Virginia – ALL I NEED IS MY PASSPORT

Meandering Through Four Southern States

North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

Apr 222021

April 2021

Luray Caves, Virginia

Visitors have been coming to Luray Caves since its discovery in 1878. The cavern system is filled to the brim with speleothems such as columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and mirrored pools. The caverns are perhaps best known for the Great Stalacpipe Organ, made from solenoid-fired strikers that tap stalactites of various sizes to produce various tones. The organ is in an area so large they once held ballroom dances, and today, if you choose you can be married in the room.

We recorded the organ, but the hum of a neon light in the cave overwhelmed our recording. It was fascinating to watch nonetheless.

A Smithsonian Institution report of July 13 and 14, 1880, said: “It is safe to say that there is probably no other cave in the world more completely and profusely decorated with stalactite and stalagmite ornamentation than that of Luray.”

If you look closely at the photo above you will notice that the floor is not stalagmites but a reflection of the ceiling in a pool of water

Through the years visitors have broken some of the stalactites, if you look at the center you can see the many layers of the crystal deposits.

The stalactites and stalagmites in the Luray Caves grow at a staggering slow rate of one cubic inch every 120 years.

Shenandoah National Park – Virginia

Shenandoah National Park covers 197,438 acres. The best way to enjoy this if you are not hiking is Skyline Drive. The park at its highest is 4,051 feet, so many of the trees have not yet leafed out, but you can see forever from many of the lookouts.

Visitors to Shenandoah owe a lot to the Civilian Conservation Corps. Over 1,000 men worked at ten camps in and around Shenandoah.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28.

Much of the work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps was located in national, state, and local parks. In 9 years the CCC planted nearly 3 billion trees and developed more than 800 parks across the United States.

Historical Massanutten Lodge

Skyland Lodge is the heart of the Shenandoah National Park, it was a private resort prior to the area becoming a park. Built in 1911, it was the home of Addie Nairn Pollock, co-owner of Skyland Resort and wife of Skyland founder George Freeman Pollock. The lodge was designed by the Washington, DC architect Victor Mindeleff. The stone building is covered in tree bark.

New River Gorge National Park – West Virginia

The New River Gorge Bridge is a steel arch bridge 3030 feet long over the New River Gorge in the Appalachian Mountains. Built between June 1974, and October 22, 1977 the 1,700 feet long arch was the world’s longest single-span arch bridge for 26 years, it is now the fifth longest.

Visiting on April 21st it was snowing.

The New River Gorge

Great Smoky Mountains – Tennessee and North Carolina

Entering the Great Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains rise along the Tennessee–North Carolina border. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province.

The flora of the region changes consistently, making multiple visits almost a must to appreciate the ever changing scenery. It was snowing in April, a rarity, and beautiful. Over ten million people visit the park yearly with another 11 million people simply passing through. Apparently during the summer the traffic is bumper to bumper, making us glad we had been there in April.

Snow dusting the trees at the higher elevations.

Elk on the valley floor

Red Bud in Bloom

The Red Bud was blooming along the sides of every highway and byway, it felt as though the roads had been splashed with a pink/purple paint everywhere we went.

The Dogwood Trees

Mother Nature was generous, where ever she did not toss a red bud, she tossed a white or pink dogwood tree, making every turn in the road a WOW moment.

Enjoy some of the sites…..

Small mushrooms pushing their way into the world

Moss beginning to send up seed spores

* * *

Main Street Railroad Station in Richmond, VA

Richmond, Virginia

Mar 272017

1500 East Main Street
Richmond, VA
March 2017

This glorious building was not included in the VSA Spring study tour, but you could not help walk past it if you explore Richmond at all, and especially if you walk from downtown Richmond to the Shockoe District.

The Main Street Station was built in 1901 by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). Seaboard had newly introduced service to Richmond, and C&O had consolidated the former Virginia Central Railroad and the Richmond and Allegheny Railroad, which had previously maintained separate stations.

In the 1950s, Seaboard shifted its Richmond passenger service to Union Station of Richmond on Broad Street (now the Science Museum of Virginia), but C&O continued at Main Street Station until Amtrak took over in 1971. In 1970, Main Street Station and its train shed, one of the last surviving train sheds of its type in the nation, were added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1976 it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

In 1972, Hurricane Agnes caused the James River to flood the station. The damage was so severe that Amtrak moved its Richmond stops to a different station in 1975. To make matters worse, the station was damaged by fires in 1976 and 1983. Rail service did not return to Main Street Station until 2003, when it was renovated and returned to service on December 18th of that year.

Some of the massive stones used in the construction of the train station

Constructed over a two-year period spanning the turn of the 20th century and designed in an eclectic variation on the ornate French Renaissance style.

Wilson, Harris, and Richards of Philadelphia, a firm that specialized in railroad architecture, designed both the monumental depot building and the attached 400’ long industrial train shed.

The area around the train station is worth exploration as well, there are many old bars and restaurants housed in fun buildings and a locals farmers market.

The site of the 17th Street Farmers’ Market has been a public gathering place since 1737, and is one of America’s oldest public markets.

By 1854, The Farmers’ Market had expanded and a large market building was built on the corner of Main and 17th Streets. During the Civil War, the First Market House, as it was originally called, served as a gathering place for Confederate soldiers and later as a barracks for Union Troops. In later decades, shoppers listened to political speeches, visited the police station on the second floor, and raised their own voices at religious revival meetings.

A history marker paying tribute to the one day flourishing Farmer’s Market

The First Market House was razed in 1961 and the Farmers’ Market was reduced to scattered vendor stalls, but the predicted total demise never happened as a small market still exists on the spot.

