RICHMOND, Va. -- Hollywood Cemetery offers visitors more than just a burial ground — it's a historic green space where people can connect with Richmond's past while enjoying nature. The Valentine museum provides guided tours of this 125-acre site and hosts a new costume exhibit showcasing how Richmonders have dressed up through the centuries.
Hollywood Cemetery is a beautiful public green space that offers much more than just a final resting place for the deceased.
"It has these winding paths, so it's really helpful to have a guide who knows their way around. But that was the design," Sophia McCrimmon, the Valentine's Adult Programs and Tourist Manager, explained. "It was meant to be a place where 19th-century Richmonders could wander around for hours and get some time outside and some exercise."
The Valentine museum offers 90-minute Highlights of Hollywood Cemetery tours where visitors can explore the site's rich history.
"We walk through some notable gravesites, we talk about some of the figures who are buried at Hollywood, we share their stories and their impact on Richmond history. We go to President's Circle, where James Monroe and John Tyler are buried, and we take in that view of downtown Richmond and the James River," McCrimmon said.
Founded in 1849, the cemetery includes a Confederate memorial that forms an important part of the tour experience.
"So Hollywood was founded in 1849, so it was not a Civil War cemetery, but after the Civil War, it did kind of become something of a Confederate shrine, and we explore that history as well," McCrimmon said.
The walking tours happen every other Saturday morning, with weekly tours available in July and August. Visitors should come prepared with comfortable shoes, water, sunscreen and a hat as tours proceed rain or shine.
"But most of all, it's just a really nice experience to get outside, get a beautiful walk in, learn some history, reflect on these figures, reflect on the design behind these burial sites, the landscape design, and just to appreciate this really remarkable site in Richmond," McCrimmon said.
Back at the Valentine museum, visitors can explore "Fancy Costumes, Characters, and the Richmond Masque," the museum's first costume exhibition since 2020.
"It's our first costume and textiles exhibition since 2020. And it's looking at the many ways Richmonders have played dress up from the 19th century, to the modern-day," Nichol Gabor, the Valentine's exhibit curator, said.
The exhibit features diverse items ranging from Gwar masks to 19th-century ballgowns and Halloween costumes.
"We have invitations, masks, hats," Gabor said. "There's about 34 full mannequins, and then I'd say maybe a half dozen objects that are more accessories or objects that aren't costumes."
The Valentine is open Tuesday through Sunday with extended hours on Thursdays. The exhibit will run through January 2026.
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