About Richmond's Honorary Street Name Designations
Honorary street names can be found throughout Richmond, and are intended to memorialize individuals for their civic, cultural, humanitarian, or historically significant contributions to the Richmond Community. These designations typically apply to a portion of a street, such as a city block, and are designated by Richmond City Council via the passing of an Ordinance. Honorary street names do not replace the existing name of a street and do not require an alteration to maps or addresses.
Neverett Eggleston
Born in the 1890s in Henrico County, Virginia, Neverett Eggleston would come to own and operate one of the most prominent African American hotels in the “Harlem of the South”, the Hotel Eggleston.
After briefly living in New York City during the 1920s and witnessing the Harlem Renaissance first hand, Mr. Eggleston returned to Richmond. After working as a cook at the Lakeside Country Club, Eggleston opened his own restaurant in Jackson Ward, The Lafayette, and after its closure became the manager of the nearby Miller’s Hotel. In 1935, he purchased the building and renamed it Hotel Eggleston, and it soon rose to prominence as a refuge for African American travelers and celebrities visiting Richmond.
The Hotel Eggleston was listed in the 1947 edition of The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guidebook for African American travelers that provided listings of hotels, restaurants, service stations and other establishments throughout the United States that served African American customers during the Jim Crow era – a time when discrimination, racial prejudice, price gouging, and physical violence were common and widespread threats facing African Americans on the road. The Negro Motorist Green Book was an essential tool in helping to keep Black travelers safe as well as being treated fairly and with respect.
Neverett Eggleston lived for around a century, passing away on December 5, 1996.
Designation Area:
The 500 block of North Second Street has been given the honorary designation of Neverett Eggleston Plaza.
Download the Council Ordinance:
Learn more about this Honorary Street Designation by downloading a copy of the legislation. The Council Ordinance below is in PDF format:
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