The Pasadena Playhouse

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Visit our Tour Destination: Southern California page to see the entire tour of the area’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

Historic photo of the interior of The Pasadena Playhouse.
Photo courtesy of The Pasadena Playhouse.

The Pasadena Playhouse

39 South El Molino Avenue

Pasadena, CA

Website:  The Pasadena Playhouse

The Treasure:  During the first half of the 20th century, The Pasadena Playhouse was the center of live theater in southern California, offering a training ground for Hollywood actors and an alternative entertainment for the Pasadena community. Completed in 1925, The Pasadena Playhouse is a Spanish Colonial Revival building representative of the work of Los Angeles architect Elmer Grey.

Accessibility:  Check their website and schedule a play into your Tour America’s Treasures itinerary! In addition, you can request a tour of the historic theater to get the backstage story.

Gilmor Brown, founder of
the Pasadena Playhouse.
Photo courtesy of
The Pasadena Playhouse.

Background:  The history of The Pasadena Playhouse is inextricably tied to the tireless achievements of its ambitious founder, Gilmor Brown. Born in North Dakota sometime around 1880, Brown studied theatrical arts in Chicago, toured with several companies as an actor, and then recruited friends and family into his own repertory company. Known as the Savory Players, they settled in Pasadena in 1917.

Down the road from Pasadena, Hollywood’s film industry was still in its infancy but growing fast. There was a hunger for a live theater scene and  Brown’s troupe was swiftly embraced as an important community asset. Brown established the Community Playhouse Association of Pasadena, presenting performances wherever he could, most frequently in the Savoy Theater, a renovated burlesque house. By 1924, his troupe was established enough to be able to raise local support to build The Pasadena Playhouse.

Gilmor Brown was a restless innovator during the 1920s. His main large playhouse was technically sophisticated on a par with the best in the east and could accommodate up to five staging areas. He experimented with theater-in-the-round techniques with his special Fairoaks Playbox theatre. And he managed a College of Theatre Arts within The Playhouse, training theater actors and polishing the talents of would-be film stars. Impressed by this busy theater community, playwright George Bernard Shaw dubbed Pasadena “the Athens of the West.” Shortly after The Pasadena Playhouse achieved the notable distinction of being the first American theater to present the full Shakespearean canon, the California legislature recognized the importance of its work by declaring it the official State Theatre in 1937.

The 686-seat theater nurtured the careers of many up-and-coming stars over the years. Some of the notable names include: Dana Andrews, Raymond Burr, Robert Preston, Ruth Buzzi, Jamie Farr, Charles Bronson, Gene Hackman, Victor Jory, Victor Mature, Lloyd Nolan, Tyrone Power, George Reeves, Randolph Scott, Sally Struthers, Harry Dean Stanton, Gloria Stuart, Robert Taylor, Gig Young, Robert Young, Dustin Hoffman, and Gene Hackman.

Historic photo of actors relaxing on The Pasadena Playhouse patio.
Photo courtesy of The Pasadena Playhouse.

Historic photo of stagehands painting the fire curtain at The Pasadena Playhouse.
Photo courtesy of The Pasadena Playhouse.

Notes from the Editor:  In the late 1920s, Randolph Scott was bumming around in Hollywood, getting occasional bit parts in movies. Cecil B. DeMille told him to get some acting experience at The Pasadena Playhouse. Scott followed his advice, learned his craft, and went on to became a major cowboy star, concluding his career with Sam Peckinpah’s magnificent Ride the High Country in 1962.

After graduating from high school, Robert Preston studied acting at The Pasadena Playhouse in the late 1930s. Preston was a mid-level Hollywood actor for many years, but his career really took off on the Broadway stage when he landed the role of a lifetime, “Professor” Harold Hill in The Music Man. 

A 20-year-old Raymond Burr arrived at The Pasadena Playhouse in 1937 and learned his trade there. For many years, he worked as a dependable supporting actor in Hollywood movies before hitting iconic stardom as TV’s Perry Mason.

