Drink Coke! Buy Groceries!

An old advert for Coca-Cola and Norton & Holley Wholesale Groceries on the back of a building. I can't find much about the Grocers but, as we all know, Coke is still alive and well. I really love these old painted advertisements. I wonder when and what caused people to stop making them?

See it while you still can...

This is not a house but an old hospital. In fact, it was the first public hospital in the city of Danville dating all the way back to 1903! It hasn't been used as a hospital in ages and a fire that occured over 14 years ago has really done a number on the building. Recently the City has decided to tear it down, however not everyone is happy about it. It looks like it was once a beautiful building, but it really needs a good bit of money if it is ever going to be liveable/useable again.

The orange sign states that it is scheduled for demolition. It's really unfortunate to see some of this great architecture go down to rubble. The biggest reason? No one has the money to do what needs to be done. Danville has architecture that could rival Savannah, GA or Charleston, SC. The main difference is that those cities have huge tourism dollars flowing in to see it and Danville doesn't.

Graffiti

This is my first (of hopefully many) Theme Days here at DanvilleDailyPhoto. Honestly, with as much as this town seems to be on the blighted side, I honestly had to hunt for some graffiti.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Twin Houses

These two houses aren't exacly twins, but in the Old West End on Jefferson Avenue, these two hosues stick out as having some unique architecture. The details are what really distinguish themselves. Notice the use of the lighter coloured bricks above the windows in the house on the right and the multi-leveled green roof in the house on the left.

Fixer-Upper

Many (Dare I say most?) of the houses in Danville are in poor shape. Years of neglect and a relatively stagnant economy have led to abandomnent, condemning, and blight. There are, however, here and there, spots of houses being renovated and returned to their once former glory. This house on Green Street, about a block behind the museum, is currently undergoing those changes. Although, I somehow doubt it was originally purple. Not my choice for a house color, but it certainly does stand out!

Layers of History

I absolutely love this photo. There are four different paving styles that have been uncovered by the lack of upkeep on this road. Original abstractly-cut cobblestones, local straightforward brick, and two types of asphalt. As the years have gone by, the new has given a peek at the old. I wonder how many people have walked upon all the years of history here.

Highway

Sorry about the radio silence the past few weeks. But Danville Daily Photo is back up and running with a bunch of new pictures. Like this one.

There is a "central artery" that runs through Danville called, appropriately, Central Boulevard. It funnels most of the North-South traffic in the town onto this relatively new highway. A very important throughway for the city.

The Door of Mystery

I really liked the contrast of the green door with the old red brick surrounding it. It reminds me in a way of this house in Seattle. Located near the Warehouse District, there is a U-shaped cut out in one of the buildings that reveals this door and the alternating windows. I wonder what (if anything) is inside?

Going Postal

Above you have the Danville Post Office and Courthouse. There is, of course, another courthouse in Danville (which we will see someday in the future), but this one is particularly imposing. It has that sort of early to mid- 20th Century architecture feel but it also shows something particular to Danville. If you look at the bottom you'll notice that the lines at the top of the roof (that I guarantee are very straight) do not match the lines of the foad and the staircase. Danville is actually a quite hilly town. As you get closer and closer to the river, there are steep grades that severely impede the ability of a nice straight skyline in the downtown area. I'm sure that you could stand on the tallest buildling near the river and still not be above the height of the top of the hill at the southern edge of downtown. This makes for some awkward looking pictures and some great leg workouts (if desired or not).

Fire! (Escape)

One thing I wondered when I was a kid (ok, and also up until a few years ago until the answer dawned on me) was why some gorgeous buildings with ornate architecture have these hideous fire escapes that cover all of it up. Look around Chicago, New York, Boston...tons of old buildings that have their façades completely ruined with ugly steel staircases and pseudo-balconies. It wasn't until I was walking around New York one day that I realized they were never intented to be there in the first place.

I know this is probably not the biggest shock to most intelligent beings, but it just (for whatever reason) had never occured to me that these buildings were not built with fire safety precautions in mind like so many of our modern buildings are. Hence, ugly steel additions that break up the glory of the original building's front.

This building may not be the prettiest, but the fire escape now does lend it a little extra something that is almost ubiquitous in city architecture these days.

Fenced In

Nothing special for today, just a faux wrought iron fence surrounding the local Epsicopilian Church and the private school that is attached to it. All in all it's a pretty large complex on the corner of Main St and Jefferson Avenue just south of Downtown.

Bringing Back The Past, One (Cobble)Stone at a Time

Cobblestones line Bridge Street in the slowly revitalizing Warehouse District. I honestly am not sure if these are new stones or if they are older original ones that have just been stripped of the asphalt that was lain on top of it--as many cities have started to do to bring back some of their older "charm". I do like the look of the street with these stones and I'm a fan of bringing back cobblestones to areas you want to make more walkable and pedestrian friendly.

SCIENCE!

The Danville Science Center is one of those interactive Science Museums that are geared mainly for children. I've yet to go in, but this very modern building sits in what is becoming Danville's cultural center. It's here that the Riverwalk Trail starts, the outdoor concert venue is located, the train station, the repurposed warehouses as luxury condos have gone up, the Farmer's Market takes place, and the Amtrak train stops by. It's really a crossroads for a lot of Cultural Danville.

Bridge....Not.

What looks like a cool archway to invite you to walk or drive across the Worsham Street Bridge is...well a bit of a misnomer. You see, there is no bridge.

