Historic Garden Week Comes to Bellevue April 30

by Charles McGuigan 04.2025

“Can we hunt the dinosaurs?” my four-year-old son asked. He was strapped in his car seat right behind me and I could see him in the rear view mirror. After speaking, he tucked his fingers back into his mouth.

“Okay, pup, here we go,” I said and made the hard right off of Bellevue, and as we passed through the stone arch, added, “Brace yourself boy-o, we’re heading way back today.” In a flash, on the other side of the arch, we were suddenly in the heart of the Mesozoic, and as we crept along Pope Avenue, my son, his eyes wide, spied a stegosaurus, a brontosaurus, and, just as we merged with Princeton, the king of them all—T. Rex.

In our reverie, the Bellevue arch was a portal to prehistoric times. In reality, it is a time portal into another era—about a century ago—when American architecture reached a pinnacle of design.

That’s part of the reason the crowning gem of all of Richmond—Bellevue—was selected this year as one of four regional neighborhoods chosen to be featured in the Garden Club of Virginia’s Historic Garden Week, which showcases private homes and gardens.

Pope Avenue snakes through the northern section of this community like a country lane flanked by trees and houses representing architectural styles emblematic of the Arts and Craft movement, everything from Tudor Revival to Craftsman Bungalow.

Four homes will be open the day of the garden tour, and one garden will be featured. It’s all part of the walking tour of this magnificent gallery of houses along Pope Avenue named for Lewis Ginter’s life partner, John Pope. Ginter and Pope, true visionaries, were responsible for laying the groundwork for the development of many Northside neighborhoods—among the first streetcar suburbs in the city.

Lauren and Jesse Clark’s home at 1604 Pope Avenue has the layout of a Colonial and sports a stucco exterior and gabled roof. Its architectural style combines Craftsman detailing with deep overhangs supported by arched brackets, squat dog-house dormers, and part-panel, part-louver wood shutters decorated with a waning crescent moon design in the solid panel sections.

The classic Craftsman bungalow at 1612 Pope Avenue, owned by Janet Brown and Michael Dickerson, was built in 1930.  After purchasing the house about twenty years ago, the Dickersons began extensive renovations, which included updating the kitchen and bathroom, and maintaining the structure’s exterior stucco walls.

Jennifer and Sam Proctor’s house at 1617 Pope Avenue, built in the early 1920s, features four bedrooms and three baths, and retains its original floor plan, though there has been some significant remodeling, including a complete kitchen makeover. Two antique pieces within the house are of particular interest: a buffet built by the Sam’s grandfather, and a Chickering and Sons square grand piano believed to be nearly 175 years old.

The two-story brick Colonial Revival home at 1618 Pope Avenue, owned by Jere and Cary Kitchen, was built in 1930 and since 2019 has seen some extensive renovation, including an updated kitchen, wet bar, and den fireplace. In 2020, during the pandemic, the couple brought new life to the existing koi pond in the back yard.

Although the house at 1620 Pope Avenue will not be open the day of the tour, its lush gardens will. Owners Misty and Eliot Clark have put in a lot of time and effort into their grounds. Plantings of boxwood, azalea, butterfly bush, lamb’s ear, catmint, and alliums greet guests in the front yard. The backyard, an outdoor living space, was inspired by a garden in Greece. It includes a pool surrounded by hydrangeas along with extensive hardscaping, and a pool house with an interior mural installed by a local artist.

The Richmond Garden Club partners with the Council of Historic Richmond to make these tours possible. “From its earliest days, the Council of Historic Richmond has sought to highlight historic neighborhoods, homes and landscapes, not only so we can better understand their history, but so we can understand how to keep them vibrant,” says Cyane Crump, executive director of Historic Richmond. “This year’s tour of Pope Avenue will showcase one of Richmond’s most special neighborhoods. This is the first time we have toured this neighborhood and we are so grateful for the hospitality extended to us and for this neighborhood’s strong sense of community.”

The co-chair of Richmond’s Wednesday garden tour, Ellie Lenhart, echoes Cyane’s sentiments.

"On behalf of the Council of Historic Richmond, in partnership with the Richmond Garden Club, this jewel of a historic neighborhood in Richmond's Northside offers a variety of architectural styles with beautiful outdoor gardens and amenities," she says.

Ellie’s co-chair, Brooke Hughes, herself a Bellevue resident, had this to say, “I am so proud to show it off on Historic Garden Week, the only statewide House and Garden Tour in the nation.”

Two tours of the homes and garden on Pope Avenue will be available on April 30; one from 10 am to 1 pm, the other from 1 pm to 4 pm.

To order tickets, please visit http://gcvirginia.org/historic-garden-week/tickets/general-ticketing/