Dustin Hoffman dropped out of Santa Monica College in 1957 to join The Pasadena Playhouse. There he met Gene Hackman. Both had major careers ahead of them.

For each of them and many more, The Pasadena Playhouse was where it all began.

Other Recommended Sites:  The Pasadena Playhouse was in the forefront when television first rocked the entertainment industry. The Playhouse built and operated one of Southern California’s first TV stations, KTTV. For more television and movie history, Burbank and Universal City are just a few miles further west on Ventura Freeway. In the Burbank area, you can visit NBC Studios, Sony Pictures Studio, Warner Brothers Studio, and Universal Studios. Watch for stars. They work here.

Historic photo of the 1924 groundbreaking for The Pasadena Playhouse.
Photo courtesy of The Pasadena Playhouse.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Monday’s destination:  Campo de Cahuenga
Wednesday’s destination:  San Diego Museum of Man

© 2012 Lee Price

Aline Barnsdall Art Park

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Visit our Tour Destination: Southern California page to see the entire tour of the area’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

Hollyhock House at Aline Barnsdall Art Park.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Aline Barnsdall Art Park

4800 Hollywood Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA

Website:  Barnsdall Art Park Foundation

The Treasure:  Located in Barnsdall Art Park, Hollyhock House was Frank Lloyd Wright’s first effort to marry his approach to architecture with the Southern California environment.

Accessibility:  Aline Barnsdall Art Park is open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tours of Hollyhock House are offered Wednesday through Sunday. Check their website for tour times.

Background:  A visionary genius of American architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) labored to create buildings that complemented their environment. In the early 1900s, he developed his famous “Prairie Style” that reflected the landscape of the Chicago suburbs and the midwest. But Los Angeles is very different from Chicago…

Wright was approached by Aline Barnsdall, an unconventional and artistically-inclined oil heiress, to build a house in Los Angeles that could form the centerpiece of an art colony and theater complex. Wright’s challenge was to find a style that would satisfy his exacting aesthetic standards while fitting in with the Los Angeles environment and culture. Completed in 1921, Hollyhock House used flowing water, gardens, a central courtyard, roof terraces, and leaded art glass windows to achieve Wright’s vision. Additionally, it incorporated a visual hollyhock theme in tribute to Aline Barnsdall’s favorite flower.

Barnsdall gave the house to the city of Los Angeles in 1927 under the stipulation that the home could be used by the California Art Club under a 15-year lease. Over the years, other organizations leased the house, altering it to meet their needs. Conscientious efforts to restore the house began in 1974. Barnsdall’s dream of an art complex has gradually been realized, with the 11-acre Aline Barnsdall Art Park now accommodating the Barnsdall Art Center, the Barnsdall Junior Art Center, the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, and the 299-seat Barnsdall Gallery Theatre.

The Hollywood sign in Griffith Park.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Other Recommended Sites:  The Barnsdall Art Park is located between Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard, which should clue you in to the fact that you’re pretty close to the historic heart of Hollywood. You can see the famous HOLLYWOOD sign on Mount Lee in nearby Griffith Park (where you can also find Griffith Observatory). Historic sites along Hollywood Boulevard include Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Egyptian Theatre, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Wednesday’s destination:  Pasadena Playhouse
Monday’s destination:  Campo de Cahuenga

© 2012 Lee Price

The Gamble House

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Visit our Tour Destination: Southern California page to see the entire tour of the area’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

North exterior of the Gamble House after the completion of the 2004
conservation project.
Photo © Alex Vertikoff, courtesy of The Gamble House.

The Gamble House
4 Westmoreland Place

Pasadena, CA

Website:  The Gamble House

The Treasure: Designed in 1908 by Greene & Greene, the Gamble House is one of the finest achievements of the turn-of-the-century Arts and Crafts Movement in the United States.

Accessibility: From Thursday through Sunday, one-hour docent-guided tours are regularly available. Check their website for details.

