Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, History museum in Richmond, Virginia, US
The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia is a history museum in Richmond, housed in the Leigh Street Armory, a late 19th-century building. Its galleries display art, clothing, photographs, and archival materials alongside interactive stations and rotating special exhibitions.
The building was constructed around 1895 by Black craftsmen for the First Battalion Virginia Volunteers, an African American militia unit. Over the following decades it served as a school for Black children, a recreation center for African American soldiers during World War II, and a community annex before a fire left it empty for years until it reopened as a museum in 2016.
The museum sits in Jackson Ward, a neighborhood long tied to Black community life in Richmond, which gives the visit an added layer of meaning. Inside, exhibits mix everyday objects, photographs, and interactive screens that bring the stories of real people in Virginia to life.
The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday and sits in the Jackson Ward neighborhood of Richmond. Guided tours are available by appointment and offer a more focused look at specific exhibits or the building's own story.
The Leigh Street Armory is considered the oldest surviving armory in Virginia and the oldest built specifically for a Black militia in the entire United States. It is one of only three such buildings still standing anywhere in the country.
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