The Lakeside Avenue Business District
Henrico, Virginia 23228
Presented by the
LAKESIDE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
Major Lewis Ginter, a native of New York City moved to Richmond around 1842. Here he became involved in the industries of tobacco and textiles. In addition he became interested in real estate development.
Lewis Ginter financed the development of the Lakeside Park which opened on March 15, 1896.
Ginter built a trolley car line from the A.P. Hill monument at Laburnum Avenue north to the Park and purchased two trolley’s to run on the line.
Lakeside Park, located 5 miles outside the city featured a boathouse with an abundance of rowboats and paddle boats. Also on the property was a dance pavilion, several club houses, a dining cafe, a building housing billiard rooms, bowling alleys, and a golf course, making it a popular resort for thousands of pleasure seekers. It was truly Richmond’s first “suburb”.
In later years Lakeside Park included a zoological exhibit with a monkey house, bear pit and a deer house.
Lakeside Park continued to operate after Ginter’s death in 1897. When the economy took a downturn, patronage dropped and in 1917 the lakes on the property and the golf course was purchased by the Suburban Club. It was renamed Lakeside Country Club in 1926.
Part of this area in now known as the Jefferson Lakeside Country Club while the other is the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.
After the heyday of the trolley system, the track road bed was widened over the years and is now known as Lakeside Avenue.
Over the years, businesses sprung up along the avenue to meet the needs of the Richmonders who had moved into the area and called “Lakeside” their home. Among the many businesses that have come and gone were grocery stores, 5 & 10 stores, drugstores, soda fountains, hobby shops, gas stations, restaurants and more.
Today over 125 service businesses, retail shops, and offices reside on Lakeside Avenue.