The Living Room of The Gamble House with each piece of
furniture designed to occupy a specific location.
Photograph © Mark Fiennes, courtesy of The Gamble House.

Background:  Near the outset of their architectural careers, brothers Charles Sumner Greene (1868-1957) and Henry Mather Greene (1870-1954) happened to stop by the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 while they were crossing the country. There they saw the Japanese pavilion Ho-o-den, and its characteristically Japanese use of space left a deep impression on them. Nearly a decade later, Charles took a four-month honeymoon in Europe, where he fell under the spell of the English Arts and Crafts Movement and its celebration of the traditional craftsmanship of the pre-industrial world. The brothers’ new architectural firm Greene & Greene embraced both the principles of Japanese design and the craftsmanship of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

The three-story Gamble House—built as a winter residence for Proctor & Gamble heir David Berry Gamble and his wife Mary Huggins Gamble—is an architectural feast of handmade and custom-crafted features, including wood carvings, leaded and stained glass windows, and custom-designed light fixtures and furniture. A wide variety of wood is used: teak, maple, oak, mahogany, fir, and cedar. But the overall impression is holistic, with the interior rooms and exterior landscapes tied together by subtle use of space, natural light, semi-enclosed porches, free-form terraces, and regularly occurring artistic motifs.

Hand railing of main staircase.
Photo © Mark Fiennes, courtesy of
The Gamble House.

The Japanese influence may be most explicitly exhibited in the triple front door and transom, decorated in leaded art glass depicting the “Tree of Life,” a Japanese Black Pine. While the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement is literally visible everywhere, one of the most striking examples of the craftsmanship can be found in the exposed interlocking joinery of the main staircase. In keeping with Arts and Crafts philosophy, there is no attempt to disguise the basic structure; instead, there is a delight in utilitarian form.

Unfortunately, pursuing perfection can be an expensive proposition. For ten years, Greene & Greene managed to accomplish astounding work on acceptable budgets and timetables. But their business declined in the 1910s as the high cost of craftsmanship and the lengthy turn-around demanded by their approach cost them potential clients. Coming near the end of their prolific years, the Gamble House can be viewed as a summation of their mature vision.

Today the Gamble House is owned by the City of Pasadena and operated by the University of Southern California. Thanks to their ambitious commitment to preservation, the Gamble House still enchants.

"Tree of Life" design on the leaded art glass triple front door and transom.
Photograph © Tim Street-Porter, courtesy of The Gamble House.

Notes from the Editor:  Here’s a treat from the Greene & Greene Virtual Archives, a project of the University of Southern California. This Virtual Archives link takes you to images of 341 architectural drawings and historic photographs depicting the development of the architectural plans for the Gamble House and a record of its early years.

Other Recommended Sites:  Pasadena is home to many Craftsman bungalows and the immediate neighborhood around the Gamble House is rich in other private Greene & Greene houses. The Gamble House occasionally offers special neighborhood tours that spotlight their Greene & Greene neighbors. Other tour opportunities are offered by Pasadena Heritage, a local organization dedicated to preserving the historic structures of Pasadena. Check the Gamble House and the Pasadena Heritage websites for news of upcoming special tours and events.

For further exploration of the Greene & Greene legacy, The Huntington Library in San Marino maintains a permanent Greene & Greene exhibition containing fine examples of their decorative arts and architectural details.

Detail of the front elevation at The Gamble House.
Photo © Alex Vertikoff , courtesy of The Gamble House.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Monday’s destination:  Aline Barnsdall Art Park
Wednesday’s destination:  The Pasadena Playhouse

© 2012 Lee Price

Mission San Juan Capistrano

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Visit our Tour Destination: Southern California page to see the entire tour of the area’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

Bell Wall and The Great Stone Church at Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Photograph courtesy of Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Mission San Juan Capistrano
26801 Ortega Highway
San Juan Capistrano, CA

Website:  Mission San Juan Capistrano

The Treasure:  Known as the “Jewel of the Missions,” Mission San Juan Capistrano preserves the historic buildings of an 18th century Spanish Catholic mission. The restored buildings and ruins are evocative of the early years of Spanish settlement in California.