The Union Station of Richmond, now the Virginia Museum of Science

Bolling Haxall House

Richmond, United States, Virginia

Mar 272017

2111 Franklin Street
Richmond, VA
March 2017

The Woman’s Club, that is housed in Bolling Haxall House, was founded in 1894 with the mission to advance education. The house is one of the few private clubs, cum museum, in the US that is open to anyone that comes and knocks on its door. The Woman’s Club, while charging for events in its lovely facility, also graciously donates space to educational facilities that are in need. This is a very dynamic and wonderful group of Women.

The iron-work fence is believed to have been cast by George Lownes, who did a similar, signed fence, in Hollywood Cemetery.

The Bolling Haxall House is an 1858 Italianate Mansion replicated for Bolling Walker Haxall from a house he admired in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Mr. Haxall, one of Richmond’s wealthiest citizens, was a partner in Haxall Mills, which were among the world’s largest flour mills. The architect is unknown. However, records show that the contractors were John and George Gibson.

In front of the house are two cast-iron horse-head hitching posts. These once stood on Capitol Street and were used for the horses of the state legislators.

Bolling Walker Haxall was also president of Old Dominion Iron and Nail Works and part owner of Richmond and Petersburg Railroad Company. He and his family lived in the well-appointed house until the Civil War burning of Richmond.

The entry hall ceiling of painted designs and ornamental plaster

Because he feared for his family’s safety, he moved them to his home in Orange County, Virginia. After the war, he returned to the house, which had not been harmed in any way, only to find he could not afford to support it as he had lost several of his businesses to the fire. In 1869, Mr. Haxall sold The Bolling Haxall House to Dr. Francis T. Willis, a prominent physician, for $28,000.00.

There are many stunning marble fireplaces in the home, not all original to the home, but period pieces none-the-less

The Woman’s Club purchased the home from Dr. Willis’ grandson in 1900 for the sum of $20,000.00. The House has served as the permanent home of The Woman’s Club ever since.
*The Bolling Haxall House Foundation, an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was organized in 1990 as a preservation foundation which owns the historic property and raises funds to maintain it.

The piano and accompanying chair are said to be original to the second owner. It is still played by those brave enough to sit and play such an historic instrument.

This stunning historic structure is on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a Virginia Historic Landmark.

The spiral staircase is topped with a stunning colored glass window.

The spiral staircase, added during Dr. Willis’s ownership, is topped with a stunning stained glass window.

The auditorium was added in 1916

Many of the new appointments include lovely paintings on the blinds and Bradbury and Bradbury wallpaper.

This whimsical lamp was added in a recent renovation.

The back of the house originally had a columned porch. The back of the house commanded a wonderful view of the James River and the mills along its banks. When the auditorium was added the porch was eliminated on all levels except the second floor. When a building was expanded next door, even that view was lost. For this reason there is now a lovely mural along the wall to be viewed as you step out on the balcony. The mural represents what the view would have been in 1860. Of the 27 edifices depicted in the mural only seven remain. The mural was painted by Luther Coleman Wells.

Off the Beaten Path in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, United States, Virginia

Mar 272017

There are always weird and wonderful things that one finds when traveling, and here are three that I found in Richmond.

The Markel Building
5310 Markel Road

This 1962 building by Haig Jamgochian, was inspired by a foil wrapped potato. Don’t believe me? Check out the historic marker sign next to the building.

As the sign says, each floor is one single piece of aluminum. Sadly this aluminum siding material is not holding up too well. Much of the texture was derived by Jamgochian using a sledgehammer to the aluminum, and much of that has been repaired in various ridiculous ways.

Haigh Jamgochian (1925- ) known as Jam to his friends, was born in Richmond, VA to Armenian immigrants fleeing to America to escape genocide in their country. He studied at Dartmouth, Virginia Tech and Princeton, and trained for a short time with Frank Lloyd Wright. He writes of the building: “They wanted it to be built a certain way but had a limited budget, so we took the weight out of the building to lower the cost. The idea to wrap a building in aluminum came to me over dinner one evening…”

The building is supported by some very unusual looking columns.

The building support columns are surrounded by some very unusual looking concrete castings.

The second unusual site is the Grand Kugel in front of the Union Station of Richmond which is now the Virginia Museum of Science at 2400 West Broad Street.

A kugel ball is a perfectly spherical stone ball that is set into a matching, perfectly concave cup. Water is then forced in from the bottom of the cup creating an evenly distributed, incredibly thin layer of water. The ball, almost no matter how heavy can then be moved on the liquid surface as though it weighed nothing at all.

A number of these floating stone spheres can be found around the globe, however, the Grand Kugel, installed in 2003, is the largest of these sculptural science experiments in the world. It is actually known as the Mary Morton Parsons Earth-Moon Sculpture, after its benefactor.

The third crazy stop is Connecticut The Indian at 2700 East Carey Street.

The sculpture is the work of Richmond artist Paul DiPasquale, who created the statue as a tribute to the area’s natives in 1983 with the intention of having it installed in Washington D.C. DiPasquale is also the sculptor of the Arthur Ashe sculpture on Monument Avenue.

“Connecticut” comes from the Eastern Algonquin Indian word, Quinnehtukgut which means beside the long tidal river.

The rooftop in the Shockoe Bottom neighborhood is the statue’s third home. Fabricated for the roof of a liquor store at 2600 Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C., a family dispute blocked the installation. Di Pasquale sought a new home and Frances and Sydney Lewis became interested who founded Best Products Company in Richmond in 1957, collectors of contemporary art.

