The Fan is a district in Richmond, Virginia. It is named The Fan because of the way the roads fan out to the west from N. Belvidere St. It's easy to find a variety of boundaries that "define" the Fan, just ask a variety of Richmonders. Everyone will have a slightly different mental map. But roughly speaking, the Fan District is bounded on the east by Belvidere St (U.S. Route 1), on the west by The Boulevard, on the North by Broad Street, and on the South by Cary Street. The Fan itself is bordered on the west by the Museum District/Carytown, on the South by the Byrd Park, Randolph, and Oregon Hill neighborhoods, and on the North by the Carver neighborhood.

Get in

By car

From I-95: Exit 79 - The Boulevard: From the exit turn right at the stoplight and head south on Boulevard until you reach the intersection with Broad St. From this intersection to that of Cary and Boulevard, the fan is to your left. Turning left down any street in between will give you access to the fan.

Exit 76 - Belividere (Rt 1): From the exit you will come to a traffic light. Most out-of-towners take a left at the light on to Leigh St, followed by an immediate right at the next light on to Belvidere. From Belvidere and Leigh head south to the intersection with Broad St. From here to the intersection with Cary St, the fan is to your right. If you stay on Belvidere immediately past Monroe Park is Main St., the main westward thoroughfare through the Fan.

From 195 (toll):

See

The fan is home to many historic homes, parks and monuments as well as the Monroe Park campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Parks

• Monroe Park - Bound by Belvidere, Main, Laurel and Franklin St., Monroe Park sits on the eastern edge of the Fan. The park dates back to 1851 and is the oldest park in the city. In the park are monuments to William Carter Wickham as well as to World War I&II servicemen. The park is semi-managed by VCU and serves as a "quad" for the campus during the school year.

• Triangle Parks - In four places in the fan, the branching of the streets creates tringle shapped plots of land that are used bu the city as small parks
• Harrison and Park - This small park in the midst of the VCU campus is home to the Richmond Howetzers Monument.
• Morris and Brunswick
• Park and Hanover - This park contains a playground for the neighborhood children
• Park and Staurt - This small park contains a monument to the Pioneers who explored and settled the westward regions of the commonwealth.

Monument Avenue - Richmond's most prestigious street cuts through the fan, starting at the western terminus of Franklin St at Lombardy. 4 of the 6 monument along the street are located in the fan.

• J.E.B. Staurt - Located at Monument and Lombardy (Staurt Circle)
• Robert E. Lee - Located at Monument and Allen
• Jefferson Davis - Located at Monument and Davis
• Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson - Located at Monument and Boulevard

Museums - The Fan and the adjacent Museum Distract contains some of Virginia's best museums

• The Virginia History Society Museum -Located at Kenisgnton and Boulevard
• the Museum of Fine Arts - Located at Grove and Boulevard
• Virginia Science Museum - Located on Broad next to the DMV
• Children's Museum - Located on Broad next to the Science Museum
• The Museum of Catholic History in Virginia - Located at Sacred Heart Cathedral at Laurel and Cathedral

Do

• The Grace St. Festival - Every fall VCU host the Grace St Festival on the 900 block of Grace St

Buy

Although there are some great shops actually in The Fan (such as along Strawberry Street, near Park Avenue), the great shopping is in Carytown. Carytown is south of the bordering neighborhood, The Museum District, on Cary Street, west of Boulevard.

Eat

• Bamboo Cafe (1 S Mulberry St)
• Buddy's Place (325 N Robinson St)
• Curbside (2525 Hanover Ave.)
• Edo's Squid (411 N Harrison St)

Edo's is a local favorite, offering Italian inspired seafood dishes. Edo's can quite crowded on weekends, and especially with VCU student in-town during the school year.

• Joe's Inn (205 N Shields Ave)
• Kuba Kuba (corner of Stuart and Lombardy)

Kuba Kuba located on 1601 Park Avenue is a smoke-free Cuban restaurant known to have the best menu for Cuban food in Richmond. It has a variety of salads and appetizers including Tostones or deep fried plaintains and Scallop Ceviche, which is a dish with lime-marinated scallops over mixed greens. Kuba Kuba also serves Paella Valenciana, a traditional Spanish rice dish with Chorizo, clams, mussels and shrimp. User reviews from CitySearch rated Kuba Kuba 4.5 stars with five being the highest rating.

• The Sidewalk Cafe (2101 W Main St)
• 1 Strawberry Street Cafe, 421 Strawberry St, ☏ +1 804 353-6860. M-F 9AM-10PM, Sa 10AM-10PM, Su 10AM-9PM. The Strawberry Street Café is well-known for their appetizing foods and famous bathtub salad bar. The restaurant recently experienced national recognition on the game show Jeopardy. The Strawberry Street Café also won the Gold Cluster Award from the Virginia Wine Industries Governors Cup for their exceptional representation of Virginia’s wine every year since 1994. In the center of the restaurant, there is an oversized old-fashioned claw-footed bathtub stocked with fresh fruits, vegetables and prepared salads. The menu has a variety of different foods ranging from burgers to quiche. Some of the restaurant’s popular dishes include chicken pot pie, spinach lasagna, pasta jambalaya, crab and artichoke dip, broiled Maryland crab cakes, and the vegetarian bean burger. (updated Sep 2015)
• Three Monkeys (on Main between N Davis and Robinson)

Three Monkeys Bar and Grill located on 2525 W. Main Street is an upscale corner café in the Fan, where the menu includes Greek specialties such as Saganaki and Spanakopita and a variety of other foods ranging from common burgers and fries to homemade pizzas.

• Vito's Pizza and Italian Restaurant (904 W Grace St)
• The White Dog Restaurant (2329 West Main Street)
• Davis & Main, 2501 West Main Street. Located in the heart of the Fan District, Davis & Main has proudly served creative American cuisine to the city of Richmond for over 20 years. Mahogany woodwork, brass railings, and large mirrors provide the finishing touches, creating an ambience unique to Davis & Main. Live Jazz every Tuesday night. (No longer open. Now called "Mint" serving new Southern cuisine.) 

Drink

The Fan is replete with bar/restaurants, concentrated mostly on Robinson Street (two blocks east of The Boulevard), and along Main Street for the entire length of the Fan.

Mostly just make sure you catch some great live music, like at the Cary Street Cafe 2700 block of Cary Street, (about a block from Boulevard)

Sleep

• 1 The Grace Manor Inn, 1853 W Grace St (at Meadow St), ☏ +1 804 353-4334, fax: +1 804 353-0012. A delightful Richmond bed and breakfast. Each morning guests are served a three-course gourmet breakfast in the formal dining room, with complementary bellinis and mimosas. All suites include off-street parking, free high-speed internet, television, CD player, mini fridge, a microwave and other amenities. $175-215.