Richmond Tours
Your NSA Convention'98 Team has scheduled a guided bus tour on Monday, August 10, 1998, additionally we have layed out 2 walking tours that start at the hotel and can be walked a little at a time or all at once.
(Allow time for this page to fully load before jumping to the numbered locations listed below.)
(Use your <-BACK button to return from the quick jumps below.) Walking Tour #1 #1 Marriott Hotel #2 "State of Virginia" Library #3 Chief Justice John Marshall's House #4 Valentine Museum #5 White House and Museum of the Confederacy #5 Virginia (Merrimac) Anchor #6 Old City Hall #6 & #7 Capitol Square & the Governor's Mansion Statures of "Sons of Virginia" Saint Paul's Church #8 The old Bell Tower - Virginia Tourist Information Center #13 General Lee's house in Richmond #14 Carpender Center for the Preforming Arts
Walking Tour #2 #10 Foot Bridge to Belle Isle #11 Belle Isle #12 Hollywood Cemetery from Belle Isle
The Bus Tour Maymont
Other...
Instructions for viewing 3D photos on this site.
Walking Tour #1
The Marriott Hotel at 5th & Broad Streets is the starting point for our walking tours. The first tour (historical) is a total of 24 blocks long and can be done in 6-8 hours if you go through and see everything! (It can be walked in about an hour.)
Walking EAST on Broad to 9th Streets brings you to the new State Library of Virginia. Just inside the Broad St. doors to the left is a great "Virginia" souvenir shop. There is a "Virginia" museum straight back under the grand stair case.
>--> Note: At 10th and Broad Streets, the next block east, is the new City Hall. There is an observation deck on the top floor that is open daily. (The photos on this page, taken from above, were taken from that point.)
Directly behind the state library at 9th and Marshall is the John Marshall House built for Chief Justice John Marshall in 1790. He lived from 1755 to 1835.
(open to the public daily, fee)
Walking down to 10th and Clay Streets is a block of Old Richmond Houses. This is the Valentine Museum - the "Museum of Richmond's History" This block has been used in many movies over the years.
(open to the public daily, fee)
If you're into the American Civil War the next stop is for you. Two blocks further down Clay Street brings you to the sprawling campus of MCV part of VCU (Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth of Virginia). In the center of the complex, at 12th and Clay Streets is the White House of the Confederacy where Jefferson Davis lived during the Civil War. (You won't see it until you are almost there because of the new buildings.)
(open to the public daily, fee)
Tucked under the main building of MCV and next to the White House is The Museum of the Confederacy. Rosie is sitting on the propeller shaft to the Virginia, later the Merrimac, one of the first Iron Clads.
(open to the public daily, fee)
Valerie and Rosie sitting on the anchor to the Virginia.
Old City Hall built in 1824 is a must. Note the windows are different on every level. This building was filmed as the hotel in "The Day They Shot Lincoln". (10th & Broad Streets)
Old City Hall is now a private office building but the first floor is open to the public. You must go in and see the glass floor and glass ceiling 6 floors above with ornate gold leaf and tile all the way up.
Leaving Old City Hall out through the back door and entering through the iron fence, to your left is the Governor's Mansion. The back of the State Capitol Building is directly in front of you.
In this picture of the Capitol steps is our Governor, Jim Gilmore making a speech just in front of the man on the top step, to the left.
(These 2 photos taken free-handed with my new Casio digital camera)
Moving around the Capitol Building walking away from the Governor's Mansion you will find a large statue of the "Sons of Virginia" with George Washington on his horse on top. At that end of the Capitol Building is an open door that leads to one of several stairs to the next level. On the second level, walk to the center of the building. In the rotunda there is a tourist desk and the only stature of George Washington that he actually posed for. The Capitol is worth seeing. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson. A model of the original is found inside.
Just across the street from the "Sons of Virginia" stature is Saint Paul's Episcopal Church where President Davis was attending service when a messenger arrived to tell him Richmond was about to fall. General Lee attended this church also when he was in town - you may sit where they sat.
(Worth seeing & photographing, corner of 9th & Grace St. open daily 10-4)
Walking down the hill in front of the Capitol Building to your right is the old (fire) Bell Tower built in 1824. This is another must for visitors to Virginia because it now houses the Tourist Information Center. See if you can find its white framed door in this photo.