Di Pasquale sought a new home and Frances and Sydney Lewis, collectors of contemporary art who founded Best Products Company in Richmond in 1957, became interested. However, local officials ruled that the statue was a sign and in violation of rooftop signage codes.

Bought back by the artist DiPasquale donated it to the Richmond Braves who placed it on top of a concession stand at “The Diamond”, the Triple-A baseball team’s new stadium, built in 1985. There he sat for nearly 25 years, as the mascot of the Braves. But in 2010, the Braves moved out of Richmond. Hopefully, as its final resting place, the sculpture was purchased by ODELL Architects and moved to the Lucky Strike power plant, an old tobacco factory complex that was being converted into loft apartments and offices. The easiest way to view Connecticut The Indian is down by the railroad tracks between Carey Street and the Canal.

Always remember to enjoy the sublime AND the ridiculous on your journey.

Two Unique Churches in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, United States, Virginia

Mar 272017

Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church
815 E. Grace Street
and
Confederate Memorial Chapel
2900 Grove Avenue

Saint Paul’s is located directly across the street from the Virginia State Capitol, and has long been a popular house of worship for political figures, including General Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

The first Episcopal church in Richmond was Monumental Church. However, Monumental’s congregation had begun to outgrow its building so its assistant rector, Reverand William Norwood, led an effort to found a new Episcopal church to accommodate the expanding membership. They had grand plans for this new venture and no church as large as the one planned (seating for 800 people) had ever been built in Virginia. A committee was formed to visit northern cities and view recently constructed large urban churches. While touring Philadelphia, the committee became enamored by the spacious St. Luke’s Church (now The Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany) and determined it should be the model for what would become St. Paul’s. The committee commissioned the architect of St. Luke’s, Thomas S. Stewart, to design a near replica for Richmond. Steward had also designed the Egyptian Building nearby for the University School of Medicine. The resulting building by Stewart was consecrated in 1845. It is of Greek Revival style, and a complement to Jefferson’s temple-form capitol across the street.

There is an amazing amount of history within this church, including the over 20 stained glass windows, some of which are by Tiffany Studios.

This is The Annunciation, installed in 1901 and by Tiffany.

The Last Supper, also by Tiffany Studios was installed in 1896. This stained glass mosaic is without a doubt, the foremost work of art in St. Paul’s.

The ceiling incorporates a variety of Greek-style motifs that surround a gold medallion with rays terminating in a Tetragrammaton, a triangular symbol of the Trinity with the four Hebrew letters for Yahweh (God).

Pew 111 Is where General Robert E. Lee’s family sat and pew 63 is where Confederate President Jefferson Davis worshiped from 1861 to 1865. It was during a church service that Davis received news that Lee could no longer defend Richmond, leading to the evacuation of the city and the subsequent fire which destroyed much of downtown, but not Saint Pauls.

The stunning wrought iron fence that surrounds St Paul’s

On the grounds of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts stand the Confederate Memorial Church.

The Confederate Memorial Chapel served as a nondenominational house of worship for the Robert E. Lee Camp Confederate Soldier’s Home. The Home was the first successful and longest operating residential complex for poor and infirmed southern veterans of the Civil War.

The chapel cost $4000 and was built with proceeds from benefit auctions of tobacco. The chapel was designed by architect Marion J. Dimmock, in the Carpenter Gothic style. Carpenter Gothic, also called Rural Gothic is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters.

The interior has pine floors and a vaulted ceiling with rows of hand-hewn pews. The various Belcher Studio stained glass windows are of interest in their unique style.

*Henry Belcher applied for four patents for his mosaic process between 1884 and 1889. To make its windows, the New York company assembled small pieces of glass—”not larger than one half-inch across”—into the desired pattern, arranging them around larger pieces of glass used for some of the elements of the designs. The whole mosaic was then sandwiched between two larger sheets of asbestos. The artisan poured in a liquid metal alloy, which would snake its way between the pieces and bind them together.

The chapel is open every day from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Virginia State Capitol

Richmond, United States, Virginia

Mar 272017

Virginia State Capitol
Richmond, VA
March 2017

Virginia’s State Capitol, located in Richmond, is the third capital city of the U.S. state of Virginia and houses the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere.

Thomas Jefferson is credited with the overall design of the new Capitol, together with French architect Charles-Louis Clérisseau. The design was modeled after the Maison Carrée at Nîmes in southern France, an ancient Roman temple.

This is all I will say about the building as it has been written about over the course of hundreds of years by far greater scholars than I, including our esteemed leader and educator Richard Guy Wilson of UVA.

The back side of the capitol showing the buildings that originally contained the two houses of the legislature.

The back side of the capitol. The smaller building on the left is the Senate Chamber and the smaller building on the right is the House of Delegates Chamber, both added in 1906.

The center of the Capitol is the Rotunda. A 30-foot diameter dome caps the Rotunda, added in 1794. There is no mention of the dome in Jefferson’s plans and it is not known if it was a later idea of Jefferson’s or a modification made by the builder. Constructed beneath the pitch of a gable roof, this skylight illuminated dome is invisible from the exterior of the building.

George Washington in the Virginia State Capitol

George Washington by Jean-Antoine Houdon

In the center of the Rotunda, commissioned by the Virginia General Assembly in 1784 as a tribute to Virginia’s most respected citizen-soldier, stands this stunning sculpture of George Washington. They wrote to Thomas Jefferson, who was on a diplomatic mission to Paris at the time, asking him to commission Jean-Antoine Houdon for the job. Houdon traveled to Mount Vernon to study Washington, making a plaster mask of his face and taking detailed measurements of his body. He returned to France and carved the sculpture from Carrera marble. It was placed in the Rotunda on May 14th, 1796. There are many illusions to the Roman empire in the work. Washingtons sword is on his side while his left-hand rests on a bundle of rods, called fasces, a Roman symbol of power. He also carries his walking stick and as a possible reference to Roman statesman Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, he is placed standing in front of a plow.

