November 2010

This stately, 19th-century Greek Revival mansion, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, now serves as a venue for special occasions and as a restaurant Fridays through Sundays.

Edgar Allan Poe spent his final years in the old village of Fordham, living in this tiny cottage which he and his wife leased for $100 per year.

A small wooden farmhouse built about 1812, the cottage once commanded unobstructed vistas over the rolling Bronx hills to the shores of Long Island. It was a bucolic setting in which the great writer penned many of his most enduring poetical works, including “Annabel Lee,” “The Bells” and “Eureka.”

During the Civil War, the Confederate Congress also met at the state capitol building. The east (House) and west (Senate) wings were added between 1904-1906. The Virginia Capitol has reopened after a $104.5 million restoration and expansion project. Impressive interior designs and colors from 1910 have been replicated in the Rotunda, House and Senate chambers. Visitors are welcome to take a guided tour or simply tour the building themselves.

The natural surrounding provided the perfect backdrop to William Cullen Bryant's writer's retreat. Visitors can experience the life and times of this important American by touring his homestead. The oldest section of the house was constructed in 1787 by William Kirk, a Quaker farmer. Bryant greatly enlarged the original farmhouse, renovating it several times during his ownership. In addition, he planted numerous exotic trees and flowers on the grounds, transforming the estate into a horticultural showplace.

The museum houses an outstanding art collection that spans over 6000 years.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts houses a remarkable permanent collection of more than twenty thousand works of art from almost every major world culture. Some of the special features of the exhibits include French Impressionism, Post-Impressionism; Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts, Art Deco and Modern Decorative Arts; Modern and Contemporary art; Russian imperial Easter eggs by Faberge; English silver; European and American painting masterpieces; Ancient, Classical, and Egyptian art; and one of the world's leading collections of the art of India, Nepal, and Tibet.

Built in 1780, the James Fenimore Cooper House saw the birth of the celebrated American author in 1789. Today, it contains four museum rooms displaying Cooper artifacts, implements and furnishings, along with objects from the estate of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother who settled not far from Burlington after the battle of Waterloo. The house is part of a larger complex of historic homes operated by the Burlington County Historical Society.

Virginia House was completed a few months before the stock market crash of 1929. Alexander and Virginia Weddell's home, situated on a hillside overlooking the historic James River in Richmond, Virginia, was constructed from the materials of a sixteenth century English manor house. Although Virginia House was a blend of three romantic English Tudor designs, it was for its time a thoroughly modern home complete with seven full baths, central heat, modern kitchen, and commodious closets.

Virginia House 1940s Mrs. Weddell's talents as an interior designer are evident as the visitor moves through rooms decorated with English and Spanish antiques, silk draperies, Oriental carpets, and fine silver and china. Now owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society as a museum, the house has been preserved much as it was when the Weddells resided there.

The Kate Chopin House was the Cane River home of author Kate Chopin and her husband Oscar. Her experiences here led her to record the history, folklore, and lifestyles of the people of the Cane River area. Kate Chopin inhabited the Coultierville house some years before penning her most famous work, The Awakening. This simple two-story French Creole cottage houses furniture and artifacts from the various eras of the region’s past. Three buildings have been added to the property since it was converted into a museum, including a doctor’s office, a blacksmith shop and modern bathrooms.

The Virginia Aviation Museum features the spectacular SR-71 Blackbird; 36 historic, vintage aircraft; reproductions of the Wright brothers' kite, gliders and famous 1903 Flyer; early flight memorabilia; a World War II diorama that includes the Tuskegee Airmen and Women's Airforce Service Pilots; and the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame. Captain Dick Merrill’s famous 1930s Stars and Stripes, the first American scientific research aircraft to fly in Antarctica, can be viewed at the Virginia Aviation Museum. The museum includes exhibits on pioneer aviation, World War II and the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame. Visitors can even go to aviation films and lectures in the Benn Theater.

Mann S. Valentine, Jr., the museum’s founder, made his fortune with the creation and production of Valentine’s Meat Juice, a health tonic made from pure beef juice. As did many men of his era, Mann collected artifacts. His collection may have begun, as rumored, with a cigar box filled with arrowheads, but it soon grew to comprise hundreds of objects. The Valentine Museum, the first private museum in the City of Richmond, opened in 1898; Edward Valentine served as its first president from its opening until his death in 1930. In his own will, he left an incredible collection of his sculpture, papers, furniture and memorabilia to the museum that still bears his family name.