Streetcar

Accession number: 1997.131

Beginning in 1888, streetcars were the dominant means of public transportation in Richmond until they were replaced by buses in 1949. A 1906 law required black Virginians to sit at the back of all public transit vehicles. Streetcars inadvertently fostered segregation by race and economic class. The exhibition features this Richmond streetcar, bought by the city in 1918.

Video
This video, excerpted from "Witness to a Century,"
discusses segregation in Virginia.



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