Another sculpture by Houdon can be found in a niche surrounding the Rotunda. This is of Marquis de Lafayette, a Frenchman who fought for America during the Revolution. Lafayette was voted a citizen of Virginia by an “act of assembly” in 1785 for his services.

One of the most important paintings in the Capitol can be found in the Old Senate Chamber. The painting is the Storming of a British Redoubt by American Troops at Yorktown. Painted by French artist Eugène-Louis Lami in 1840 it shows exactly what its name implies. The battle took place in October 1781, the same month that Cornwallis surrendered to Washington, and America won its national independence. The painting was a gift to Virginia in 1878 from philanthropist William Corcoran.

Jefferson commissioned Jean-Pierre Fouquet to make a plaster model of the Capitol prior to its restoration. Jefferson described Fouquet as “an artist who had been employed by the ambassador of France to Constantinople, in make models of the most celebrated remains of ancient architecture in the country.”

The model is at a scale of 1:60 and is reinforced with internal iron rods. The plaster model was not originally white. An architectural archeological study of the model was done to determine the original colors, and the various colors found are shown on the back of the model. It is thought it may have been possible that the original capitol was painted to represent masonry.

There is much fine artwork inside and out of the capitol, but the statue of a horse mounted Washington is the last I will discuss in this post.

The Washington Monument which stands prominently outside the capitol was sculpted by Thomas Crawford. Crawford was born in New York City and studied drawing and wood carving before joining a stonecutting studio in New York. He traveled to Rome in 1835 to study with neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorwaldsen and established a studio there. Crawford is responsible for a good many pieces of sculpture throughout the Virginia State Capitol. However, he is best known for the Statue of Freedom that tops the US Capitol Dome.

The National Park Service states: “Crawford designed three tiers of pedestals with George Washington on top, Virginia patriots in the middle, and a series of allegorical female figures and shields with inscriptions in memory of Revolutionary war principles or events on the bottom. The trophy figures represent the virtues of the revolutionary era and battles and places representing those virtues. The second tier consists of standing figures of Virginia’s leaders during the Revolution: Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, John Marshall, Andrew Lewis, Thomas Nelson, and Patrick Henry. Atop the pedestal is the equestrian statue of Washington. Crawford only finished the sculptures of Washington, Jefferson, and Henry before his death. Crawford’s protégé, another important sculptor Randolph Rogers, completed the remaining pedestal sculptures after the Civil War. ”

The Capitol building is open for Guided Tours 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with the last tour commencing at 4:00 p.m. On Sunday, guided tours are available from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., with the last tour commencing at 4:00 p.m. Tours last approximately one hour and are free.

Monument Avenue

Richmond, United States, Virginia

Mar 262017

Monument Avenue
Richmond Virginia
March 2017

Monument Avenue is either a bone of contention or an art gallery, and stirs emotions in all. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and a National Historic Landmark in 1997, making it, more than likely, an unchangeable force, as the NHL listing is the highest national designation a landmark can receive. It is also the only residential boulevard with monuments of this scale to survive almost unaltered to the present day.

As our guide, Richard Guy Wilson stated: “it may be a place of residences and churches, a street of movement and communication, but ultimately Monument Avenue is the site of memorials to the Confederacy.”

This tree-lined, grassy mall, divides the east- and westbound traffic and is punctuated by statues memorializing Virginian Confederate participants of the Civil War, Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Jefferson Davis, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Matthew Fontaine Maury, as well as Arthur Ashe, a Richmond native and international tennis star.

The first monument, a statue of Robert E. Lee, was erected in 1890.

The Robert E. Lee statue was created by Anton Mercié with the pedestal by architect, Paul Pujol. It stands 21 feet tall and weight around 12 tons. It sits upon a forty foot high granite pedestal.

Mercié entered the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, and studied under Alexandre Falguière and François Jouffroy, and in 1868 gained the Grand Prix de Rome at the age of 23. His first great popular successes were the David and Gloria Victis, which was shown and received the Medal of Honour of the Paris Salon.

Photo from WikiCommons

J.E. B. Stuart was created by Frederick Moynihan. The sculptor was inspired by a sculpture of the British General Outram done by John Foley for Calcutta, India. The sculpture was unveiled in 1907at the largest Confederate reunion ever held.

Frederick Moynihan was an American sculptor, born on the Isle of Guernsey in 1843. He died at his New York City studio on January 9, 1910. Moynihan studied at the Royal Academy in London before immigrating to the United States. He is best remembered for creating monuments commemorating the American Civil War.

The Jefferson Davis sculpture by Edward Valentine is the most controversial of all the sculptures on Monument Avenue. Unveiled in 1907 it sits in front of an exedra by architect William Noland. There is a 65-foot tall doric column topped with a bronze allegorical figure named Vindicatrix.

According to James Ira Deese Miller author of A Guide to the South, “the monument typifies the vindication of Mr. Davis and the cause of the Confederacy for which he stood before the world, the leading inscripton being “Deo Vince” (God will vindicate)…Vindicatrix represents the whole spirit of the movement.”

In the statue, Davis is represented as an orator. The two end piers are topped with a bronze group of war trophies, consisting of Confederate shields and flags, together with other emblems of land and naval warfare.

