| Day One This afternoon there will be plenty of time to explore one or all of Danville’s historic districts. So much of the town fabric was left intact from previous eras that Danville has three distinct districts: Downtown Danville, Millionaires Row and the Tobacco Warehouse and Residential Historic District. Danville’s downtown commercial district developed along Main Street, driven by the tobacco manufacturers who created the bustling market. The homes on Millionaires Row are considered by some to be the finest collection of Victorian and Edwardian residential architecture in Virginia. In addition to lining Main Street, they branch out on each side of the commercial district onto the side streets. The Tobacco Warehouse and Residential Historic District occupies another 40 blocks in the heart of the city. These buildings still display the city’s mill town personality and rise of the working class who lived in the shadow of the larger structures. Since becoming a Virginia Main Street Community in 2000, more than 30 buildings in Danville’s downtown historic district have been rehabilitated. This activity was greatly enhanced by the restoration of the railroad depot and other core commercial buildings for community functions. Even as tobacco declined and textiles moved in, the High Gothic Victorian mansions in Danville welcomed new owners. Now restored and renovated, these grand, delightful structures range from American Picturesque, Italianate and “The Wedding Cake House,” to Corinthian columns, American Four Square ,Queen Anne, and Georgian Revival. Resplendent in gables, gingerbread scrollwork, columns, porticos, cupolas and minarets, various residences served prosperous tobacco manufacturers as well as the entrepreneurs who formed Dan River, Inc. The five architecturally distinctive churches that grace Millionaires' Row remind us why Danville is often referred to as the City of Churches. The okra colored brick and gray cobblestone streets that once graced the genteel district remain intact beneath the asphalt covering. Once the economic wellspring of Danville, the 40-square block Tobacco Warehouse and Residential District in the heart of the city was home to tobacco warehouses and factories, shops and homes of the working class residents. In all, 585 buildings that were part of Danville’s tobacco enterprise constructed between 1870 and 1910 still stand adjacent to approximately 450 workers homes that were constructed between 1880 and 1930. At some point during your walk, you’ll come upon the 46 x 74 foot commemoration of the wreck of the Old 97. This Southern Express train crashed in Danville in 1903, killed 11 people and inspired the famous ballad. You may want to retire to your accommodations before dinner and if available, a performance at the North Theater which was opened originally as Danville’s finest vaudeville and movie house in 1947. Television became popular before the theater ever got off the ground. Today’s North Theater is a labor of love, showing classical movies and all types of theatrical productions ranging from community theater to a National Piano Competition. While being transformed from its last use as a flower shop, the building required restoration and the installation of all new theater items, along with new power, heat and air conditioning. Theater goers love the new wider seats, flawless acoustics and new lighting. Choice of Accommodations for night one: Best Western Windsor Inn and Suites:
Stay at this newly constructed property with complimentary breakfast,
wireless internet and all the other customary amenities you expect from
Best Western. |