3/21/2024 0 Comments Pump house design![]() ![]() Wilfred Emory Cutshaw, who oversaw the building's design and construction, was an important figure in the development of Richmond. The high level of craftsmanship and refinement of the design make the Pump House a fine example of the Gothic Revival style and belie its primary purpose as a municipal water-pumping facility. It has Gothic features such as pointed arches, lancet windows, and steep gables. The solid and impressive building is made of local granite. The Pump House had the reputation of being one of the only buildings in the country designed and used as both a public utilities building and a social hall. Cutshaw received some criticism for the cost that the Pump House pavilion added to the city-funded project, but the space would become wildly popular. He included an open-air dance hall on the second floor above the equipment room. Wilfred Emory Cutshaw (1838-1907), Richmond’s City Engineer from 1874 until 1907, to design the building as a social venue as well as a waterworks. ![]() The Pump House is in a scenic location at the Three-Mile Locks of the James River and Kanawha Canal system. Far from being entirely utilitarian, however, the Pump House was also a popular gathering place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The facility pumped water uphill to the Byrd Park Reservoir, the city’s main water supply. The building, which served as the city’s waterworks from 1883 until 1924, is conveniently situated to draw water from the James River. The Byrd Park Pump House, originally called the New Pump House, is a wonderfully executed late 19th-century example of the Gothic Revival style, applied to a municipal industrial building whose purpose was to house the Richmond city waterworks. ![]()
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