The Staunton Music Festival returns!
http://www.stauntonmusicfestival.org/
This year's dates: August 13-21, 2021.
Enjoy some videos from past seasons:
2018 J. S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto #5
2014 Chopin: Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise Op. 22
(version for piano & string quintet)
Andrew Willis performs on a reproduction of an 1830 Conrad Graf fortepiano
2019 Astor Piazzolla: Maria de Buenos Aires (tango operita)
First settled in 1732, the city of Staunton (pronounced STAN-ton) is named for Lady Rebecca Staunton, who was the wife of Virginia’s Colonial Governor William Gooch. He named the town after his English wife.
Staunton is in the heart of Virginia’s storied Shenandoah Valley and at one time was the geographical center of the state, which once stretched westward all the way to the Mississippi River and encompassed parts of what is now West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Given its central location and fertile setting, it quickly developed into an early center for trade and commerce, particularly for the export of agricultural products.
Its importance was cemented in 1854 with the arrival of the Virginia Central Railroad, and its heyday was as a railroad town. Staunton became a center of banking, manufacturing and retail trade in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1856, future President Woodrow Wilson was born to a local Presbyterian minister and his wife. Wilson's restored birthplace and Presidential Library and Museum attract thousands of tourists. The city was largely spared from destruction during the Civil War, a significant factor in the remarkable number of historic structures that have been preserved in the downtown area. Staunton, which has experienced a remarkable renaissance in recent years, is an intriguing, often quirky choice for tourists who are looking for attractions a bit more off the beaten path. This blog will introduce a few of them to you.
Illustration of Staunton, circa 1851 (click to enlarge).
Architect T.J. Collins came to Staunton from Washington, DC, in 1891 and in a mere twenty years designed or remodeled over two hundred buildings, most of which exist today. Collins designed the gatehouse (photo below), bridge, tower, tombs and other structures at Thornrose Cemetery, which contains more than 1,770 graves of Confederate soldiers.
Note: Photos on this blog from Staunton's web site and from links displayed on web site.
Staunton Visitor Center: 35 S. New St. (at parking garage at corner of Greenville Ave.) 540-332-3971 New hours Mon-Wed 10-3; Thu-Sat 10-5; Sun 12-5; Face coverings, social distancing required; Visitor guides, walking maps, etc. available at kiosk outside visitor center entrance.
Downtown Dining Initiative: Beverley Street closure Friday-Saturday-Sunday through January 3, 2021. Participating restaurants offer outdoor tables/chairs for dining and beverage service on four blocks of Beverley Street west of Market Street intersection.
Located in the historic Red Brick downtown quarter of Staunton, this
124-room hotel captures the spirit, history and charm of the old South.
Originally built in 1924 as the Stonewall Jackson Hotel, the property underwent a complete top to
bottom renovation in 2005 and has been painstakingly restored to its
original grandeur. A rebranding as Hotel 24 South took place during the summer of 2020. The hotel boasts an indoor swimming pool, hot tub,
lobby bar, restaurant and fitness center.
The original Wurlitzer theatre organ on the mezzanine of the two story
lobby was also restored to full playing condition, although the hotel
staff says that the sound is too loud for live entertainment; instead,
the hotel plays recordings of the organ during Christmas and other
holiday occasions. The Georgian-style, red brick structure was designed
by renowned architect H.L. Stevens, cost $440,000 to build in the 1920s
and boasted every major technical innovation of the day. Today the
property is a member of the Historic Hotels of America division of the
National Trust for Historic Preservation.
540-885-4848
The 300-seat Blackfriars Playhouse is the world's only re-creation of Shakespeare's original indoor theater. Opened in 2001, the playhouse offers the works of Shakespeare presented under original conditions, on a simple stage, without elaborate sets, and with the audience sharing the same lighting as the actors. Actors play multiple roles and interact with the audience. Home to the American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars offers performances year round. Located at 10 S. Market Street, adjacent to the Hotel 24 South. Tours offered.
540.851.1733.
The present red brick Gothic Revival church building, the third to occupy the site, was constructed in 1855, and twelve of the stained glass windows are made of opalescent glass from the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany, dating from the first decades of the 20th century.
