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.

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!

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.

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?

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.