Edward Valentine was born on November 12, 1838 in Richmond, Virginia. He studied in Europe: in Paris with Couture and Jouffroy, in Italy under Bonanti, and with August Kiss in Berlin. He died on October 19, 1930 in Richmond, Virginia.

William Churchill Noland (1865-1951) was a partner of Baskervill and Son, a firm that has maintained a consistent history as one of the most successful Richmond, VA, architectural firms since its establishment in 1897. The firm, originally called Noland and Baskervill, was the partnership of architect Noland and electrical engineer Henry Baskervill (1867-1930).

Stonewall Jackson, unveiled in 1919 was sculpted by Frederick William Sievers. Frederick William Sievers (1872–1966) was an American sculptor, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Sievers moved to Richmond, Virginia, as a young man, furthering his art studies by attending the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and the Académie Julian in Paris.

The statue of Matthew Fontaine Maury was also sculpted by Frederick William Sievers and was unveiled in 1929. Sievers composed the statue with images of water, land, and sky, which relate to Maury’s achievements in oceanography, navigation, and meteorology. Jellyfish are sculpted in the arms of Maury’s chair, and bats, swallows, and fish encircle the base supporting the globe. Stylistically, the statue (which faces eastward toward the Atlantic Ocean) is perhaps the most complex of all the monuments on Monument Avenue.

The most recent statue to be erected on Monument Avenue is of local tennis great, Arthur Ashe. This sculpture is by Paul DiPasquale and was unveiled in 1966.

The bronze statue of Arthur Ashe faces west with four children facing east. The statue shows him holding books in his left hand and a tennis racket in his right hand to illustrate how he encouraged the importance of sports and education. The 12-foot bronze statue stands on a 87,000-pound granite block quarried in Georgia.

Paul DiPasquale is an American artist. He graduated from the University of Virginia, and trained at the Boston Architectural Center, he received his Masters degree in Sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1977.

I apologize for the quality of the photos, they were taken through the window of a moving bus.

Richmond, Virginia’s Old City Hall

Richmond, United States, Virginia

Mar 252017

1000 E Broad Street
Richmond Virginia
March 2017

This High Victorian Gothic structure was designed by Detroit architect Elijah E. Meyers and was completed in 1894.

Old City Hall served as Richmond’s city hall until the 1970s. This is the third Richmond municipal building on this site, and occupies an entire city block. The original City Hall and Courthouse stood on this site from 1816 to 1875.

City Engineer Wilfred Cutshaw led the efforts to build a replacement for the 1816 building. A national competition was held and resulted in the selection of Elijah Myers who had been the designer of the State capitols of Michigan, Colorado, Texas, and Idaho and winner of the international competition for the Parliament Buildings in Rio de Janeiro.

The bids were considerably higher than expected due to the choice of materials, and the large amount of ornamentation. City Engineer Wilfred Cutshaw attempted to manage the cost of the project by serving as the project contractor and hiring day laborers. In the end, the project cost $1.3 million dollars, a ridiculous cost over run from its original $300,000 budget.

The interior of the building is a site to behold

The interior of the building is a sight to behold

James Netherwood was the subcontractor for the stone portion of Old City Hall’s construction. Netherwood was an English immigrant. He chose “Petersburg” granite quarried locally along the James River. Netherwood’s workers relied on steam-driven saws and polishing tools developed in Britain in the 19th century to carve the stone. Old City Hall is the largest granite building in Richmond.

Richmond iron founder, Asa Snyder, cast the grills and fencing along with the cast iron columns in the atrium.

Restored to its original color scheme, the atrium is an amazing example of cast iron architecture in Richmond.

Old City Hall was almost torn down two times, once in 1915 and again in 1971. Saving the building was a huge preservation victory.

The building was rehabbed in the early 1980s as offices.

Egyptology and Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, United States, Virginia

Mar 242017

Monument Church 1224 East Broad Street
The Egyptian Building 1223 East Marshall Street
March 2017

Egyptian revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson’s defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile in 1798.

This revival began in the first building of today’s VSA tour the Monumental Church.

Tragedy at a phenomenal scale built this church and it is preserved and restored thankfully by Historic Richmond.

On December 26, 1811 a chandelier collided with the scenery of the theater that stood on this site. The result was the death of 72 men, women and children, both white and black. This was one of the worst urban disasters that had hit the new America. Of the 72 who died in the fire 54 were women and 18 were men. Among the notable victims were Virginia’s sitting governor, George William Smith, and former senator Abraham B. Venable. Also killed were Benjamin Botts, of Dumfries, and his wife; Botts had made a name for himself as a member of the defense in Aaron Burr’s 1807 trial for treason.

On the top of the memorial pedestal there is a winged disk which represents the Egyptian diety Horus.

Due to the fire, the city came together to build a memorial befitting the tragedy. The result was Monumental Church. Robert Mills was awarded the contract of designing the building, after beating his teacher Benjamin Henry Latrobe out of the award.

The marble urn is adorned with funerary symbols including drapery, stars and a wreath with flying ribbons. The faces of shrouded women also appear, which can be traced back to a 1728 book of architecture that Mills likely consulted.

Mills used this opportunity to practice his classical design elements, which can be found throughout the interior of the church. Along with his classical elements he also used a handful of Egyptian motifs.

The victims of the fire were entombed in the ground and the building was built around them. You will find the names of all the dead in the memorial in the portico of the building.

A considerable amount of architectural archeology was done to determine that the columns were in fact, this blue, and faux painted to resemble marble.

The capitals in the church contain more symbols of mourning. There are upside-down torches symbolizing life snuffed out, and stars representing heaven also drapery referencing a burial shroud.

