1 James Center
From Towrs
Statistics
- Stories above ground: 21
- Construction end: 1985
- Height: 285 feet / 87 meters
- Address: 901 East Cary Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219
- Square footage: 2,500,000 (entire James Center)
Trivia
- Architect: Odell & Associates
- Developer: CSX Railroad and Faison Associates
- Observation deck: Outdoor balcony on the 10th floor. Unknown if this is public.
- This was formerly the location of the turning basin for the James River and Kanawha Canal where ships that came down the canal (now Canal Street) would unload their goods into warehouses to be transferred to ships that went down the James River and on to the Atlantic Ocean.
- The benches in the public plaza are made from stones that once lined the Great Turning Basin. They are arranged in the shape of a canal lock.
- The historic stones used in the benches and retaining walls of the public plaza are actually owned by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority and are on loan to the James Center.
- 63 sunken boats were unearthed during the construction of the James Center.
- Each December the building hosts a community event called the Annual Grand Illumination in which thousands of Christmas lights are lit on the grounds, around the building, and outlining other downtown Richmond buildings. This has been going on each year since the building was completed in 1985.
