This is a fascinating account of how a small group of visionaries persevered through nearly 20 years of seemingly insurmountable challenges to bring an ambitious downtown renovation project to fruition. Time and again the project was on the ropes, in danger of complete collapse, only to be revived by the skill and determination of its civic minded volunteer backers. Like “The Little Engine That Could”, a tight team of visionaries, repeated we think we can until their ambitions became a reality. This book is an important contribution to the collected history of Richmond. Robin Trawick Williams, Award winning author and journalist

I remember when all of this activity was going on with the theaters, but I found it fascinating to learn of the intrigue and all of the players it took to get it done. John does a great job telling which each of the “cast” did. Thanks for putting this together.

John Bates has crafted a set of intriguing and well-crafted biographical sketches of how Richmond’s civic leaders worked tirelessly through a set of complicated public and private partnerships to create the performance spaces and the infrastructure for our local performing organizations and a large series of touring shows.