Charlottesville, Virginia

[kcexpress69]

Just got back from a five day trip out east. The good news, I got to see family that I have not seen in several years. The bad news....I had very little time to shoot any cities. My brother and my mom were with me and we were on a tight schedule. Evergrey, Glowrock, and Photolith...I was really looking forward to coming to Pittsburgh to hang out for a couple of days. Initially, I had planned to come out to the Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia region, but unfortunately an aunt of mine who we are all close to, has taken a turn for the bad and it was imperative to get out to Richmond to see her. Anyway, I hope to try it again in the near future.

In the meantime, we were heading back to Kansas City and managed to stop at a couple of smaller cities on the way. One of them was Charlottesville. It's a growing diverse town of about 44,000. It's home to the University of Virginia, and a home to two former presidents..Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe. James Madison also lived close by. We had maybe an hour to hang out before trying to meet our cousin, but I managed to get in quite a few shots. So let's take a look.

First the parking garage


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From atop of the parking garage...


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Plenty of modern loft style apartments


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I was thrilled to see some new hi-rise construction going on until I got right up to it. It looks as if construction on it stopped quite some time ago. Don't know if the economy tanked or developer went belly up, but I hope work on it picks back up soon!!


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Approaching the downtown mall, what a real mall should look like!!


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One of the many alleys along the mall


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An outdoor amphitheater on the edge of the mall


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The area was blocked off as they were preparing for an evening concert


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A very nice looking visitors center


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One corner of the city hall commemorates the three local presidents


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A side view of the amphitheater


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The historic Courthouse Square just to the north side of the mall. Many of these buildings were built in late 18th early 19th century


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Statues of General Stonewall Jackson and Robert E Lee. (I only included these from a historical perspective, not as an endorsement of the Confederacy. Not sure how long these statues have been there)


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I love trees, but they don't make it easy sometimes when I'm trying to shoot a structure!!


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Back on the mall


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Crossing into the warehouse district


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That was about an hour's worth right there. I wanted to do more, but my mom was getting tired. I'm glad I got a big chunk of it though. Hope you enjoyed!!

[LSyd]

great tour, especially in only an hour. good to see Cville again; some of my wife's cousins live there and my job has a nice office there, so it's nice to go back for training. maybe one day they'll stick me there.

that building's been on hold at least since 2011. it's like Cville's answer to the Ryogyung hotel

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[Danny]

Enjoyed watching this phototour. Thanks for sharing.

Charlottesville looks like a very pleasant town. Great job and pictures.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain!

[Ex-Ithacan]

Hope your aunt is doing better.

It's nice to see the downtown mall is doing well. Charlottesville is a great college town. I haven't been there in some time, but recall quite a bit of sprawl developing.

Thanks for the tour kc.

[ColDayMan]

It really is a great town.

[kcexpress69]

Thanks for the comments so far, everyone. I've driven by this town many times in the past on the way to Richmond, and never once until last week did I get to see it for the first time. The last time I drove by it, was back in early 2000s, before I discovered SSP and found my love of taking pictures!! I hope to eventually get out this way sometime in the near future to do an extensive city/town tour of the Virginias. Their building stock is so much better than around the MO/KAN region!!

[Architype]

Nice photos, there is a little more brick than I expected, but then Virginia is a mid Atlantic state.

[LSyd]

Originally Posted by kcexpress69

Thanks for the comments so far, everyone. I've driven by this town many times in the past on the way to Richmond, and never once until last week did I get to see it for the first time. The last time I drove by it, was back in early 2000s, before I discovered SSP and found my love of taking pictures!! I hope to eventually get out this way sometime in the near future to do an extensive city/town tour of the Virginias. Their building stock is so much better than around the MO/KAN region!!

now you have me really wanting to go back. Staunton, Richmond, Petersburg, Cville...

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[ShooFlyPie]

I love Charlottesville. It has a nice pedestrian mall. I always have mixed feelings on long one street pedestrian malls downtown in how they distract from the rest of downtown streets, but that is for a city development forum.

LSyD, please do Staunton. I was there for work one week. I got a few downtown photos but never posted them. One of my favorite small American towns.

[kcexpress69]

Originally Posted by CubicalRebel

LSyD, please do Staunton. I was there for work one week. I got a few downtown photos but never posted them. One of my favorite small American towns.

Funny you should bring that up...... Staunton, Virginia

Great shots of my current albeit temporary home. C-ville is a great small city–comfortable, surrounded by beautiful scenery, lovely architecture, and close to a few other great places (e.g. DC, Richmond, etc.). The Dowtown Mall (pictured here) is the city's primary entertainment district. The neighborhoods directly adjacent are the city's oldest and loveliest with the stretch of Main St. between DT and "grounds" (i.e. UVa's campus but that word is taboo because TJ didn't use it) retaining some historic charm as well. UVa's campus itself is gorgeous and the little shopping/eating district right next door (the "Corner") is worth a look next time you're in town.

[LSyd]

Originally Posted by CubicalRebel

I love Charlottesville. It has a nice pedestrian mall. I always have mixed feelings on long one street pedestrian malls downtown in how they distract from the rest of downtown streets, but that is for a city development forum.

LSyD, please do Staunton. I was there for work one week. I got a few downtown photos but never posted them. One of my favorite small American towns.

my pics from 2007 here

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[pdxtraveler]

Nice pics. I have always wanted to visit there. Great pedestrian mall!

[Buckeye Native 001]

Fantastic stuff

[kcexpress69]

Originally Posted by pdxtraveler

Nice pics. I have always wanted to visit there. Great pedestrian mall!

I hope more smaller cities adopt this type of concept. It might be the exception because it's a college town, but I think if done correctly, more cities 50k and under could benefit from it. It definitely attracts smaller business.

[boden]

Thanks for the photos of these two cities that I have never seen before. That is one creepy looking dude? outside the Mens and Boys Shop.

[novaCJ]

I was last in the city center maybe 6 years ago, it's definitely improved for the better.