Accessibility:  Mission San Juan Capistrano is open daily from 8:30 to 5.  Both daily guided tours and audio tours are available.

Background:  Mission San Juan Capistrano was one of 21 missions that the Spanish government established in Alta California between 1769 and 1823. The goal was to convert the Native Americans to Christianity, educate them to be good Spanish subjects, and encourage them in productive work such as farming or ranching within the confines of the mission.

Golden retablo inside the Serra Chapel.
Photograph courtesy of Mission
San Juan Capistrano.

Founded in 1775 and 1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano grew to a population of over a thousand people by 1806. The religious community centered on the Serra Chapel (a 1782 chapel which may be the oldest standing building in California) and The Great Stone Church.  Begun in 1797 and completed in 1806, The Great Stone Church only enjoyed six full years of service before being reduced to ruins by a series of massive earthquakes. The resulting ruins were so picturesque that over the years they developed a unique tourist status of their own, as well as their own set of legends and folklore.

When Mexico won independence from Spain, Alta California and its missions fell under a new government. In 1834, a decree was issued to end the missions and sell off the land. Mission San Juan Capistrano fell into private hands.

After California entered the United States in 1848, Catholic leaders appealed to the federal government for a return of the missions. Abraham Lincoln officially returned the missions to the Roman Catholic Church in 1865. In the century and a half since then, Mission San Juan Capistrano has embraced both its role as a spiritual center for local parishioners and as one of the country’s great historic sites, worthy of preservation.

The Great Stone Church at Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Photograph courtesy of Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Aerial view of the central courtyard.
Photography courtesy of Mission San Juan Capistrano. 

Notes from the Editor:  On March 19, St. Joseph’s Day on the Catholic calendar, Mission San Juan Capistrano joins in the local festivities of the “Return of the Swallows.” Mission leaders ring the historic bells, celebrate with mariachi music, and offer educational programs on the cliff swallow and the legends that have grown up around their annual return. The birds are thought to have adopted Mission San Juan Capistrano because of its abundance of insects and the prime nesting locations provided by the ruins. The Ink Spots cemented the legend of the swallows into popular culture with their 1940 hit “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano”—I love the historic San Juan Capistrano images that are used on this particular YouTube clip at the link!

Other Recommended Sites:  The Orange Coast offers some of the most beautiful beaches and coves of Southern California—and it’s just minutes away. But there’s history—as well as natural beauty—to be enjoyed along the coast! For the traditionalist, the Laguna Art Museum offers a fine selection of plein-air Impressionist art by members of the area’s original art colony; for the more adventurous, there’s the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach, about 30 miles northwest of San Juan Capistrano. Just follow the scenic Pacific Coast Highway up the coast to reach one of California’s famed Surf Cities (Huntington Beach).

Original bells from 1776 at Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Photograph courtesy of Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Friday’s destination:  The Gamble House
Monday’s destination:  Aline Barnsdall Complex

© 2012 Lee Price

Maritime Museum of San Diego: Ferryboat Berkeley

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Visit our Tour Destination: Southern California page to see the entire tour of the area’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

The Berkeley at sunset.
Photo courtesy the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

Maritime Museum of San Diego: Ferryboat Berkeley
1492 North Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA

Website:  Maritime Museum of San Diego

The Treasure:  The Berkeley is the finest example of a 19th century steam ferryboat still afloat.

Accessibility:  The Maritime Museum of San Diego is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with later hours in the summer.

Benches inside the Berkeley.
Photo Courtesy of the Maritime
Museum of San Diego.