Found, under the stairs, in the most recent renovation were notes with measurements and a notation to the architect “Mr Mills”.

The church has gone through many iterations, including being turned into a Victorian Era church. Today it has been brought back to its original state, thanks to Historic Richmond, although it still has a ways to go. It is not ready for adaptive re-use since the pews are original and should be preserved, making it difficult to find a proper venue, although they are still open to ideas.

The original pews would have been approximatelu 18" higher allowing privacy, they were cut down in the Victorian age, however, so may famous people have sat in the, including Edgar Allen Poe, Lafayette and others, they are of historical importance and must remain as part of the structure.

The original pews would have been approximately 18″ higher allowing privacy, they were cut down in the Victorian age. So many famous people have sat in them, including Edgar Allen Poe, Lafayette, and others, making them of historical importance and must remain as part of the structure.

Just around the corner is the “Egyptian Building”.

The Egyptian Building is considered by architectural scholars to be one of the finest surviving Egyptian Revival-style buildings in the nation.

Designed by noted Greek Revival architect Thomas S. Stewart of Philadelphia, the Egyptian Building is one of the finest examples of the rare “Egyptian Revival” style. The building was the first permanent home of the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College, which later became the Medical College of Virginia. The Egyptian Building has been in continuous use since its construction in 1845 and remains the oldest medical college building in the South.

The building is constructed from brick, stucco and cast iron.

The interior of the building in 2017

Throughout the building you will find the winged disk which represents Horus. This symbol is also found in the Monumental Church.

The cast iron capitals, topping cast stone columns and cast iron bases.

The cast iron capitals, top cast stone columns and cast iron bases.

The Egyptian Building was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 11, 1971.

Maymont

Richmond, United States, Virginia

Mar 232017

2201 Shield Lakes Drive
Richmond, Virginia
March 2017

In 1893, Major James H. Dooley, a wealthy Richmond lawyer and philanthropist, along with his wife, Sallie, completed this elaborate estate in Richmond, Virginia on a 100-acre site overlooking the James River.

The house was occupied until Sallie May Dooley’s death in 1925, her husband had predeceased her in 1922. After their deaths, Maymont was left to the city of Richmond and opened as a museum just six months after Mrs. Dooley’s death. It did not fare well under the guise of the city. The upper floors’ interiors and a large original collection remained relatively untouched, uncleaned, and unprotected. In 1970 a foundation was formed, and now the palatial home, while still owned by the city, is run and funded by the foundation.

This is Fountain Court. The fountain, originally nine feet deep, apparently served as a reservoir to supply the Italian Garden fountains and the Japanese Garden waterfall. Designed by Noland and Baskervill and completed in 1911, it was based on a similar landscape feature at the Villa Torlonia near Rome.

Maymont was named for Major Dooley’s wife, Sallie May. “May Mont,” combines Mrs. Dooley’s maiden name and the French word for hill. Construction on this Romanesque style, Victorian Age, building began in early 1879 but came to a stop early on. Construction began again in 1890, with the mansion completed in 1893.

The 12,000 square foot, 33 room home was designed by Roman born and educated architect, Edgeton S. Rogers. The home was originally to be granite with a red slate roof to match its pink Montana marble columns and its hundreds of pink roses planted about the grounds. The exterior, however, is made of Ohio Sandstone, and the red slate roof was replaced with black slate by the City of Richmond in the 1960s.

James Dooley descended from a successful Richmond family that had immigrated from Ireland. Sallie May was the daughter of a prominent and long-standing Virginia family. Their varied tastes and backgrounds are reflected in the home.

This is Mr. Dooley’s office and personal space. The Maymont Mansion Collection is comprised of works of decorative and fine arts acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Dooley in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, evidenced by the eclectic but tasteful interiors. Throughout the house, but beginning in Mr. Dooley’s office one can see the Dooleys’ reverence for the “Old Masters,” the collection includes many well-executed oil copies of paintings in the Pitti Palace, the AltePinathotek and other major collections that the couple visited on their trips abroad.

There is no wallpaper in the house as the Dooley’s preferred the walls hand painted or stenciled. Two rooms have silk damask upholstered walls.

Mrs. Dooley’s drawing room is done in pink damask with a gold leafed fireplace. The silk curtains are original. Unfortunately, papers, blueprints, and documents at Maymont were burned following Mrs. Dooley’s death, and in the 1930s, pieces that the City considered superfluous were sold. Despite this, the interiors and a large collection of the Dooley’s possessions remain relatively untouched.

The settee and four chairs found in this parlor are original. The museum had sent them out to be regilded and the upholstery cleaned, only to find that they were too delicate to handle the cleaning.

This Tiffany window, found on two floors is a 15 foot tall window divided between two floors

This 15 foot tall Tiffany window spans two floors. The first floor contains a passage from Luke Chapter 10 verse 5. Peace be unto this house.

The second floor bathroom has a few areas that were left to show the neglect that occurred before the foundation was formed. The lack of cleaning can be seen in the small panel of blue above the tile that is a much darker color that the rest of the border.

The second-floor bathroom has a few areas that were left to show the neglect that occurred before the Maymont Foundation was formed. The lack of cleaning can be seen in the small panel of blue above the tile that is a much darker color than the rest of the border.

Mrs. Dooley’s bedroom is one of the highlights of the tour. The entire room is themed in swans. These furnishings were originally in their summer home, Swannanoa, on Afton Mountain in Virginia. The bed is carved poplar by Newman and Company of Manhattan.

