DANVILLE
Sponsored by The Garden Club of Danville and
The Gabriella Garden Club
Thursday, April 24, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Chairmen:
Kay Trakas (Mrs. William)
130 Holbrook Avenue
Danville, VA 24541
Home: (434) 791-4040
E-Mail: ktrakas@comcast.net
Ely Foster (Mrs. Jerry A.)
147 Waterford Court
Danville, VA 24541
Home: (434) 799-1421
E-Mail: epf147@yahoo.com
Co-Chairmen:
Bonnie Griffith (Mrs. William L.)
161 Westhampton Avenue
Danville, VA 24541
Home: (434) 791-3249
E-Mail: bbg161@comcast.net
Ms. Winnifred Gravely
303 Virginia Avenue
Danville, Virginia 24541
Home: (434) 797-2835
Work: (434) 791-7949
E-Mail: wgravely@registerbee.com
FULL TICKET: $20, single-site admission, $8. Children 13 and older, full price. Ages 6 through 12, half-price. Ages 5 and under, free. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets may be purchased on tour day at any of the houses open on the tour. Houses need not be visited in the order listed.
ADVANCE TICKETS: Available at The Ginger Bread House & Garden Center, 1799 Memorial Drive (434) 791-2700; Main Street Coffee Emporium, 547 Main Street (434) 792-4252; Southern Gourmet, 220 Mount Cross Road (434) 799-0523; Foxglove, 1011 W. Main Street (434) 792-2521; and from Dixie Bags, 136 South Ridge Street, (434) 793-2838. Tickets also available from tour chairmen or on-line at www.VAGardenweek.org
REFRESHMENTS: Light refreshments served under a tent on the lawn of The Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History near the newly installed Perkinson Memorial Rose Garden. 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
135 HAWTHORNE DRIVE. The entrance to
this charming 57-year-old, red-brick home introduces many
of the special, creative architectural design and personal features employed
by the owner throughout. An Italian marble floor, antique chandelier
and pineapple ceiling medallion painted by Phil Ramsay are highlights of
the foyer. In the dining room, the vibrant red color of the wallpaper
showcases an original chandelier and family heirlooms, including the owner’s
grandmother’s silver spoon collection. Adjoining is a totally
renovated kitchen where “before and after” pictures can be studied. The
living room, which has been featured on “Good Morning Virginia,” boasts
soft green and blue hues and flowing apricot silk draperies. Sunflower
medallions adorn both the ceiling and marble fireplace. Over the fireplace
is a framed child’s 100-year-old green velvet suit made for the owner’s
father by her grandmother. An extraordinary feature in the room is
a family heritage screen painted by Phil Ramsay with scenes of the owner’s
childhood on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota and also of her late husband’s
Scottish heritage.
Many of the stunning accessories were collected by the owners while
traveling in Japan and other countries. Throughout are numerous paintings
by both local and foreign artists, including a painted landscape of the owner’s
family-owned Emerald Isle, located in Minnesota’s Rainy Lake, as well
as family antiques and the owner’s personal collections. The screened
porch off the living room leads to the wood and slate deck overlooking formal
boxwood plantings and a three-tiered walled garden. Open for the first
time. Mrs. David J. Macpherson, owner.
Danville—234 Jefferson Avenue
234 JEFFERSON AVENUE. At first view from
the walkway, visitors will be eager to see more of this
1885 Queen Anne-style, red-brick house. The tour begins in the foyer with
restored heart-pine floors which continue throughout the interior. The
foyer also features a 100-year-old upright piano, an 1820 Federal sofa and
beautiful antique Oriental rugs. Antique chandeliers, some original
to the house, and ornate plaster ceiling medallions adorn many of the rooms. The
ornate classical motif continues in the exquisitely detailed fireplace mantels
of mahogany and oak, carefully restored to their original beauty by the current
owners. In 1905, the first of many renovations brought the addition
of wainscoting that is beautifully maintained throughout the house. Original
decorative heating grates are still in use.
Numerous heirlooms from the families of both owners are featured in
every room, as well as interesting collections and antiques. Other lovely
features include the stained-glass windows and restored fireplace tiles. Garden
sites occupy another portion of this historic property. The expansive back
gardens, with two large weeping cherries and two extensive flower gardens,
can be viewed from the first and second floor balconies as well as from the
brick patio. For winter gardening, there is an original conservatory off the
dining room which includes slats with sand underneath for water drainage. Open
for the first time for Historic Garden Week. C.B. Maddox and William
J. Wellbank, owners.
306 CRAGHEAD STREET. This old brick landmark,
long known as the Link-Watson building in the Warehouse District, has just
become the Lindsay Lofts for Urban Living as of 2007. It represents
the vision of a 12th-generation Virginian who has been designing buildings
for 40 years. He fondly remembers childhood lessons learned at The
Garden Club of Virginia’s Nature Camp and values the old and the new--especially
together. Arched windows have been uncovered; heart-pine shelving has
been recycled. Five panel doors were replicated and sliding fire doors
retained. With the removal of the old service elevator came the perfect
space for electrical components. Original materials throughout have
reaped the benefits of such modern technology as corncob blasting, a paint-removing
technique that does not damage the surface of wood.