The Worsham Street Bridge opened back in the early 1920s (I believe). And even then it was frought with fundamental structural problems. It finally closed a few years ago and they erected this archway in somewhat of a memorial of the once popular bridge. It connected residential areas on the north shore of the Dan to the warehouses and factories on the south shore. The residences still stand--and are much quieter since the closing of the bridge--but the warehouses and factories on the south side have been quiet for decades now. The proximity of the Main Street Bridge (only a couple blocks to the west) made the destruction of the aged Worsham Street Bridge that much easier.

Head Toward The Light!

Today I'm showing you an entirely different tunnel/walkway than yesterday's photo. Off Main Street there is a building that has been in the process of renovation ever since I moved here. (I'm sure the current recession isn't helping to speed it along.) This is a tunnel on the sidewalk that's just created with some 2x4s and plywood to let pedestrians walk along the sidewalk and not into the road. Not super fancy, but then how could you make one of these fancy?

Courtyard Entrance

On my never-ending quest to find good photos of Danville, I found myself walking by an area in the Tobacco Warehouse District where some friends of mine used to live. I loved the little walkway under here that opened up to a nice courtyard. This old warehouse building has been converted into luxury condos that really are pretty nice. They saved a lot of the old wood and doorways so you can really admire the historic building while you cook on your new granite countertops under the modern light fixtures. The entire building--inside and out--is a great combination of old and new together. It reminds me a bit of Europe, actually...

Church...Psych!

This is the Main Street Methodist Church in Danville....sort of.

In reality, this is no longer a church but the Danville Main Street Preservation Center (the tower and building in the background) which it shares with the DEACC (Danville Education, Arts, and Cultural Center). The old church is really a beautiful building and reminds me a lot of certain areas in London and the UK. What do you think?

Bridge over the River Dan

This bridge is an old railroad truss that has been repurposed as a part of the Riverwalk Trail--an 8-mile trail along the Dan River. It originally was part of a railroad that connected with Richmond, Va but hasn't been used in ages. This bridge connects the revitalising downtown areas on the south bank of the river with the trail that is mostly along the northern bank of the river.

DO NOT BLOCK SIDEWALK

I kinda liked the washed out look of this sign that surely has been here for decades. It sits on an abandoned building in the Tobacco Warehouse District. I wonder if anyone actually even notices it.

Back to Nature

Now on to a different part of town. Due to Danville's Tobacco Heritage there is a large distrcit that is full of old tobacco warehouses. Many of these have been repurposed into offices or condominiums, but there are still numerous ones that just sit empty. This parking lot has obviously been unused for some time. It sits between Bridge Street and the Dan River. I like the two towers that--I assume--were once part of a factory of some sort. Currently they just sit (unused?) next to a repurposed office building.

Sidewalk Attack!

Walking around the Historic West End, I came across this tree and it's slow domination over the sidewalk. Really, I just liked how it looked...kind of a fight between the tree that (I'm sure) has been there for decades and the sidewalk that I imagine hasn't been there half as long as the tree.

Who will win? (My money is on the tree.)

Fields of Green

Tobacco Fields in Pittsylvania County

What would Danville be without tobacco? Probably not much but a small town on a river. For that matter, what would most of the colonial United States be without this famous cash crop? British Colonial America was partially rocketed into wealth through the export of the narcotic plant to Europe. Here, in the heart of Southern Virginia and North Carolina, you will find thousands upon thousands of tobacco fields. Tobacco isn't what it used to be but it's still a big business around here...and an important part of our history.

Something I just realized recently: most of the names of cigarette brands (Winston, Salem, Marlboro, etc.) are just names of towns in this area of the country.

More fun than watching paint dry

Many of the buildings in Danville, despite having some gorgeous architecture, are not always kept up. The economic downturn this city has had over the past few decades with the departure of some major industries have left even the most ornate houses to succomb to the elements. Without minor upkeep throughout the years, most of the houses in Danville are showing their age--particularly with their paints.

This is a close up of a column on a porch in a house on Jefferson Ave. The paint is cracking and most likely won't be replaced any time soon. With the economy in it's current slump and the exhorbitant cost of repainting houses painted before 1978 due to lead-paint issues, most of the paint on dwellings in Danville will continue their slow deterioration.

It does make for a nice picture though.

Be. Different.

Walking along some of the brick-layed streets off Main Street in Danville, I liked how this one brick was sticking out and being a bit different. I really enjoyed the contrast with the rest of the "orderly" bricks. I wonder how long they've been there.

They're Creepy and They're Kooky...

This is one of the many, many beautiful houses mansions along Danville's Main Street which is known as Millionaire's Row. It is the largest collection of Victorian and Edwardian architecture in the Southern United States. Danville's economic boom in the late 1800s brought about Tobacoo and Textile tycoons from the Tidewater areas of Virginia and made many millionaires here with some extravagant houses.

I think this one looks like the Addam's Family House; what do you think?

Come and knock on our door....

Walking around through the Historic Old West End district of Danville, I came upon this door. Lots of houses around here have intricate doors, but this one particularly stood out to me. It sometimes amazes me what people can carve out of solid wood.

City of Churches

Danville is known as the "City of Churches". I have read that there are more churches per capita here than any other city in Virginia--but I cannot speak to the veracity of that statement. It does seem like there are an awful lot of them. This church is the First Baptist church on Main Street in Danville. I particularly like the green oxydized copper steeple. This is one of the highest steeples here and it can be seen from numerous places around town.

Welcome!

Welcome to Danville Daily Photo (DDP)!

For my first post I'd like to show you probably the most famous landmark of the town. This is a gorgeous Italianate home that has an interesting history and has served as a residence, a public library, and a museum. Its current incarnation is the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History but its claim to fame is the fact that it was the last Capital of the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis (The President of the CSA) lived here temporarily in 1865 for only 8 days prior to the end of the Civil War on 10 April.