The hotel's mezzanine housed WRVA, Richmond's pioneering AM 50,000 watt radio station. The hotels were the center of social life in downtown Richmond for most of their history. The Hotel Richmond's mezzanine was the headquarters of WRVA Radio, which was known throughout the Eastern U.S. for its pioneering radio broadcasts. In 1940, the station began airing the famed variety show Sunshine Sue and Her Rangers, which swept the eastern U.S. with its country music. Other shows reflected a local twist, including Corn Cob Pipe Club and Capitol Squirrel. The shows that were born in the building were ubiquitous nationally and not just locally; for instance the Corn Cob show had hundreds of clubs in the U.S. and Canada.