Container beds for evergreens and seasonal flowers mark the off-street
main entrance to the residence. Just inside is an exhibit of old artifacts
found on site. While four commercial units comprise the first floor,
there are 21 residential condominiums above including Number 211, the developer’s
own space, with 2,300 square feet, original diagonal flooring and 14 ½ foot
ceilings. Visitors here will find a swinging glass door and contemporary
furnishings combined with antiques and Oriental rugs plus a collection of vintage
glass. Three bedrooms and an office adjoin the spacious living area where
one corner holds an open kitchen distinguished with cherry-paneled cabinets. Beyond
is a patio in the urban living style with flowers planted in containers and
a splashing fountain on the wall. Open for the first time. Mr.
and Mrs. James Cheatham, owners.
429 LINDEN PLACE. Designed by Danville architect
J. Bryant Heard for Dr. and Mrs. James Jennings, this red-brick hillside house
was built in 1954. Beautiful millwork and proportions define the rooms
holding the present owners’ prized heirlooms, storied collections and
original art and needlepoint. A walnut Hepplewhite desk in the living
room dates to 1795, but even older is a 1743 bird print, “The Shamburger.” Fiddle-back
Empire chairs flank a corner curio with a Wedgwood collection; opposite is
a cabinet holding Royal Doulton figurines collected by three generations. In
the dining room, ladder-back chairs surround a drop-leaf table, and an heirloom
silver service and footed tray stand on a walnut sideboard.
A wall of family diplomas plus numerous college mementos are in the
library which opens into the den, the original rear porch. A patchwork
painting here is one of many by the owner’s sister, Nancy Beville Prichard,
of Virginia Beach. Beyond the den fireplace (formerly the porch barbecue
area) a flagstone floor connects the rear foyer with a blue and white breakfast
room, a glamorous powder room and the remodeled kitchen. The latter has
porcelain counter tops, a needlepoint rug and collections of teapots and Staffordshire
figurines. Upstairs an office holds family photos and five shelves of
dolls and bunnykins as well as a computer and the access to the third floor “retreat.” There
are two guest rooms and then the master bedroom, bath, dressing room and balcony
overlooking the hillside garden. The near side of the double garage below
is a replica of the façade of Dr. Jennings’ studio. Open
for the first time. Eddie and Ellen Beville Mitchell, owners.
OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST:
117 BROAD STREET. The Langhorne House, a National Literary Landmark, is now listed also in both the National and Virginia Registries of Historic Places. Built in 1874, it is the partially restored birthplace of Nancy Langhorne, Viscountess Astor, first woman to sit in the British House of Commons. This is also the childhood home of her sister Irene, who married the artist Charles Dana Gibson and was immortalized by him as the “Gibson Girl,” international fashion ideal of the turn of the last century. The master bedroom and the parlor are newly renovated, and family portraits, photographs and memorabilia are on display. Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. the day of the Danville Garden Week tour, the house is open at other times by appointment. Telephone (434) 791-2256.
677 CRAIGHEAD STREET. The Danville
Science Center is housed in two historic buildings in the heart of the old
tobacco warehouse district. Science Station is the former Southern
Railway passenger station designed by architect Frank P. Milburn and built
in 1899. It has numerous arched windows and a broad frieze with decorative
brick work and still operates overnight as an active Amtrack Station. The
second structure, Science Central, is the old Southern Railway Administration
building that has been enhanced with a large addition to house major exhibit
galleries. One of the many interesting features is the seasonal Butterfly
Station & Garden adjacent to the Science Station. The butterfly
area was opened in 1999 as a community service project to beautify the district
and highlight environmental issues surrounding the decline of natural landscapes
necessary for butterflies to thrive. Each of the plants in the garden
is chosen specifically for its role in the lifecycle of a species of North
American butterfly.
Located within a complex known as The Crossing at the Dan, the Science
Center serves as an anchor for Danville’s revitalization of the district. Open
from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the day of the tour.
975 MAIN STREET. The Danville Museum
of Fine Arts and History is in the restored 1859 Sutherlin Mansion, one of
the finest examples of Italian Villa architecture in Virginia. The
building is enhanced by a picket fence, a reproduction of the one in place
there in the late 1880s, and a restoration project of The Garden Club of
Virginia with funding from Historic Garden Week tours. This was the
home of Maj. William T. Sutherlin, Civil War quartermaster for Danville. It
is also known as “The Last Capitol of the Confederacy.” Jefferson
Davis visited here April 3 – 10, 1865, wrote his final proclamation,
and met with his full cabinet for the last time.
A new addition to the museum is a recently installed rose garden given
in memory of Sigie Perkinson, a former member of The Garden Club of Danville
and Rose Chairman for The Garden Club of Virginia for ten years.
To celebrate the 75th year of Historic Garden Week in Virginia,
a pictorial exhibit of Danville homes that have opened for Garden Week during
the past decades will be on display in the museum auditorium. Additional
art exhibits include “The Maud Gatewood Legacy” and “Averett
University Student and Alumni Art Show.”
150 SLAYTON AVENUE. The Institute for Advanced
Learning and Research is a national model for rural economic transformation. Its
stunning steel architecture is unmatched in Southern Virginia, and its state-of-the-art
technology supports four research centers, a spectacular Conference Center
and numerous academic programs.
Garden Tour visitors may tour the entire facility or just the ISRR (Institute
for Sustainable and Renewable Resources), the horticulture and agriculture
research center.
Open Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday, 8
a.m. to 8 p.m.