Art museum to create visitors’ center

Published July 1, 2013 by Robert Powell, III

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts plans to open a visitors’ center in a 163-year-old building on its Richmond campus.

VMFA plans to rehabilitate and repurpose the Robinson House, a Italianate building constructed around 1850, to include a regional visitor center.

The visitors’ center will be operated in collaboration with Richmond Region Tourism.

The art museum has become the region’s biggest attraction since its reopening in May 2010 following a major expansion.

The visitors’ center is scheduled to open in summer 2015 in time for the UCI World Championship cycling event in September of that year.

The preservation and rehabilitation of Robinson House will stabilize its structure, and reclaim interior spaces to evoke the building’s past.

In addition to the tourism center, a gallery is planned to interpret the history of the site from Native American times to its role as the headquarters and museum for the R. E. Lee Camp, No. 1, Confederate Veterans for 56 years, among other uses.

VMFA has engaged Glavé & Holmes’ Cultural Studio for the project. VMFA has nominated Robinson House to the National Register for Historic Landmarks and the Virginia Landmarks Register.