Background:  Before the Berkeley summoned in a new era, water transportation along the west coast was primarily by paddle and side wheel propulsion. Constructed by the Southern Pacific Railroad, the Berkeley is a double-ended, steel-hulled, propeller-driven steam ferryboat with a distinctive triple-expansive steam engine. At the time she was launched in 1898, the Berkeley was the first propeller-driven ferryboat on the west coast and the country’s largest commuter ferry operating at that time.

The Berkeley is not a native of San Diego, but was built to serve San Francisco and Oakland/Alameda by ferrying large numbers of railroad and commuter passengers. The huge ship could accommodate up to 1,700 passengers. This capability became especially important during the devastating 1906 earthquake. The Berkeley was quickly pressed into service, shuttling thousands of refugees from San Francisco to Oakland and ferrying supplies back to the firefighters and rescue workers in San Francisco.

After military service transporting troops during World War II, the Berkeley neared the end of her days as a useful transport ship. The Southern Pacific Railroad ended all ferry service in 1958 and sold the Berkeley. Through the 1960s, the ferry served as a floating gift shop docked in Sausalito, her glory days long behind her. The Maritime Museum of San Diego rescued her in 1973, taking responsibility for the major restoration that she desperately needed. A popular tourist destination today, millions have toured the Berkeley over the years, learning about the maritime history of the west coast and the nation.

Late Victorian era luxury on the Berkeley: Opalescent
stained glass cerestory windows.
Photo courtesy of the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

Notes from the Editor:  Preservation of boats is notoriously difficult. When you put steel in long-term contact with water, you inevitably get corrosion. The steel shell thins as it rusts, requiring steel patches to maintain the ship’s integrity.

With the Berkeley, the Save America’s Treasures grant was used to apply a new type of coating formulated to address the hull repair needs of corroding ships. More economical than the old mending strategies, this new repair treated the sandblasted steel surface of the hull with a coating of a tough ceramic resin. The resulting repair may serve as a cost-efficient model for long-term preservation of other aging steel-hulled ships, including historic U.S. warships.

The Berkeley in dry dock for hull restoration during the spring of 2003.
Photo courtesy the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

The hull of the Berkeley prior to restoration.
Photo courtesy of the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

The Berkeley's hull with new ceramic-embedded epoxy coating.
Photo courtesy of the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

The Star of India.
Photo by Maggie Piatt Walton,
courtesy of the Maritime
Museum of San Diego.

Other Recommended Sites:  While at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, don’t miss the opportunity to explore their other ships. In particular, don’t miss the Star of India, the oldest active sailing ship in the world dating back to 1863, and the SD Harbor Pilot, which served as San Diego’s chief pilot craft for much of the 20th century. The neighborhood adjacent to the Maritime Museum is San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, the historic heart of downtown San Diego with many buildings that date back to the Victorian era—recalling the time when the Berkeley was first launched.

TV crews document the restored Berkeley's 2003 return from dry dock,
with one of her propellers in the foreground.
Photo courtesy of the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Wednesday’s destination:  Mission San Juan Capistrano
Friday’s destination:  The Gamble House

© 2012 Lee Price

Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park

View Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park in a larger map

Visit our Tour Destination: Southern California page to see the entire tour of the area’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

Leo Carrillo's 1937 adobe hacienda.
Photo courtesy of the City of Carlsbad.

Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park
6200 Flying Leo Carrillo Lane
Carlsbad, CA

Website:  Leo Carillo Ranch Historic Park

The Treasure:  A 27-acre historic park that served as a working ranchero for actor Leo Carrillo.

Accessibility:  Park hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9 to 5 and Sundays from 11 to 5. Ninety-minute guided tours are offered on Saturday and Sunday. Check for times.

Background:  It’s Spanish colonial, it’s Southwestern, it’s California Rancho—what better place to launch our exploration of California Save America’s Treasures projects than this park that is practically the essence of Southern California. Former California Governor Edmund G. Brown even nicknamed its owner “Mr. California.”