The rear gallery contains a magnificent pipe organ installed in 1999 by world renowned tracker action pipe organ builder Taylor & Boody, est. 1979, whose factory is located in a renovated school building three miles west of downtown Staunton. The organ consist of three manuals and pedal housed in a walnut case; short 56-note manual compass, pedal board 30 notes, 38 stops. Choir division housed in ruckpositiv position (for you organ techies).
As well, a recently constructed open air brick labyrinth is available for use during daytime hours. Trinity Church also serves as the principal performance venue of the annual Staunton Music Festival (see link in sidebar), and this organ is frequently used during the festival.
Trivia: Presbyterians played an important part in the history of Trinity Church. When Augusta County was founded (split from Orange County), Virginia's governor ordered that a parish of the Church of England be established in Staunton. Upon its founding in 1746, the first 12-member vestry included nine Presbyterians, because there were not enough members of the Church of England in the area; only one member of that first vestry was an official member of the Church of England, which was the mandated church of Virginia until the American Revolution (so long as citizens paid taxes to the Church of England, they could worship as other denominations, such as Baptists and Presbyterians). Trinity's first minister was local Presbyterian pastor John Hindman, who was shipped of to England to be ordained by the Bishop of London. Services were held in the Staunton courthouse for fourteen years, until the first brick church building was constructed on this site in 1760. Local Presbyterians did not build their first church until 1818, so they worshiped at Trinity up until that time.
Trinity Episcopal Church is located on Beverley St. at the corner of Lewis St. on the western edge of downtown's Red Brick District. 540-886-9132
Willy Ferguson, 61, is a welder and sculptor who operates a metal-fabrication shop, but is best known for his oversized metal sculptures of carbon steel: to wit, Staunton’s giant watering can and flower pots at the intersection of U.S. 250 and U.S. 11 and a huge book outside the town’s library.
The son of a Scottish father and a Sicilian mother, Ferguson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He came to the U.S. at age seven, when his family settled in Staunton. At the time they lived on the grounds of Western State Hospital, a facility for the mentally ill, where his father was a physician.
After his parents divorced, his father wanted him to go to college, but Ferguson decided on welding school in Richmond. He has built Ferguson Metal Fabrication into a successful operation. Sculptures are a small portion of his business, but by far the most recognizable. People tend to remember giant milk cans, plows and apples. Ten of his works are listed in the Inventory of American Sculpture as part of the Smithsonian's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program.
These enormous works also represent the most enjoyable work for him and his only full-time employee, Jim Chestnut, who makes medieval armor in his spare time and whose great-grandfather was a blacksmith. They do it with no blueprints, no engineers, no computers. Ferguson doesn’t even own a cell phone. Not everyone in Staunton had an appreciation for large pieces of metal art. When the watering can (18 ft. tall and 20 ft. wide) and flower pots, commissioned by the local garden club, were installed at a busy intersection in 1999, a mini-brouhaha ensued. Some thought the works an eyesore; others found them amusing and capricious. The controversy eventually passed, and the watering can and pots are still there, on either side of a railroad bridge, now considered iconic Staunton landmarks. Below is Ferguson's own Big Foot sculpture, alongside the driveway to his workplace.
Opened in 1828, the Western Lunatic Asylum provided cutting-edge treatment for mentally ill patients. One of the earliest “healing” landscapes in the country, the tranquil and pastoral setting was an important part of the therapy. The stately grounds of the 80-acre campus were so picturesque that a wrought-iron fence (extant) was erected, not to keep patients in, but to keep the town’s local picnickers out.
Patients tended the hospital grounds and hundreds of acres of surrounding farmland, growing much of their own food. Architect Thomas Blackburn, who worked under Thomas Jefferson during the construction of the University of Virginia, designed many of the buildings on site in a distinct Jeffersonian style. In 1969, the five surviving antebellum buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In the early 1970s, the asylum (by then renamed Western State Hospital) relocated, and the campus became home to the Staunton Correctional Center, a medium-security prison. During this time, which lasted until 2003, many of the buildings fell into disrepair. The property sat vacant until recently, when its new owners began restoring the buildings. Now called the "Villages at Staunton," the campus offers a combination of retail establishments, offices and condominium residences.
A condominium interior:
