn, and Westhampton

*Exit 185 - US-33/Staples Mill Rd
*Anthem/Wellpoint

Broad and Glenside

*183C - U.S. 250 West - Broad St./Glenside Dr. North.
*183B - U.S. 250 East - Broad St.
*183A - Glenside Dr. South.

* Genworth and Philip Morris USA

Parham Road

*181B - Parham Rd. North.
*181A - Parham Rd. South.

Gaskins Road and Innsbrook

*Exit 180B - Gaskins Rd. North.
*Exit 180A - Gaskins Rd. South.
*Circuit City corporate headquarters

Short Pump

*Exit 178B - U.S. 250 East - Richmond.
*Exit 178A - U.S. 250 West - Short Pump.
*MeadWestvaco

I-295 and Nuckols Road

Wyndham, Virginia is a major residential development. Also, the Henrico County landfill is off this exit.

Parks and recreation

*Deep Run Park
*Echo Lake
*Springfield
*Short Pump

Education In the Area

Elementary Schools

*Richmond Public Schools
**Mary Munford Elementary School
*Henrico County Public Schools
**Crestview Elementary School
**Echo Lake Elementary School
**Gayton Elementary School
**Jackson Davis Elementary School
**Johnson Elementary School
**Longan Elementary School
**Maybeury Elementary School
**Nuckols Farm Elementary School
**Pemberton Elementary School
**Pinchbeck Elementary School
**Ridge Elementary School
**Ruby F. Carver Elementary School
**Shady Grove Elementary School
**Short Pump Elementary School
**Skipwith Elementary School
**Springfield Park Elementary School
**Tuckahoe Elementary School
**Twin Hickory Elementary School
**Colonial Trail Elementary School

Middle Schools

*Richmond Public Schools
**Albert Hill Middle School

*Henrico County Public Schools
**Harry Flood Byrd Middle School
**Short Pump Middle School
**Tuckahoe Middle School
**Pocahontas Middle School
**Brookland Middle School
**Hungary Creek Middle School
**George H. Moody Middle School
**Mount Vernon Middle School

High Schools

*Richmond Public Schools
**Thomas Jefferson High School
**Richmond Community High School
**Open High School
*Henrico County Public Schools
**Deep Run High School
**Douglas S. Freeman High School
**Henrico High School
**Hermitage High School
**John Randolph Tucker High School
**Mills E. Godwin High School

*Private and Parochial Schools
**Benedictine High School
**Collegiate School
**St. Catherine's School (girls)
**St. Christopher's School (boys)
**St. Gertrude's High School
**The Steward School

Colleges and Universities

* University of Richmond
* Strayer University West End Campus
* Virginia Commonwealth University
* MCV

Culture

Museums

* Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
* Wilton House Museum
* Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities

Theater and entertainment

* The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen
* Innsbrook After Hours -- an annual summer series featuring bands that were once very popular. [http://www.innsbrookafterhours.com/]

High School Rivalries

* Collegiate vs. St. Christopher's
* Collegiate vs. St. Catherine's (Girls school)
* Godwin vs. Freeman
* Tucker vs. Hermitage (The Cat Bowl)
* Tucker vs. Deep Run
* Thomas Jefferson vs. John Marshall
* Godwin vs. Deep Run (Outback Bowl)

Commercial and Cultural Hubs

The principal non-interstate east-west commercial corridors are located along Broad Street (U.S. Highway 250) and Patterson Avenue (State Route 6) each of which extends from the Richmond City Limits westerly through Henrico County into Goochland County.

* The Country Club of Virginia. Churches, schools, and houses surround this development at the corner of Three Chopt and River Road. Long ago, this area was the now lost town of Rio Vista, Virginia.

There are many restaurants, businesses and shopping centers, mostly located along or near the three major thoroughfares (Broad Street road and Patterson Avenue runs east-west, Parham runs north-south ). Several major clusters include:

*Willow Lawn Shopping Center just west of city limits at Broad Street and Staples Mill Road. One of the first large shopping centers when first opened in the late 1950s, Willow Lawn has been substantially reconfigured and rebuilt to a semi-shopping mall configuration, and includes major stores, small shops, and a food court.

*"The Village" shopping center at Three Chopt and Patterson (near the University of Richmond). It is currently home to CVS/pharmacy, Ukrop's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Starbucks and Blockbuster Video, among other venues.

*Westhampton historic commercial district extending from the Patterson and Libbie intersection to the Libbie and Grove shopping district, where one can find cafés and upscale clothing boutiques and the "Westhampton Theater."

*Regency Square Mall and Westbury Shopping Center -- This area includes many locally-owned and chain restaurants, including Westbury Pharmacy, former workplace of Elliott Yamin. This area is adjacent to Douglas S. Freeman High School.
*Short Pump Town Center An "open air shopping mall" (classified as a "lifestyle center") opened in 2003 on Broad Street, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) west of I-64 Exit 178A/B. Anchor stores are Nordstrom, Dillard's, Macy's and Dick's Sporting Goods.

Business and industrial hubs

* Innsbrook Business Park, a 600+ acre business park that opened in 1982 and houses several Fortune 500 companies. [http://www.innsbrook.com/]
* West Creek Business Park, originally developed for a Motorola plant that never materialized. [http://www.co.goochland.va.us/economic.asp?section=1773&subsection=2038] . West Creek is now home to the CarMax Home Office and Capital One. It is also a popular place for weekend bikers.
* Grove Avenue Baptist Church, at the highest point in the Richmond-Metropolitan area [http://www.groveave.net/]

External links

* [http://www.nearwestendnews.net/ Near West End News neighborhoods news blog]
* [http://www.okroads.com/delawarepart2/i64va2.html okroads.com provides exit numbers]