The Dooley’s were consummate travelers, including many trips to Europe, San Francisco, Yosemite Valley, Polar Springs Maine, New York City and many points in between. This is Mrs. Dooley’s Louis Vuitton trunk with her name and address emblazoned on the end.

Her rocking chair was decked with swans, and many small sculptures of swans, and a painting over the fireplace can be found throughout the room.

Her rocking chair was decked with swans, as well as the painting over the fireplace and many small swan sculptures can be found throughout the room.

This dressing table and chair are a one of a kind male Narwal tusk and sterling silver Tiffany creation. The piece is in the Viking Revival style. The sterling silver contains Celtic designs with dragons topping the tusks.

The Dooleys’ Doric temple-style mausoleum sits on the property not far from the house on the ridge over the river.

The Stone Barn

The Normandy-style Carriage House (built of James River granite), the three-storied Stone Barn and the Water Tower were designed by Noland and Baskervill and constructed in the early 20th century. Arrayed along a high ridge, this village-like assemblage of outbuildings would have been visible to guests entering along the magnolia-lined drive. These buildings have been adaptively renovated as public spaces and for institutional use.

The Carriage House

One of two water towers.

Childless, the Dooley’s were big philanthropists. Not only did they give the estate to Richmond, but upon their death, several sizable bequests: $500,000 to the Crippled Children’s Hospital, $500,000 to the Richmond Public Library and $250,000 to the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. Upon her death, Ms. Dooley designated that her jewels be sold to benefit Episcopal missions, this included a 10 carat diamond and a considerable amount of Tiffany designed jewelry.

It was March so flowers were not in bloom, nor were the water features running due to freezing, but this will give you a sense of the Italian Garden

The Japanese garden is very large and lovely as well.

The grounds and gardens are open Daily
April-September, 10am-7pm
October-March, 10am-5pm
Admission is Free

The Mansion is open
Tuesday-Sunday, 12-5pm
Guided tours on the hour and half-hour; last tour begins at 4:30pm.
$5 per person suggested donation

Richmond, Virginia’s Canal Walk and Edgar Allan Poe

Richmond, United States, Virginia

Mar 222017

The Edgar Allan Poe Museum
1914 East Main Street
March 2017

Though Poe never lived in the building, the museum serves to commemorate his time living in Richmond. The museum holds one of the world’s largest collections of original manuscripts, letters, first editions, memorabilia and personal belongings. The museum also provides an overview of early 19th century Richmond, where Poe lived and worked.

The museum is just a few blocks from the James River and is an excellent jumping off spot for the Canal Walk.

First proposed by John Marshall in 1812 to connect the tidewaters of the James River with the navigable stretches of the Ohio River, the Kanawha canal required the back breaking effort of thousands of laborers. In 1837 there were as many as 3300 men, the majority of which were white Irish immigrants working on the canal. The summer of 1838 had such high temperatures that many of the Irish laborers died of hypothermia. They were replaced by slaves that worked not only through the grueling summer, but through horrible winters as well.

Captain Christopher Newport arrived in Virginia on May 24, 1607 where he planted a cross in honor of King James I. In 1907 the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities erected this cross on the tercentenary of Newport’s visit. It was moved to this location in 2000.

The Slave Trail begins at the Manchester Docks which operated as a major port in the slave trade making Richmond the largest source of enslaved blacks on the east coast from 1830 to 1860. The trail follows the footsteps of those who remained in Richmond and who crossed the James River, often chained together. The trail then follows a route through the slave markets and auction houses of Richmond. It continues past Lumpkin’s Slave Jail and then past the African Burial Ground and the First African Baptist Church.

Walking through the abandoned portion of the hydroelectric plant.

Stone arches supporting bridges that cross the Haxall canal.

Stretching one-and-one-quarter-miles along the James River and the Kanawha and Haxall canals, the Canal Walk has access points at nearly every block between 5th and 17th streets. There are handicapped-accessible entrances at 5th, 10th, 12th, 14th and 16th streets.

Hollywood Cemetery

Richmond, United States, Virginia

Mar 222017

412 South Cherry Street
Richmond, Virginia
March 2017

This stunning sculpture was done by Edward Valentine. His work and sculpture maquettes are enshrined in the Valentine House in Richmond, VA

Hollywood Cemetery is the resting place of two United States Presidents, James Monroe and John Tyler, as well as the only Confederate States President, Jefferson Davis. It is also the resting place of 28 Confederate generals, more than any other cemetery in the country.

This stone for a woman from Wales is an excellent reminder of how our country was settled by immigrants from all over the world.

This stone for a woman from South Wales is an excellent reminder of how our country was settled by immigrants from all over the world.

In the late 1840s, William Haxall and Joshua Fry hired John Notman (architect of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia) to design the cemetery in the rural garden style. Its name, “Hollywood,” came from the holly trees dotting the hills of the property.

There are two areas that stand out in this massive cemetery the first one you come upon is The Pyramid. Built in 1869, it is 90 feet high, and its size must be seen to be believed. This giant pyramid was built as a memorial to the more than 18,000 enlisted men of the Confederate Army buried in the cemetery.

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The second most notable area in the cemetery is Presidents Hill. The Hill is covered with flowering plum trees and sits on a knoll overlooking the James River.

James Monroe’s grave sits at the center of Presidents Hill. Governor of Virginia and the Fifth President of the United States, he is best known for the Monroe Doctrine, which prevented European intervention in the Americas. His wife and daughters are buried along the sides of the tomb.

John Tyler was governor of Virginia and the 10th President of the United States. He was also the first President to succeed to the office following the death of a predecessor (William Harrison). Arguably the most significant achievement of Tyler’s administration was the annexation of the Republic of Texas in 1845.

