Maymont - ideal spot in Richmond to enjoy a nice day
24.10.2021
In 1893, James H. Dooley, a wealthy Richmond lawyer and philanthropist, and his wife, Sallie, completed their elaborate Gilded Age estate on a site high above the James River; Maymont today is a 100-acre Victorian estate and public park
Maymont’s naturalistic Japanese Garden—the oldest public Japanese Garden on the East Coast (1911) - includes trained and pruned trees and shrubs, raked sand pools and multiple water areas—all designed to create the impression of an old, naturally developed landscape
The Dooleys also built a summer home on Afton Mountain, Swannanoa (SW VA), which was completed in 1913 and modeled after the Villa Medici in Rome; companies based in Richmond include CarMax, Altria and Genworth FInancial
The 1200 sq ft stone barn was completed in 1908 and is rented out for functions now; as of 2016, Richmond had the second-highest rate of eviction filings and judgments of any US city with a population of 100,000+
Behind Fountain Plaza is the Carriage House; their Carriage Collection showcases horse-drawn transportation typical of country estates in Virginia during the period that the Dooleys lived at Maymont
The Robins Nature Center has just undergone a huge renovation but it's only open on weekends (I was there midweek); the animals there are nothing special but probably interesting for kids
Maymont's gardens are popular for outdoor weddings focused around the Italian Garden, the Japanese Garden (my favorite)and numerous gazebos located throughout the grounds; there are very few famous people from Richmond
Richmond is at the fall line of the James River, 44 miles west of Williamsburg and 66 miles east of Charlottesville; the city is home to both a U.S. Court of Appeals, one of 13 such courts, and a Federal Reserve Bank, one of 12 such banks
In 1856 James Dooley enrolled at Georgetown and was the first student to rank at the head of his class during each of his four years as an undergraduate; he graduated in 1860 and joined the Confederate Army (hmm)
Posted by VagabondCowboy 14:03