Leo Carrillo (1880-1961) embraced his California homeland and its diversity of cultures. Carrillo grew up in an old and respected California family, with an Alta California governor and a Los Angeles mayor among his ancestors. His first taste of acting came in New York’s theaters but he soon returned to his beloved home state determined to break into Hollywood. Over the years, he became a solidly dependable supporting actor, appearing in more than 90 films.

Leo Carrillo's recently restored 1940's hay barn.
Photo courtesy of the City of Carlsbad.

Fame finally arrived at the age of 69 when he landed the sidekick role of Pancho in the very popular TV western The Cisco Kid from 1950 to 1956. But all the time he was building his acting career, Carrillo simultaneously devoted much energy to outside projects, becoming a well-known political champion of public recreation and cultural areas. He promoted the development of the Los Angeles Olvera Street complex, the Los Angeles Arboretum, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and the preservation of Hearst Castle at San Simeon.

Located approximately 35 miles north of San Diego, the Leo Carrillo Ranch was the actor’s personal retreat to the Old California environment that he loved most. He began purchasing the property in 1937, eventually amassing a 2,538-acre ranch operation. With its adobe buildings and antique windmills, the architecture of the site masterfully blends into the peaceful landscape.

Duncan Rinaldo as the Cisco Kid
and Leo Carrillo as Pancho
in a 1950 episode of The Cisco Kid.

Notes from the Editor:  The Cisco Kid was the first television show filmed in color (even though most people watched it on black-and-white TV sets at the time). Before moving to television, there were many Cisco Kid b-movies, with Leo Carrillo taking the part of Pancho for the first time in 1948. The original concept of the Cisco Kid came from an O. Henry short story which had Spanish roots in its homage to Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Carrillo’s sidekick character indulged in classic Sancho Panza routines, with Pancho offering comic folk wisdom for every situation no matter how tense.

Unlike most Hollywood actors—and that even includes the cowboy stars—Leo Carrillo was a superb horseback rider complete with rodeo experience. The western characters he was frequently called upon to play tended to be stereotypical but he could take pride that his riding was in the style of a real vaquero (cowboy). Here’s a short clip of Carrillo as Pancho and Duncan Renaldo as the Cisco Kid.

Other Recommended Sites:  You can further honor Leo Carrillo by visiting some of the sites that he helped to preserve for the public: the Los Angeles Arboretum, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Hearst Castle, and there’s even a beautiful site nearby that was named in his honor, Leo Carrillo State Park, located west of Malibu on the Pacific Coast Highway.

One of the many peacocks that stroll freely around the ranch.
Photo courtesy of the City of Carlsbad.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Monday’s destination:  Maritime Museum of San Diego, Ferryboat Berkeley
Wednesday’s destination:  Mission San Juan Capistrano

© 2012 Lee Price

Tour Destination: Southern California

View Los Angeles, San Fernando, and Pasadena in a larger map

View San Diego and Southern California in a larger map

Today we leap from the east coast to the west coast. During the next six weeks, Tour America’s History will explore Los Angeles, San Diego, the beautiful coast between them, and the deserts and mountains to their east. Sixteen Save America’s Treasures projects are spread across this varied landscape.

This is a region that understands catering to tourists, so finding accommodations or a good meal is rarely a problem. For general tourism information on Los Angeles, go to either Los Angeles: The Official Guide or LATourist. For San Diego, here’s the equivalent visitor information site. Out in the middle of the desert (near Joshua Tree National Park!), you can be pampered in Palm Springs. Here’s their official tourism site, operated by the Palm Springs Visitors Center.

Personally, I’ve been looking forward to covering this cluster of sites. My family enjoyed one of our best vacations ever in southern California. We drove a lot—you simply have to be prepared to drive when exploring this region. While the freeways are deservedly notorious, navigating them is a minor irritation when compared with the world-class destinations you get to visit.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Friday’s destination:  Leo Carrillo Ranch
Monday’s destination:  Maritime Museum of San Diego, Ferryboat Berkeley

© 2012 Lee Price

Historic Battersea

View Historic Battersea in a larger map

Visit our “Tour Destination: Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia” page to see the entire tour of the area’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

Historic Battersea in Petersburg, Virginia.
Photo courtesy Battersea Foundation.

