Richmond's Monument Avenue - Hardcover

Driggs, Sarah Shields; Wilson, Richard Guy; Winthrop, Robert P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807826073 ISBN 13: 9780807826072

Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press, 2001

Synopsis

Long hailed as a supreme example of American city planning, Monument Avenue is home to some of Richmond, Virginia's, most prestigious houses and distinguished architecture--and to the unique procession of statues from which the street takes its name. Initially planned in 1890 around a memorial to Robert E. Lee, over the next four decades the avenue evolved into a parade of statues honoring heroes of the Confederacy. In the mid-1990s, however, the dedication of a controversial memorial to African American tennis player Arthur Ashe signaled that Monument Avenue's meaning had broadened beyond commemorating the Lost Cause.

This book traces the history of Monument Avenue, of its buildings and statuary, and of the people who helped create one of America's great streets. Enriched by more than three hundred photographs, plans, and drawings, it chronicles the avenue's development, captures architectural details and city preservation efforts, and places the avenue's story in local, regional, and national context.

Built to reflect the hopes and attitudes of Richmonders at the turn of the last century, Monument Avenue exists nearly intact today as the centerpiece of a flourishing neighborhood, even as its meaning continues to be redefined.

About this title

Book Description:

" Richmond's Monument Avenue is a beautifully illustrated, meticulously researched, and well-written book."-- Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians

About the Author:

Sarah Shields Driggs is an independent architectural historian and consultant who lives in Richmond.

Richard Guy Wilson is chair and Commonwealth Professor of Architectural History at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Robert P. Winthrop is an architect in Farmville, Virginia.

About this edition

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0807826073
• ISBN 13: 9780807826072
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 296