Just north of here, on the northeast corner of Franklin and Mayo Streets, was the Odd Fellows Hall. In its basement, below a venue where operas, dance ensembles, and even midget acts performed, was a frequent site of slave auctions in the 1840’s and 1850’s. A red flag on the basement door indicated that sales were about to take place. The Odd Fellows had been established in England as an inter-racial philanthropic organization. Not so in Richmond.