Historic Battersea

1289 Upper Appomattox Lane
Petersburg, VA

Headquarters:
29 W. Bank Street
Petersburg, VA 23803
Phone: 804-732-9882 

Website:  Battersea Foundation

The Treasure:  Completed in 1768, Battersea is an unusually fine example of the Palladian style of architecture, retaining many original details that reflect the highest standards of the time.

Accessibility:  Restoration is still ongoing so the site is not technically open to the public. While restoration is ongoing, public and private tours can always be arranged by calling Battersea’s offices.

Restoration is currently underway at
Battersea. Photo courtesy
Battersea Foundation.

Background:  With this visit to Battersea, we depart Richmond for the nearby City of Petersburg. Located on the Appomattox River, Petersburg has a rich history of its own. It became of considerable geographic importance in the 19th century when the city emerged as a major transfer point for the country’s new rail system. The trains brought money and goods, but they also pegged Petersburg as a constant target for Union forces during the Civil War. The novel and movie Cold Mountain depict one of the major Petersburg wartime events, the Battle of the Crater in 1864.

Meanwhile, in the rural area on the western edge of the city, the Battersea mansion quietly weathered the centuries. Its builder, Colonel John Bannister, was a third-generation Virginian, grandson to the Reverend John Bannister who arrived in Virginia in 1677. Thanks to the Reverend Bannister’s sponsorship by the powerful William Byrd family, the Bannisters were able to establish themselves as important Virginia gentry. As he reached his early 40s, Colonel Bannister undertook the building of a residence appropriate for a fashionable family of the time.

The Chinese lattice staircase at Battersea.
Photo courtesy Battersea Foundation.

Battersea draws upon Palladianism, a style of architecture espoused by the 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio that was based on the classical architecture of Rome. Palladianism caught on in Europe in the 18th century and spread to the fashionable areas of the American colonies around mid-century. Drayton Hall in South Carolina is a notable early example of  American-style Palladianism. Thomas Jefferson adopted the style whole-heartedly in his architectural designs, referring to Palladio’s books as his bible.

Battersea offers a sophisticated presentation of the Palladian style, with its classically balanced five-part structure. There’s a two-story central block, radiating out to one-story wings, and finishing with one-and-half-story end pavilions. Everything is properly symmetrical in the Palladian style. Each side of the house even gets its own columned portico. Inside the house, many original architectural details remain in place, most notably an elaborate Chinese lattice staircase.

Notes from the Editor:  The stately look of Palladianism become a defining architectural style in the early years of the United States, gradually shading into neoclassical architecture. This movement’s roots in Greek and Roman styles appealed to the idealists of the young republic, as they openly embraced the leadership of the humble Roman general Cincinnatus as their political ideal. So it should be little surprise that one of the grandest Palladian-style buildings in the country is where the President resides: the White House.

Other Recommended Sites:  There’s plenty to see on your visit to Petersburg! You can enjoy exploring the Petersburg National Battlefield (the crater is still there), the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum on the grounds of Fort Lee, the Siege Museum, and the opulent Center Hill Museum, a 19th century mansion.

Bird's eye view of the Battersea estate.
Photo courtesy Battersea Foundation.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Wednesday’s destination:  Off to southern California!
Friday’s destination:  Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park

© 2012 Lee Price

Historic Jackson Ward District

View Historic Jackson Ward District in a larger map

Visit our “Tour Destination: Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia” page to see the entire tour of the area’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

The historic cast-iron porches frequently seen in the Jackson Ward District.

Historic Jackson Ward District

The boundaries of the Jackson Ward District are: Broad Street to the south, North Belvidere Street to the west, West Duval Street to the north, and North 3rd Street to the east.

