By JEFFREY KELLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
SLIDESHOW

That's how RightMinds views its Main Street Station headquarters

Many Richmond companies can be proud of their pads -- converted warehouses, skyline views, hip décor or a laid-back ambiance.

Yet if there were a competition to find the most unique office space in town, the folks at RightMinds might be the ones to beat.

The marketing company occupies the chic first-floor lobby, thirdand fourth-floor offices and fifth-floor mezzanine at Main Street Station, the downtown train depot that reopened in 2003 after a $51.6 million renovation.

Conference and brainstorming rooms sit inside the top two floors that make up the iconic Richmond clock tower. Quirky-looking cubicles are laid out in the fifth floor of the 106-year-old building.

"Pretty wild, isn't it?" CEO Chris Thurston said, standing inside the renovated clock tower on a recent morning. Out the windows, trucks and cars whiz by on Interstate 95 -- the highway at its closest point is just 9 feet away. "And it's not loud."

Indeed, if the space were noisy, RightMinds wouldn't be able to get any thinking done. The company pitches itself as a marketing and advertising think tank, using the minds of its roughly 50 employees to develop campaigns and brand promotions for clients.

The nearly 20-year-old firm, once known as Thurston Advertising, moved there in December.

The train depot has become an integral part of RightMinds' own marketing campaign. The company See more photos of RightMinds' offices on inRich.com.rents a billboard on Interstate 64 rolling into downtown, displaying the outline of the showpiece train station.

Adjacent to and above the refurbished Grand Hall and reception area of the train station, the 12,200square-foot space belongs to RightMinds under a five-year lease that has renewal options for the next 15 years.

Even though RightMinds pays $17,000 a month in rent, the firm invested an additional $400,000 to customize the place to its liking. Thurston said he wanted a place that clients and others could enjoy, and to help build the company's reputation as a creative powerhouse.

Not to mention a spot with a few totally rad panoramas of the city.

"I feel like it's the best place in Richmond," he said. Contact Jeffrey Kelley at (804) 649-6348 or jkelley@timesdispatch.com.