PHOTOS: It’s Christmastime in the city…

Original — December 22, 2015

The holidays make everyone a bit more nostalgic and sentimental than usual. So, we decided to totally take advantage of your mushy feelings by showing you images of Richmond at Christmastime through the years. Care to take a jaunt down memory lane with us?

Soundtrack

[audio:http://media.rvanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/05%20Silver%20Bells.mp3|titles=Silver Bells|artists=Harry Connick Jr.]

Make it a Chrysler Christmas window display c. 1925 (Cook Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

Governor and Mrs. Mills Godwin lighting the Virginia State Capitol Christmas tree; December 18, 1968; photo by Bill Lane (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

Children sitting on the curb waiting for the annual Thalhimers Toy Parade on Broad Street; December 3, 1968; photo by Joseph Colognori (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

Arneida M. Smith celebrating her 91st birthday with a kiss from Sergeant Santa, portrayed by Ricky Duling; December 23, 1982; photo by Rich Crawford (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

Girl Scouts Leigh Ann Taylor and Ann Bowen with children, Seabourne and Michael Hamer; December 23, 1969; photo by P. A. Gormus, Jr. (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

“Left Lane for Christmas”; sign over the Manchester Bridge in downtown Richmond; sign is covered with plastic that reads “Merry / Xmas / + A / ‘Happy New Year’! / ‘Ya / All'”; Don Carnevale and Ron Kreiger, employees of the Towercom Company, put the sign up; November 29, 1975; photo by P .A .Gormus, Jr. (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

Louis Underwood, general manager and Bill Dvorak Displaying Yule log in Dot’s Pastry Shop; Dvorak is production manager and brother of Dot Dvorak Robinson, founder of Dot’s Pastry Shop; December 21, 1982; photo by Bill Lane (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

Shoppers Rush Into Miller & Rhoads At Opening Today; December 27, 1982; photo by Lindy Keast Rodman (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

“Self-Service”; Gail Sybert, operator of the tree lot in Warsaw, relied on the honor system for payment of Christmas trees while he worked during day as district conservationist for the Soil Conservation Service; December 15, 1978; photo by Annd Hazard (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

“On Dasher, on Dancer…”; car driving on Chippenham Parkway; trunk of car is propped open, with a large box inside; box reads “Santa Sled / & Reindeer.”; December 2, 1982; photo by Bob Brown (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

Sean Murray, age 12, sitting in his bedroom at 3160 Mount Clair Road; he decorated the room with a battery-operated Ferris wheel, a miniature train set in a tiny village complete with artificial snow, as well as a 4-foot-tall Christmas tree; December 29, 1979; photo by Don Long (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

Policeman Spreads Christmas Cheer; November 19, 1971; photo by Don Long (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

Hugh Rankin sitting at corner of 6th and Grace Streets in downtown Richmond playing Christmas carols on his bass tuba; Rankin tried to “raise a little Christmas money” by inviting passersby to put change into his basket; December 21, 1982; photo by Bruce Parker (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

“On the outside…”; Nicholas and Dylan Erdle looking at the Christmas tree in their living room; in order to keep the twins from knocking over the tree, their parents, James and Sandra Erdle, contained the tree and gifts a play pen; December 23, 1987; photo by Carl Lynn (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

Open High School students Leah Lamb and Mary Matthews, with their teacher Rodger Gray, loading up a car with donated food for the Central Virginia Food Bank, Freedom House and the Linwood Robinson Senior Center; Open High School teachers challenged their students to mark the new year by collecting 1988 cans of food for donation to the needy; the students responded by collecting 2641 cans; December 21, 1987; photo by Wallace Huey Clark (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

Featured image: “Stealing a Kiss”; Penny Williams and her boyfriend Tony Pitcock sharing a kiss in Festival Park in downtown Richmond during the kickoff to the Dazzling Downtown December events; December 4, 1987; photo by P. Kevin Morley (Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center)

(Special thanks to the folks over at the Valentine Richmond History Center for pulling these images (and their corresponding info) for us. They’ve got lots more like them in their archives that can be used for personal or professional use. It’s really a fabulous resource and you should all check it out.)

December 22, 2015 12:00 PM 4