While touted as a progressive, monumental project to drastically alleviate traffic congestion, improve tourism and bolster commerce, the construction of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike also called for the demolition of thousands of homes and the forcible displacement of neighborhoods – much to the dismay of Richmond residents.
With the Richmond Police Department’s Vice Squad constantly patrolling its streets and the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority revoking liquor licenses, effectively shutting down places for being “gathering places for homosexuals” and “promoting lewd behavior,” the Block, like its patrons, learned to be fluid shifting its location often as one place closed and another opened.