13 South 13th Street

A handsome cast-iron storefront ornaments the ground floor of this row of buildings at 9-15 South 13th Street. Probably built during the 1880s, these structures housed a cigar manufactury and commission merchants' offices. For over 80 years parts of it served as a warehouse, and sometimes headquarters, for the Powers-Taylor Drug Company, suppliers of "soda fountain, druggist and fancy goods."

The ironfront, which accents the entries and defines the public areas of this handsome four-part facade, was manufactured by the Trdegar Ironworks. The famous "iron maker of the Confederacy," whose foundry was located just up the river from here, adapted a part of its munitions plant to the production of cast-iron architectural elements after the Civil War. Cast iron was an inexpensive alternative to stone for embellishing building facades. Molten iron was poured into molds and then cooled. Because individual pieces were put together to produce a section, the production of several elements could result in a variety of designs. Richmond was an important center for architectural metalwork until the late nineteenth century, when steel began to dominate the market.

The building was restored by the Virginia Housing Development Authority in 1978.

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