(Located at 9th & Franklin Streets )
When you leave the the Bell Tower go through the gate behind and to the right. Cross 9th Street and head up Franklin Street. In the second block (700 block) General Robert E. Lee's Richmond home is on your left.
(Private businesses now)
Continue up Franklin to 6th Street. Turn right and head up 6th to the Carpender Center for the Preforming Arts. (Formally Lowe's, Richmond) This is a beautiful 2,000 seat Eberson movie palace in excellent shape complete with a working Wurlitzer Theatre Organ, one of 3 in the city.
END of this tour.
The hotel is through the 6th Street Market Place between the Carpender Center and the old Miller & Rhodes Department Store.
Walking Tour #2
The second Tour is to one location - Belle Isle in the center of the James River in the center of Richmond. This is one of those places that is most enjoyable and a place to get away from it all plus you can climb a 200 foot high mountain, swim from a sandy or rocky beach, or just enjoy nature. Many opportunities to take photos of all kinds. (There is weekend parking near the foot bridge.) Directions are simple - walk down 5th Street 8 blocks to Tredegar St. turn right go about 2 blocks passing the Tredegar foundry that made many Confederate cannons, to the foot bridge suspended under US Rt #1. (Belvidere St.) Follow the ramp up to the bridge - watch out for the joggers!
Rosie and Valerie on the foot bridge suspended under US Rt #1 leading to Belle Isle.
We made it... By the way fishing is good here.
From Belle Isle, looking back towards downtown through the bridges. This island was a prisoner-of-war camp during the Civil War. Later, part of the island was used as a quarry that is now a beautiful lake with a 100 foot high sheer cliff face on one side. There is a foot road that circles most of the island, it's about 3/4 of a mile long.
Part of the Downtown Richmond Skyline from Belle Isle.
There are many sandy beach areas and in August the water is so low that in several places you can walk across the river stepping from rock to rock. The river is up to a mile wide with Belle Isle in it's center. The James River Parks run for 10 miles east and west through the city with access and parking from either side and foot bridges over the railroad tracks. Looking west from this spot on the western end of the island you can often see eagles flying to and from the next island upstream.
From Belle Isle looking north you can see Hollywood Cemetery. Hollywood Cemetery is on the bus tour and well worth seeing. 4 Presidents are buried there along with over 29,000 Civil War soldiers and many other well known people.
To return to the hotel YOU WILL HAVE TO WALK UP HILL ALL THE WAY BACK!
Monday's Bus Tour
We will be making stops on Monument Avenue to see the many famous statues, St. John's Church (Patric Henrys "Give me liberty or give me death" speech), Hollywood Cemetery (4 presidents and 29,000+ Civil War soldiers and many other well known people are buried here), Shockoe Slip and Bottom, and Maymont. (Additional places will be visited if time permits.)
"St. John's Church"
"MAYMONT"
is a beautiful estate containing Italian and Japanese gardens, museums, a nature center, zoo, goldfish pond with walking pads, grotto, over a 1,000 varieties of trees, souvenir and food shops, herb garden, water falls, and many other interesting things to see.
Rosie and Valerie IN one of the grand fountains!
Valerie, Rosie, and Kay under the Italian trellis.
Other...
There is another walking tour to Brown's Island but a water front is being built between the island and the mainland. This may not be ready by August.
The Science Museum of Virginia, with an Omnimax Theatre, is in the 2500 block of West Broad. (The Marriott is 500 East Broad - about 2 miles away.)
The Battle Abby (Civil War archives), The Virginia Museum of fine Arts (gold Fabergé eggs), and The Virginia Historical Society (anything Virginia plus, a large antique Civil War gun collection) are a few blocks past the Science Museum and to the left about 5 blocks on North Blvd.
Busch Gardens in Williamsburg has a 4-D show. This show is written up in the 1998 summer issue of Stereo World. This theme park is a little over an hour east of Richmond near Colonial Williamsburg.
If you like large theme parks Kings Dominion is just 20 minutes north of Richmond on Interstate 95.
The Annabelle Lee cruses past the James River Plantations twice a day. (More info coming.)
Note - William Duggan taking one of his famous 3D photos on the right.
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