Richmond, VA

Website:  The Historic Jackson Ward Association
The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia

The Treasure:  The architecture, culture, and history of achievement within this historically African-American neighborhood, once known as the “Harlem of the South.”

Accessibility:  It’s a neighborhood! Stroll the streets and enjoy the history. For orientation to the area and its history, visit the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia located at 00 Clay Street. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 5.

Background:  You see layers of history when you explore an area like this. Much of the architecture dates back before the neighborhood’s most famous years—from the early 1920s to the 1940s when Jackson Ward earned its nickname of the “Harlem of the South.” The oldest surviving house, Tucker Cottage at 701 Chamberlayne Parkway, dates all the way back to 1802. Many other buildings along these streets display the Greek Revival and Second Empire styles popular during the 19th century. Charming historic cast-iron porch railings, usually made at local Richmond foundries, lend some of the streets a distinctive and welcoming appearance

In the years following the Civil War, many freed slaves moved to Jackson Ward where there was already an established community of free blacks. Working together, they created a thriving business community. One early leader was the Reverend William Washington Browne, who was a lead founder of the Savings Bank of the United Order of True Reformers in 1888, the first bank chartered by African Americans in the United States. Formerly listed as one of the country’s

most endangered National Historic Landmarks,

Maggie L. Walker House.

the W.W. Browne House has been successfully renovated in keeping with its historic past by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the Walker Row Partnership, Inc.

The most famous figure to emerge from this period was Maggie Lena Walker (1864-1934), the first woman (of any color!) to charter a bank in the United States. The St. Luke Penny Savings Bank was a roaring success, too, offering opportunities for first-time home ownership to many. Today, the National Park Service manages the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site at 600 North Second Street, open Monday through Saturday from 9 to 5.

The Leigh Street Armory.

Save America’s Treasures funding was primarily used to stabilize the upper portions of the Leigh Street Armory at 122 West Leigh Street. Officially known as the First Battalion Virginia Volunteers Armory, the 1895 building is the oldest standing armory building in Virginia and has a good claim on being the oldest African-American armory in the country. Richmond’s first African-American regiment met and drilled here. Other historic buildings that have benefited from Save America’s Treasures support include the Booker T. Washington School (an 1871 building that is the oldest public school building in Richmond) and Tucker Cottage, the 1802 building which was successfully moved within the neighborhood to save it from demolition.

John Mitchell, Jr. in 1886.

Notes from the Editor:  History can be fickle, temporarily forgetting true giants in the struggles that shaped the country. Let’s hope that the name of John Mitchell, Jr. (1863-1929) is on the rebound now as places like the Library of Virginia and the National Endowment for the Humanities have published work celebrating his heroism.

Mitchell was born into slavery in 1863 and spent his life fearlessly championing civil rights for African Americans. As editor of the Richmond Planet, Mitchell publicly denounced all aspects of racial injustice, most notably in his long-term crusade against lynching. At a time when the Ku Klux Klan was on the rise, Mitchell publicly faced down threats against his life, promoted organized resistance, and used his skills as writer and cartoonist to expose injustice wherever he found it. He should not be forgotten.

Finally, let's briefly glance at the culture of the Jackson Ward. Hippodrome Theater in Richmond opened in 1914 and became the centerpiece of the Jackson Ward’s reputation for being the “Harlem of the South.” A 1945 fire effectively ended those glory years. Here’s a nice two-minute video piece celebrating the Hippodrome’s history:

Who would you see at the Hippodrome? How about…

You might see Richmond native son Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Jeni Le Gon, and Fats Waller doing “I’m Living in a Great Big Way”...

... or maybe Duke Ellington performing “Rumpus in Richmond”...

... or even a young Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb doing “St. Louis Blues.”

I wish I could find clips that were actually FROM the Hippodrome but at least these treats are period appropriate. Enjoy!

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Monday’s destination:  Battersea
Wednesday’s destination:  Off to southern California!

© 2012 Lee Price