A four-story tower with dramatic views of the nearby James River and beyond is the defining feature of a house perched on a hilltop in Richmond, Virginia.
David Johannas, the architect of the residence at 4902 Riverside Drive, was inspired by the hill towns of Italy’s Tuscany region, where some wealthy families built towers above their homes during the Middle Ages. The top floor of the Richmond house is just large enough for two people to sit and admire the view, including of the Carillon, a well-known bell tower just across the river in Byrd Park.
The property is also set apart from the traditional brick houses around it by its extensive use of glass and steel. When the three-bedroom house was under construction in 1993, a neighbor inquired if all the steel being trucked into the area was to build a new bridge across the river, Tim Schoenman, who owns the house with his husband, Jeffrey Walker, told Homes.com.
Schoenman is also the listing agent with Long and Foster Real Estate for the house that is for sale for $1.87 million.
“The house is very well-known in Richmond,” Schoenman said. “On weekend afternoons, even when the house is not listed, people will stop in the middle of the road, get out of their cars and take pictures.”
Schoenman and Walker bought the house in the Forest Hill neighborhood in 2013. They redesigned the house’s interior over a three-year period, including changes to the primary bedroom and bathroom on the main level and adding a serpentine wall to display some of their extensive art collection.
“The house was very traditional on the inside, all cherry wood and heavy draperies, and we’re more contemporary,” Schoenman said.
The couple also added sliding glass doors to provide walk-out access to the outside from the basement, where two of the bedrooms, a family room and a bar and wine locker are located.
Outside the house, Schoenman and Walker removed some trees from the sloping front yard and planted gardens, opening up views for them and passersby on the street. They also installed a stone stairway leading down to Riverside Drive. Some 1,400 people visited the property during the Garden Club of Virginia’s annual tour in April 2024.
The house has multiple spots for entertaining, Schoenman said, between the wraparound porch, the deck underneath it, and the patio between the carport and the house.
“The house is fun for parties,” he said. “People will start on the [basement] level with their drinks, and they’ll wander around to the patio and up to the tower.”
On the patio, behind the main level, the house’s prior owners left behind a set of small fountains and a pathway with stones jutting out. Schoenman said they wanted the path to mimic the river, which has numerous large stones scattered in its waters. He and Walker have trimmed some of the stones to minimize tripping hazards.
The tower house replaced a modest ranch home built in 1959. There are a handful of remnants of the original home around, including steps that lead down from the carport behind the house and windows in the laundry room.
Schoenman said he and Walker tend to spend more time in the main-level living space and family room than at the top of the tower or in the third-floor loft below it. But the tower is a matter of pride for them.
“When it gets dark at 5 o’clock in the evening in the winter, we light the tower up, and the house just glows,” Schoenman said. “During the holidays we light it up every night, and it stops traffic out front.”