The James River

The cemetery consists of 130 acres, and can take hours and hours to explore, here are a few shots of some of the more interesting graves.

Said to be a favorite of visitors, there is really no indication of who the dog belongs to or if it is the dogs grave.

This dog, however, is obviously pining for its old master.

I cannot imagine going through life with this tongue twister of a name.

Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow (April 22, 1873 – November 21, 1945) was an American novelist who portrayed the changing world of the contemporary South. She won the Pulitzer Prize for her 1942 book In This Our Life.

This grave, near Ellen Glasgow’s had a fascinating design

Jefferson Finis Davis is most noted for serving as the President of the Confederate States of America. His daughters are buried in the tombs with the angels.

I was unable to find the oldest grave in the cemetery, but I did find a pretty old one. The first burial was an infant in 1849.

The cemetery opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 6 in the summer and 5 in the winter.

Shockoe Hill Cemetery

Richmond, United States, Virginia

Mar 222017

Fourth and Hospital Street
Richmond, Virginia
March 2017

Just north out of the downtown area of Richmond, Virginia is Shokoe Hill Cemetery. Originally called the “burying ground” it opened in 1820, its original 4 acres has grown to a little over 12 acres.

There are an estimated 300,000 bodies buried in Shockoe Hill, these include such notables as Chief Justice John Marshall and unionist spymaster Elizabeth Van Lew, intermingled with the wealthy (especially after Chief Justice John Marshall was buried there in 1835) and the poor, the native and the immigrant, all in Richmond’s first city-owned and operated cemetery.

Between 1861 and 1864 The Alms House hospital was just north of the area. The cemetery became the resting place of many Confederate soldiers, especially those who died at the hospital.

Between 1861 and 1864 The Alms House hospital was just north of the area. The newer Alms House is just across the street on Hospital Street. The cemetery became the resting place of many Confederate soldiers, especially those who died at the hospital.

Some of the more neglected, and yet lovely graves

All Southern states (except Arkansas) are represented here by soldiers killed in battle. Including both wartime casualties and veterans.

The Cemetery is still open to burials of family members in existing family plots; the last such burial occurred in 2003. In July 2016 the City reclaimed title to several unused plots, on one of which will stand a columbarium with niches to hold cremated remains. Those plots and niches are now available for purchase by the general public, marking the first sale of grave spaces in the Cemetery since about 1900.

There are many illegible grave stones and all manner of flags

The city still maintains the cemetery, although it is in a rather sad state of disrepair. There are over 25 notable people buried in Shockoe Hill and if you visit there are sign posts that hold maps, but even then it isn’t very easy to find the graves you are searching for.

Here are some of the notable ones that I found.

Justice John Marshall 1755-1835

A Revolutionary soldier, Congressman, and Secretary of State, Marshall served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States between 1801 and 1835. In Marbury v Madison he ensured that the judicial branch was made co-equal to the executive and legislative branches with the power to invalidate actions at odds with the Constitution. He is buried here with his wife, Mary Ambler “Polly” Marshall and other family members.

Elizabeth Van Lew (1818-1900) was raised in a prominent Richmond family but grew to abhor slavery. As an adult she created the most effective Unionist espionage ring in Richmond during the Civil War. From her home on Church Hill she organized spy missions, assisted escaped prisoners, and dispatched critical data to Ulysses S. Grant. After the war, President Grant named her Postmistress of Richmond. She went on to champion black Richmonders and integrated the postal service. Her grave marker is a memorial gift from Union soldiers.

Jane Stanard (1793-1824) was the mother of a close friend of Edgar Allan Poe. His home life was turbulent and he often turned to Jane Stanard for respite and comfort. She treated Poe with kindness and encouraged his writing. She died early and Poe spent long nights pining at her grave. She is believed to be the inspiration for his poem “To Helen”.

Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton (1810-1888) had a romance with Edgar Allan Poe when they were teenagers. When Poe went off to the University of Virginia their romance cooled and they each married others. By 1848 both of their spouses had died and they rekindled their relationship. Sarah is thought to be “Annabel Lee” in his poems.

The center stone if for Peter Francisco (1760?-1831). A Portuguese orphan, Peter grew to almost seven feet tall, leading him to be nicknamed the “Sampson of the American Revolution”. He fought in more than a dozen battles, and suffered as many serious wounds. In his last years he served as Sergeant-at-Arms to the Virginia State Senate. Virginia, Rhode Island and Massachusets all celebrate a Peter Francisco Day.

John Mercer Patton(1797-1850) was the great grandfather of General George S. Patton. John Mercer trained as a doctor but never practiced, instead, he went into law and politics. He served as a Congressman and briefly as a provisional Governor in 1841. All eight of his sons served in the confederate military two of which are buried here.

In this vicinity are buried 220 Confederate soldiers and 577 Union soldiers that are recorded, as well as, hundreds of others soldiers of whose burial no record was made.

One of the more sad stones in the cemetery is this one. This is the March 1863 Memorial Marker. The marker was placed on the 150th anniversary of the explosion on Brown’s Island in Richmond that killed dozens of munitions workers, mostly young girls. Fourteen of the victims are named on the marker and are buried in the cemetery.

This monument is dedicated to the memory of more than 27 patriots of the American Revolution and 400 veterans of the War of 1812 buried in this cemetery. Their loyalty, faith, courage and self-sacrifice in serving our country preserved the freedoms we enjoy today. We hope that every visitor to this cemetery recognizes the service they provided to our country and that it is never forgotten.

Notice the angels on the grave site railings

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