There are few homes in the United States today that reflect the beauty and architectural intricacy of the Victorian-style homes of Danville, Virginia. Many of these located in Danville’s Main Street Historical District have been or are now being restored to their original look, and being able to make photographs of them is a real treat…for me. Here’s a mix of close-up views in addition to a whole house view.
I recently drove to Spencer, NC to visit the North Carolina Museum of Transportation. I am so glad I did, because it’s full of photo opportunities, plus I got to ride a train…a “real” train too. But, lets save that story for another post later on. The museum exhibits are located in various early 20th Century buildings spread out over an area known as the “Spencer Shops” where steam and later diesel train engines and cars were serviced and repaired. There is a large “round house” which is full of historic train engines and cars. But, the area I saw first was the visitor’s center located in a renovated early-1900′s train depot. I wanted to position myself such that the images I made would look as they might have during that period of time. Enjoy!
Danville, Virginia is where I usually go when I want to be sure I’ll find something interesting to photograph. If you have been looking at this blog for a while, you may recall that I’ve posted several photos I made there. The historic tobacco warehouse region is one place I always head to first. This image is typical. I wanted to convert my color image to black and white because that gave me some creative possibilities on how to portray the nice clouds in the sky, behind the watertank and smokestack.
There is an old Civil War era railroad bridge over the Dan River that has been converted to a popular route for bikers, joggers, walkers and others who wish to easily cross the famous river. As she passed by, I greeted this nice lady biker.
With seemingly everyone these days obtaining most (if not all) of their news and information online, paper magazines such as these 1970-80s versions I saw in an antique store window, are truly a thing of the past. I can remember standing by news stands or in drug stores in front of the magazine displays, flipping pages of publications which caught my interest. Popular Mechanics and Popular Science were two of my favorites. I was not visionary enough back then, however, to realize that those magazines with “computer” in their titles were in fact spelling doom for anything to be published on paper. It’s a shame in a way, because there was something very relaxing about sitting in a soft chair with a cool drink by your side, turning paper pages in a magazine, and reading about all sorts of wonderful things.
Then…there were comic books but that was really a long time ago.
While on one of my frequent photo road trips, when I have absolutely no idea where I am going…I just drive and look for things that might make a good photo…I passed Bachelor’s Hall Plantation located in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. A quick Google search later determined it was built in the late 1700s. I was not sure whether or not it was being lived in, so after I parked nearby to see what I could see, I sort of snuck around the perimeter of the place to capture some images. It was not until after I got back home that I determined the grounds were indeed open to the public, so I’ll have to go back and make a few more close-up images. This is the house as seen from the highway in front.
This is an outbuilding around back of the main house. What I found especially interesting was the wide brick driveway and how it led my eyes to the log cabin.
Inside the Poor Farmers Market in Meadows of Dan, Virginia one can find a large assortment of homemade jam, jellies, cheeses and cured bacon. And…lots of memories about how it used to be when times seemed much slower and simpler.
This is probably one of the most “photographed” attractions along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and NOrth Carolina. Whenever I go past, I MUST stop to capture an image…at least one, usually more. There is a restaurant adjacent to the old mill and it’s adjacent structures and attractions, and during summer weekends there are exhibitions given by artisans who demonstrate how milling and farming tasks were done in times past. Hard to find a place to park then. But in the winter months, the place is essentially deserted, as it was the day I was there for this photo opportunity.
Per my last post, I made lots of photos at the “old house” in Sandy Ridge, NC. I wanted to save this one for a single post…cause I like it. Click to enlarge to see some of the details that caught my eye…especially the logo in the center.
Looking through the open door to a small gift shop in historic Old Salem, North Carolina, I liked the bright colors and shapes I saw…so I made this photo. If I had been standing there in mid-summer, I would have folks yelling at me to get out of the way! Old Salem’s tourist gift shops are located in historic homes, so there’s lots to see besides just the items being sold.
Here’s a “non-tourist” view of a small portion of Old Salem, North Carolina…over the wall…so to speak. While Old Salem is full of visitors in the summer, it’s far different in the winter. Actually, I like it better when leaves are off the trees because I can see more of the co-located houses than I can in the summer.
Salem was originally founded in 1766 by the Moravians – a Protestant group of people that began in what is now known as the Czech Republic. The Moravians were missionaries who established an earlier settlement in Bethlehem, PA before beginning “Wachovia” in the North Carolina backcountry in 1753. In the Wachovia Tract of nearly 100,000 acres, Salem was the central administrative, spiritual, craft, and professional town surrounded by five outlying congregations. Preservation and education have always been essential to the core mission today of Old Salem and its historic homes, museums & gardens all designed to educate as much as they entertain.
