What started as a Twitter joke has officially entered the city’s canon. The Valentine announced this week that the now-famous “Richmond Gun Hole”, a gun-shaped indentation in the sidewalk on South Addison Street, will be part of the museum’s “This Is Richmond, Virginia” exhibition when it reopens with new additions later this month.
According to The Valentine’s press release, the new rotation of artifacts explores the city’s identity through everyday objects, both serious and absurd. Alongside historic pieces like a Richmond Braves mascot costume, James River shells, and contemporary works from local makers, sits a chipped piece of concrete that captured the internet’s attention in early 2024.
“The ‘Gun Hole’ captures how Richmonders reinterpret public spaces and create a sense of community, even out of something as ordinary as an imprint in the sidewalk,” said Christina Vida, Curator of General Collections.
A Shrine, a Joke, and a Snapshot of Richmond Internet Culture
For those who missed the viral moment, here’s the short version: in March 2024, Twitter user @brockomole posted a photo of a long time sidewalk impression in the Fan District that looked like a handgun. Within days, the post racked up more than a million views and turned the unassuming stretch of sidewalk into an unlikely pilgrimage site.
Locals began leaving offerings like coins, flowers, batteries, candles, and, in true Richmond fashion, a condom, cigarettes and a few packs of hot sauce. It was part public art, part shrine, and part communal inside joke. We described it as “a weirdly sincere expression of civic identity, chaotic, self-aware, and only possible in a city like Richmond.”
From the Fan to the Museum
The Valentine’s acquisition includes a partial section of the original sidewalk (removed during repairs) along with photos documenting the site and its brief reign as a local meme. It’s not the sort of object museums usually chase.
By preserving the Gun Hole, The Valentine isn’t just collecting concrete; it’s recognizing how meaning gets made in public. What starts as a bit of digital humor can evolve into a real-world folk ritual, then end up behind glass. That arc says something about modern Richmond, how history, irony, and civic affection constantly overlap.
“This Is Richmond, Virginia” Exhibition
The Valentine’s exhibition This Is Richmond, Virginia serves as a rotating reflection of the city’s evolving character from its colonial foundations to its contemporary contradictions. The new rotation also features:
- A Richmond Braves mascot costume, a throwback to the city’s minor-league baseball era.
- Shells and mussel casts from the James River, connecting to Indigenous and ecological histories.
- Artisan works from local makers, representing the ongoing creative pulse of the city.
The Valentine, which has chronicled Richmond life for more than 125 years, sees these new inclusions as a way to capture the humor, complexity, and texture of daily life, not just the grand narratives.
“By putting this on view, we are embracing Richmond’s quirkiness,” Vida said. “ while also preserving an object that speaks to the city’s grittier past.”
Main photo by Goad Gatsby
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