The Virginia State Capitol Building – the Most Visible Richmond Landmark

The Virginia State Capitol was not always centered on Richmond, VA but has been moved from several locations within the Commonwealth as times and needs dictated.  Today, the most visible landmark in Richmond if the majestic grandeur of the State Capitol Building, sitting atop Shockoe Hill, a dominating position which once overlooked the falls on the James River.

There have been seven other capitol locations in Virginia’s history, initially centered on Jamestown as the first successful colony, however as settlers and explorers moved inland to exploit the coastal plain and establish new townships and frontier posts, the center of government inevitably moved also.  It was not until 1780 that the Virginia legislature convened in Richmond, initially in a makeshift building at the bottom of Shockoe Hill.  Here plans were made, during the Revolutionary War, for a State Capitol to serve the new state, or in this case, the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Thomas Jefferson designed the building in partnership with Charles-Louis Clerriseau, a French architect.  The inspiration for the building was taken from Maison Carree in Nimes, France, a Roman temple which was much admired by Jefferson during his time as US Ambassador to France.  The building is built in a neoclassical style and was constructed without a dome, one of only a handful of State Capitol buildings not to have one, despite Jefferson’s predilection for them (Monticello, his home near Charlottesville and the University of Virginia are both known for their neoclassical style using domes).  The building was completed in 1788, and is now over 215 years old and is America’s oldest legislature of the colonists who eventually transformed the country into the United States. It also houses the only statue of George Washington made from him as a live model during his life – all others are replicated from images or memory.

The State Capitol Building was also the home of the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War, until it’s disbandment in 1865 with the victory of the Union armies.  The building once more reverted to its primary intended role as the State Capitol building of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Orders were given to burn Richmond by the fleeing Confederates, however the State Capitol Building along with the Governor’s Residence were  only a few of the buildings that were spared.  President Lincoln himself, toured the Capitol Building a week before he was assassinated.

In 1870, tragedy struck when a crowded court hearing was taking place in a court room on the upper floor.  The weight of a packed courtroom caused the floor to give way and resulting in many deaths and injuries.   Despite calls for the demolition of the building, it was decided to save it and renovate the State Capitol Building, including the addition of two wings. Initially, the east and west wings were not included in the original Jeffersonian design, and it was not until 1904 that these were added with construction completed in 1906.  The east wing is known as the House Wing, and the west wing is known as the Senate Wing.

Today, the State Capitol Building has been renovated once more at a cost in excess of $100 million.  Free tours are provided daily though visitors may also enjoy the building on their own.  The building is open all work days and on numerous holidays and children are welcome.

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Going Hollywood (Cemetery) in Richmond Virginia

Rolling hills and winding paths take you through a huge slice of Virginia’s history with many notable and famous people laid to rest in this beautiful sprawling cemetery on the banks of the James River.  Two U.S. Presidents are buried here, President’s James Tyler (10^th President) and John Monroe (5^th President); Hollywood Cemetery is also the final resting place of Jefferson Davis, the only President of the Confederate States.

Hollywood Cemetery also has 25 Confederate Generals buried here, more than any other cemetery in the country, and includes J.E.B. Stuart, the famed cavalry commander and George Pickett, who’s ill-fated charge at Gettysburg proved a turning point in the battle and the Civil War.

The cemetery was established in 1869 on land known as Harvie’s Woods, once owned by William Byrd II, the founder of Richmond and who established the Byrd dynasty which is integrally entwined with the history of Virginia through to today.

Hollywood Cemetery was named for the holly trees which covering the hilly land and which have been used to create the rural garden style for which the cemetery is known.

When the cemetery was laid out in 1869, a granite pyramid was built to commemorate the 18,000 enlisted soldiers of the Confederate Army which are interred in the grounds.

The gothic architecture adds to the atmospheric ambience of this stunning necropolis, which is also one of Richmond’s top tourist attractions.  It is not simply dead presidents and generals who inhabit the cemetery; Hollywood Cemetery is also home to the Richmond Vampire, the most famous of the urban legends which have been spawned by this famous graveyard.

The Richmond Vampire is a blood-covered creature with jagged fangs and skin hanging from its mouth, so the oral history would have us believe, but there is a more horrific grain of truth in this tale.  In 1925, a railroad tunnel collapsed at Church Hill just outside Richmond and several workmen were buried alive in the disaster.  One managed to escape, Benjamin Mosby who had been working as a railroad fireman and was loading coal in an engine when the collapse occurred.  The falling earthworks ruptured the steam engine leaving Mosby with horrible scalding burns such that his skin was literally falling off his body.  He died later at Grace Hospital, but the shock of the image has led to it being retold over the years, evolving into the myth of the Richmond Vampire.

To underline the historical significance of Hollywood Cemetery, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places which contains those places which are worthy of preservation.  Strolling through the gardens, replete with statues and monuments, is to take a step back through time to the foundation of the country and the greatest event to shake the country to its foundations.  Hollywood Cemetery is open to the public between 8.00am and 5.00pm (until 6.00pm during Daylight Saving Time) and there are a series of historical walking tours focusing on the history of Hollywood Cemetery and some of the famous personalities buried there (only available between April to October).

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The Famed Jefferson Davis Statue

Jefferson Davis was the first (and only) President of the Confederate States of America. His statue sits on Monument Avenue behind a row of thirteen Doric columns, which represent the eleven seceding states and the two states who sent representatives to the Confederate Congress. He is perched in the middle on a pedestal.

Davis quite ardently and vehemently defended the rights of the south and the economic benefits of slavery during his reign as president of the confederacy. Although he did not endorse immediate secession following Lincoln’s election, Davis accepted his state’s decision to leave the Union. With the formation of the Confederacy, he hoped for a high military position, and when news arrived at Brierfield of his selection as provisional President, his wife described him as “so grieved that I feared some evil had befallen our family.” Davis begrudgingly accepted the position, and on February 18, 1861, he was inaugurated as the first and only Confederate President.

Davis was described by a contemporary as “a gentleman,” having a “slight, light figure, little exceeding middle height, and holds himself erect and straight.” He had high, noticeable cheek-bones in his later years, rail-thin lips, and deep, piercing eyes that shook many people to their core. He ended up going blind in one eye as a result of an unknown illness. To all but a few intimates, Davis was reserved and severe in manner. Both indecisive and stubborn at the same time, Davis’ refusal to compromise, moral rectitude, and bad sense of humor did not enhance his ability to deal with “frienemies” during the most heightened years of the Civil War.

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