takes a driving tour of richmond and highlighted the city. ashley: thank you. if someone is ever been to virginia, what should they know about the city? i think that this is the cultural city arts capital of all things virginia. we are thriving, but imagine a thriving city with the backdrop of all of the historic riches we have here as well. to an: we are headed historic neighborhood. mayor stoney: we're going to churchill. ashley: what makes churchill distinct? mayor stoney: you're about to see the original part of the city. right here on the right, st. john's church. ashley: for those who do not know about st. john's church, tell me a little bit about it. mayor stoney: i know people have

their textbooks out right now. this is where roger kennedy gave his speech "give me liberty or give me death -- this is where patrick kennedy gave his speech "give me liberty or give me death." ashley: how do you make sure that you keep history alive while still advancing the city? is aboutney: this tourism, what attracts people to your city. i think not only do we have great historic features, we also have a great river that runs through the city as well, rapids. the history is what keeps people coming back. the history brings people here initially so they can partake of restaurants and great use em's. up on: what are we coming right here? mayor stoney: this is liberty

hill right here. this is the view. william byrd came in, the settlers of richmond, came in right here and saw the bend in the river. thames near river london, and that is where we got the name richmond. this is downtown. a beautiful view of our downtown financial district. as people know, this is the capital of virginia as well. we have a lot of the seat of government as well. i am seeing a lot of industrial buildings. i am seeing the lucky strike tower. is that part of richmond's economic past, it's present? mayor stoney: that's right. it's economic past. ashley: where are we heading now? mayor stoney: we are headed to richmond hill.

it is a view of all things downtown. it's one of my favorite views. it is what i have known, what i remember from this view of the city is a lot of different candidates and politicians and totnot had press conferences offer a great view of all things downtown. hustle and the bustle. this is a great view. this is right here underneath and you see downtown. complex right there. you have state government. i think you see the capitol. ashley: ok. are we going to go by the capitol? i would love that. mayor stoney: jefferson's work still around. how does the city and state government interact, if at all? how does the city and

state government interact, if at all? mayor stoney: the state government is our partner. when you're the home of state government, you do not necessarily get -- they are tax exempt. economicr about the impact, but they do not pay taxes on these buildings as well. i would rather have them do not have them. let's they bat. ashley: -- let's say that. ashley: the capitol does not look like a lot of other capitol buildings. mayor stoney: this is the original, right? this is one of the oldest operating capitals we have. ashley: who designed this? mayor stoney: thomas jefferson. the third president of the united states of america. the capital.ned what are we seeing? mayor stoney: abram lincoln came here right at the end of the civil war when richmond fell and some slavesey freed

right over here. harry byrd over here. a milestone in civil rights. ashley: we're talking about the statues and monuments. there's a lot of statues and monuments in your city. mayor stoney: there are. there are. do you want to go to monument avenue? ashley: right, let's go to monument avenue? when i came: even here in 2004, richmond was on that upward trajectory, but there was still much to be desired. in the 1990's, a lot of this was abandoned. when people come back now, i think what we are experiencing are the folks who began their lives here, who had jobs in other cities like new york and san francisco and washington and

they come back because richmond is cool again. ashley: what turned that todd? what made it cool again? kinds of artsy things. -- what turned that todd? what made that change? trying toey: i was explain this to someone the other day, vcu. i remember when vcu went to the final four. where is the school from? it is the city of richmond. that put virginia on the map. episodes ofof the the 2008 election. that put virginia on the board. when president obama won virginia for the first time in 44 years -- ashley: democrats. mayor stoney: that is right. ashley: and that is a changes hearts government. virginia went blue in the most recent election. mayor stoney: that's right. that's right. richmond is at the heart of this. we play a significant role in the electoral future of the

commonwealth of virginia. those votesyou have there, but you have a thriving, growing region as well. we are a workforce that is still growing. how do millennials respond to richmond's history? know what, i you think folks that are moving into just like i did 13 years ago, you are surrounded by history basically every single day. but history also means some of the history here we are not proud of. confederate history. i think that is a stain on these cities record -- city from. but instead of being stuck in , we think history should be our foundation to build from.

chapter inng a new rich when's history now and that is being a welcoming, inclusive city that is tolerant of all cultures and, you know, all walks of life. we are headed down monument avenue, one of the most iconic streets in america, i think. one of the first monuments you are going to see here i think was created around 1996, 1997, towards arthur ashe, the international tennis star who was born here in the city of richmond. right now this is the only monument or statue to an african-american on monument avenue. beyond that you will see statues to those who served in the civil war. so you have arthur ashe. you've got jeb stuart, stonewall jackson, robert e. lee. there has been maybe a

little controversy about the statues here. what is the feeling of about the history? mayor stoney: i think people recognize this as part of our history. a terrible history it may be, but it is part of our history. would i want a jefferson davis statue torn down? no, i wouldn't. past, beingis the terrible or not, should not be our anchor. it should be a foundation to build from. that knowinghink the history is important to not repeating it in the present? now, theney: right statues with no context, it's just statues honoring or memorializing these figures, but i think the key is to tell the whole story. i think richmond can be the center of all things reconciliation, right?

terrible past. a righting time to start that new chapter with reconciliation first. ashley: what is the narrative you would like to achieve, your dream goal, not just as a mayor, but your time as a resident in the city of richmond. -- mayor stoney: the goal i would like to achieve, when people think about the city of richmond, think of the city of richmond, the capital of virginia, the former capital of the confederacy. i want to change that narrative. culture and part of history, not necessarily being the capital of the confederacy. we are more welcoming. mindedmower open than our history may say.

>> but the james is virginia's largest river. it forms in the appellation mountains and flows through the chesapeake bay. the river serves as a trade route for colonists. it is sometimes referred to as founding river. next, we will go to tredegar iron works. tredegar iron was's possible for producing a large majority of the canons produced during the confederacy. they at structures that no longer exist from battlefield

hospitals to the battlefields himself. the ironworks is one of the few remaining structures that war,ed before the civil and existed for decades afterward. it's history goes back to southeastern wales in the united kingdom. when richmond businessman wanted to begin in ironworks era in richmond, they contacted engineers and millwrights to come over and design their rolling mill and ironworks here. tredegar hadtarted a good imagination. he was not a good businessman. they ran into financial trouble. a west point graduate was brought in initially in 1841 is a purchasing agent, kind of a sales managet