Cosmos and moth in East End

CITYSCAPE-As these photos show, iconic cement silos, left, in the East End have come down. The once proud symbols of Lehigh Cement Co. were demolished in the past two weeks as part of $10 million in improvements the city is undertaking along the north bank of the James River. Winchester-based Howard Shockey & Sons Inc., which did not have any minority partners, cleared the silos, whose site is to be a park. Other projects: The $4 million city portion of the Virginia Capital Trail to which the city contributed $820,000 and the Low-Line Project, a $1.4 million landscaping venture alongside the trail to which the city contributed $200,000 and private sources are donating $1.2 million.

The city also is set to invest nearly $3 million in improvements to the former Intermediate Terminal and to create a walking bridge across the river at Brown’s Island for which the state has provided $2.5 million. These projects represent Phase I of the city’s Riverfront Plan that aims to create a unified, cohesive system of open space and recreational opportunities for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Celebrating ‘the Black Cyclone’- this new mural in Jackson Ward pays homage to forgotten American cycling superstar — Marshall Walter “Major” taylor. Richmond artist sir James thornhill created the colorful mural featuring the two-wheel racing phenom. Location: 1st and Marshall streets. Dubbed “the Black Cyclone,” Mr. taylor broke the color barrier in the sport in the 1890s when bike racing was a big deal in this country and Europe. Despite bigoted competitors attempts to injure him, he ranked as the fastest cyclist in the world into the early 1900s. the cycling Hall of Famer set seven world records and won 117 of his 168 races, while placing second in the rest. He reportedly earned $30,000 a year in his prime, an immense sum for the period.

Proud graduates- Newly minted Richmond Police officers march from the Leslie Cheek Theater after being sworn in last Friday. Location: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The 30 officers are the city’s 111th recruit class. They hail from Virginia and states from Connecticut to North Carolina. They completed 30 weeks of training. They will spend the next eight weeks gaining field experience under the supervision of a veteran officer. The new officers are helping to fill some of the vacancies in the police department’s sworn contingent.