If I wanted to stop in Richmond and get a flavor of its unique history, this is how I’d do it:

Confederate White House, now home to The Museum of the Confederacy

• Get off at Exit 74C/Broad Street. Whether you were going north or south on I-95, turn right onto Broad.
• Turn right onto N. 11^th St.
• After three blocks, turn right onto E. Leigh St.
• Take first right turn onto N. 12^th St.
• Grab the first parking space you see, maybe at the lot on this road.
• The building, about one block from the last turn, is dwarfed by surrounding modern medical facilities

Devil’s Half Acre

• After returning to your car, continue south on N. 12^th St. – the only way you can go.
• At the end, by the museum, turn right onto E. Clay St.
• Turn left on N. 10^th St.
• Turn left onto Broad St.
• Just before reaching I-95, turn right onto N. 14^th St.
• Left on E. Main St. At this corner is a memorial garden with plaques outlining some of the horrors of the slave trade in Richmond. Don’t stop here – you can easily walk back to this point from the next stop.
• Go left on N. 15^th St. I-95 is looming overhead. At this point, you are headed north.
• At the light, turn right and go under I-95 into a parking lot for the Amtrak Station. Here you will find plaques and maybe some excavation related to Devil’s Half Acre. Use your imagination to recreate the past that is, thankfully, gone.

Triple-decker railroad track

• Return to your car and exit the Amtrak parking lot the same way you came in.
• Turn left at the light onto N. 15^th St. It becomes S. 15^th St. without you making any turns. Go to its end. There is a parking lot straight ahead and it is recommended that you slip in there is possible.
• If it’s not possible, turn left onto Dock St. Sometimes there’s parking along here.
• Once out of your car, stroll around; there is a little park where you can wander around. It’s overshadowed by the railroad tracks plus elevated expressways and multiple ramps. It’s impressive. To some, it will be overwhelming!
• BTW, there are several eateries nearby.

Edgar Allan Poe Museum

• Back in the car.
• Return to S. 15^th St. Go back the way you came.
• Turn right onto E. Main St. (Do this before S. 15^th turns into N. 15^th.) You will immediately go under I-95.
• The museum is less than a mile, on the left, between streets 19^th and 20^th.

St. John’s Episcopal Church – Richmond’s oldest church, where Patrick Henry made his famous speech and Edgar Allan Poe’s mother is buried.

• Continue down E. Main St the same way you were going before.
• Turn left onto S. 25^th St.
• Go three blocks.
• The church grounds take up the block bordered by S. 25^th, E. Grace, E. Broad and N. 24^th.

Get back on your way

• Go west on E. Broad St. (toward I-95 and the lower numbered streets)
• In less than one mile, Broad St. goes over I-95. Stay in the right lane. A ramp leads to entry ramps for I-95 going both north and south.