This story is the Greatest Date in the World. It’s almost unbelievable that this could be called the “greatest.” The category of “greatest” is debatable for sure, but most certainly in any estimation of what greatest is, in everything from cause to denouement, this story fits very well into an epic conception of greatest. Using our smarts, we can see some evidence which corroborate this story. Some artifacts reside in the Valentine Richmond History Museum – the place where this tour ends up, and a place I encourage you to visit – but the story I’m going to tell happens outside of museums, out there. The Greatest Date in the World is just another one of the many improbable stories which incredibly happen around Richmond all the time.

Begin at the southwestern most corner of the City Hall observation deck to get an overview. Then step down to the street and walk to get a different view.

From the Observation Deck at City Hall, go south on 10th street, crossing Broad. This stop looks west, then east, surveying Richmond, 1850, imagining what Jenny Lind might have seen.

Jenny Lind stayed the night at the Exchange Hotel. From the train depot, she would have headed east, then south down old 14th street. Continue south on 10th one more block, then turn east on Capitol. At Governor’s street, turn south and head downhill until Grace Street. Turn east on Grace Street, crossing old 14th street.

Built in 1841 by John Ballard, the Exchange Hotel was not just the greatest, it was a landmark.

Continue across the pedestrian walkway over new 14th street to the furthest point south east on the observation deck outside of the James Monroe Building; the furthest south eastern corner of this walk overlooks the interstate and the Bottom. This site provides a link to the University of Richmond's Digital Scholarship Lab: Mapping Richmond's Slave Market.

From the James Monroe Building, head to Capitol Square, pausing at the south east corner. When Thompson bought the Southern Literary Messenger, its building was in the south east corner of Capital Square. As Jenny Lind traveled from the Exchange Hotel to the Marshall Theater for her performance that night, Thompson must have pointed out where he penned the poems which brought her to him.

Walk through Capitol Square, northeast, to the corner of Broad and 9th street. Besides the Southern Literary Messenger, on the way to the Marshall Theater, Lind and Thompson stopped off at one more place before her performance. Valentine’s Mercantile Building was right off the Capitol Square.

Two blocks east of Broad and 9th, of the Valentine Mercantile Building, Jenny Lind gave her concert the evening of December 20th, 1850 at the Marshall Theater, which was near where The National is now. After the concert, the party moved northwest towards where the Valentine Richmond History Center is today. The Marshall Theater could have looked a lot like The National

It appears that the role Valentine played in the greatest date in the world set him off on a quest of enlightenment. Eventually, Valentine would come to realize his role; not as a great artist, but as a patron. The story of the greatest date in the world is just one of the many stories which could be told with the artifacts inside the Valentine Richmond History Center.