Our Space

Lamb Arts is located at 230 E Broadway in the heart of historic Downtown Hopewell!

Purchased as a gift to the Hopewell community by Lamb Arts Co-Founder, Charles Lamb, in 2018, Lamb Arts spent 6 years fundraising, designing, and renovating 230 E Broadway to serve as its community hub and headquarters.

Featuring two state-of-the-art classrooms, a gallery, and offices, the ribbon was cut and the community was first welcomed into the renovated space at the launch of the organization's 5th annual Lamb Arts Fest in November 2024.

HISTORY

THE BUILDING

Large advertising murals on the walls quickly give away that there's something interesting about the building - it's really just a roof! The once vacant lot was enclosed with a roof between the two adjacent buildings to create 230 E Broadway sometime in the 1920s.

While unable to confirm, it is believed the building was constructed to house the Pender's grocery store, as seen in the photo above from around 1920. Following this, many businesses called this building home.

Including:

1928 – R.H. Joel Jewelers

1934 – Lewis W. Clark optometrist

1936 – Hopewell Hand Laundry

1940 - Luck’s Beauty Salon

1960 - Hopewell Fish Market

1971 - Moody’s Downtown Seafood

THE MURALS

Hidden behind plaster for just over a century, a series of historic murals were discovered during initial renovations. The East and West walls were once the exterior of the neighboring buildings. Prior to 1920 the space was a vacant lot and the empty walls in the middle of a bustling downtown were a perfect advertising location for local businesses. The murals all date to around 1919, helping to date the construction of this building to around 1920. Painstakingly preserved, they now showcase a piece of the early 20th century Hopewell history.

The murals preserved in the space include the following text:

ARCADE (foyer)

Bowling Alleys

40 Penny Arcade Machines

Come In and Rest

UNION TAILORING (foyer)

Suits & O’Coats

15 Up

Made to Measure

Made to Fit

GIRSCH MENSWEAR (front classroom)

Novelties in Shirts & Neckwear

Clothing - Shoes - Hats

From Broadway, NY to Broadway, Hopewell

U Know Me Girsh

Speciality Brand Clothes

TAKA- COLA (back classroom)

Take No Other

5 Cents

VA Wholesale Grocery Dist

OUR FUNDERS

The renovation of this space would not have been made possible without the support of the Virginia Brownfields Program, the Cameron Foundation and the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.