Ballard House Hotel

A glass-plate photograph shows the Ballard House Hotel at Fourteenth and Franklin streets in Richmond. The four-story hotel built in 1855–1856 was distinctive for the second-story bridge that connected it to the Exchange Hotel across the street. Both hotels were owned by John P. Ballard. This photograph was taken in April 1865, just after the fall of Richmond to Union forces. The Ballard and the Exchange survived the fires set by the evacuating Confederate army, but both hotels closed by 1896. The Exchange building was demolished in 1900, and the Ballard in 1920.

This street view includes a few civilians, several soldiers with horses, and a carriage in the middle distance.The photographer's tent, seen in the foreground, is also part of the composition.