Great Turning Basin Marker

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Richmond, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Great Turning Basin

By Bernard Fisher, January 13, 2010

1. Great Turning Basin Marker

Inscription. The stones in this plaza have been arranged to suggest the outline of a typical lock on Richmond’s James River and Kanawha Canal. Where you now stand was once a part of the Great Turning Basin which served the heart of the commercial area in antebellum Richmond. This Basin was connected to the James River by a flight of five locks known as the Tidewater Connection Locks which were built between 1850 and 1854.

This lock “footprint” is the same width as a real lock but only sixty feet long. The locks were generally 15 feet wide and 100 feet long. Two of the original locks are preserved intact in the Tidewater Connection Locks Park, three blocks away at 12th and Byrd Streets.

These locks represented a craftsmanship perhaps never to be seen again. The vision of the canal and lock builders was an important part of the early development of Richmond and Virginia.

When the Downtown Expressway was constructed in 1974, the stones in two of these locks were photographed, numbered, carefully removed, and stored by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority for future use. The stones are currently on loan from the Authority.

This Plaza has been constructed by Faison Associates. The Plaza was designed by M. Paul Friedberg, Landscape Architect, in collaboration with Jim Sanborn, sculptor.

Location.

Site of Tidewater Connections Locks and Great Basin Photo, Click for full size

By Bernard Fisher, January 13, 2010

2. Site of Tidewater Connections Locks and Great Basin

37° 32.194′ N, 77° 26.173′ W. Marker is in Richmond, Virginia. Marker can be reached from the intersection of South 10th Street and East Cary Street. Click for map. This marker is located in James Center Plaza. Marker is in this post office area: Richmond VA 23219, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Treasury Building of the Confederate States of America (about 500 feet away, in a direct line); Richmond Evacuation Fire (about 600 feet away); Gallego Mills (about 600 feet away); Inside A Flour Mill (about 700 feet away); The Flour Trade (about 700 feet away); Evacuation Fire (about 800 feet away); Evacuation of Richmond (about 800 feet away); Downtown Richmond Millsites (approx. 0.2 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Richmond.

Also see . . .
1. James Center History. Most of what is now James Center was occupied by the Great Turning Basin of the James River and Kanawha Canal. (Submitted on January 17, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Mechanicsville, Virginia.)
2. James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District. National Park Service (Submitted on January 18, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Mechanicsville, Virginia.)

Great Turning Basin site at James Center Plaza Photo, Click for full size

By Bernard Fisher, January 13, 2010

3. Great Turning Basin site at James Center Plaza

Great Turning Basin marker (replicate) Photo, Click for full size

By Bernard Fisher, January 13, 2010

4. Great Turning Basin marker (replicate)

James Center Clock Tower Photo, Click for full size

By Bernard Fisher, January 13, 2010

5. James Center Clock Tower

The Clock Tower depicts life on the canal from 1785 - 1879. The 45-foot limestone tower houses a 25 brass bell carillon which chimes melodies on the hour and half-hour.