LoCoHistory

The term “history” in locohistory can be defined in a number of ways. At its most basic, it is something that occurred in the past. For inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places it should be at least fifty years old. The study of “history” includes past peoples, events, structures, and landscapes. This week’s post considers a slightly more recent event that occurred in 1976: the creation of the pedestrian mall on East Main Street. The decision to prohibit cars from traveling (and parking) on a major thoroughfare was controversial. To demonstrate the utility of such a move, a smaller section (from the Belmont Bridge to West Second Street) was temporarily closed on April 13, 1971 and set up as a pedestrian shopping center. Still, the proposed mall project was variously derided as “Cole’s Hole” (the city manager at that time was Cole Hendrix), “Council’s Folly” and “Little Watergate.” Other sites have comprehensive coverage of the long road that was traveled before the completion of the mall and its even more gradual success as a social and shopping mecca. One excellent article is by John Yellig, available here.

In this post my mission is different: to encourage you to look down at the architecturally designed roadway and its bricks. The architect is Lawrence Halprin who specifically designed a brick walkway that would not detract from the surrounding historic, brick structures. Rather, he selected an unusual shape, 4” by 12” pavers, so that they would look artistic, not “institutional.” Halprin is a well known architect and is known for creating “landscapes available to all segments of society and generated on the basis of final user needs.” His 1976 artistic design has recently come under discussion as the City pursues options for renovating the downtown mall.

To listen to a podcast of public comment on the plan for the new bricks, visit the Charlottesville Tomorrow Website. There has been a lot of public input into the use of 7.5 million dollars to refurbish the bricks and if the money is to be spent, how to produce an aesthetically pleasing result on time and on budget.

But here at locohistory we wanted to take a different approach and see just how well you know your downtown mall. For the following exercise it helps to enlist kids as they are closer to the ground and more likely to be successful in completing the following challenge. Or you can add this treasure hunt to your weekend pub crawl and see who finishes first. Directions for the First (and quite possibly final seeing as they may be removing these bricks in 2009) Annual Downtown Mall Brick Challenge: Begin at the Omni, face east (towards the Pavilion). See how many of the brick “hot spots” you can find (numbered throughout this post). Don’t forget to look up and watch out for pedestrians and the cars at the two drive through crossings. For bonus points, complete this challenge from memory and see if you recognize any of these spots. Good Luck!

What year would a young man have been able to sign up for the above, fictional job posting ? The answer: 1933, working with the Civilian Conservation Corps (originally nicknamed “Roosevelt’s Tree Army”). President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the C.C.C. in March of 1933, during the Great Depression, as a partial solution to high unemployment. By 1935 over 2,600 C.C.C. camps had been opened across the country. Over half-a-million individuals lived in these camps while they worked on public works’ projects. While widely successful, the camps were closed in 1942 a year after the US entered World War II.

Virginia had dozens of CCC camps. The very first CCC camp was located in the George Washington National Park (in Ft Valley, VA). Several camps were located in Albemarle. You can still see the product of their labor if you know where to look. One example is an old CCC-road that once connected Covesville to North Garden. This beautiful, old road winds along the mountains that parallel route 29. The CCC laborers built culverts and shored up the edges of the road to ensure proper drainage.

If you want to learn more about the contributions of the CCC and its history, stop in at the White Hall Community Center on June 8th, between 2 and 4, for the 75th Anniversay Celebration of the Civilian Conservation Corps. At 2:30 Albemarle County historian and writer, Phil James, will give a lecture on the CCC Camp Albemarle (located in White Hall). The event is hosted by the White Hall Ruritan Club and is free of charge. For more information email philjames[insert the at symbol]firstva.com.

Editorial note: I will be in the field for much of the next two months so there will only be occasional posts during this time. Don’t give up, in late August more regular posts will return. In the meantime, scroll through the “Archives” at the left and catch up on past locog’s or check out some of the links to other historical sites under the “links” menu at the top of the page.

Before I go, a post on summer vacation’s past: Fry’s Spring. Although hard to believe today, in the 19thC Fry’s Spring was at the end of the street-car line and, even earlier, was considered a country retreat. The “Fry” refers to James Francis Fry who was given 300 acres along Moore’s Creek in 1839 by his father-in-law. In 1875, Captain James A. Harris purchased a much smaller lot within the original boundary and it became a popular spot for leisure activities. Earlier, in the 1850s, the spring became known for its “healing waters.” With the introduction of an electric trolley in 1895, Fry’s Spring became even more popular and the owners introduced a dance pavilion, theater, and amusement park rides.
Other origins for modern-day names in this neighborhood: (1) James Fry built a house called Azelea Hall (hence the modern-day ‘Azelea Park’). (2) The Jefferson Park Hotel was built nearby in 1892 (preserved in the modern-day street name, Jefferson Park Avenue, usually shortened to JPA). The hotel burned in 1910 and was replaced by the current building associated with the Fry’s Spring Beach Club.

For more information the neighborhood and Beach Club, visit the Fry Spring’s Neighborhood Association, Charlottesville Community Design Center and the history section of the FS Beach Club’s website.

Park Street begins at E Jefferson (near the courthouse) and continues north to Melbourne Road (where it becomes Rio Road). Although Park Street contains beautiful homes, it does not contain a “park.” However, if you head north on Park St and cross the county line you will eventually reach a park (technically located off Rio Road) called Pen Park. This, however, is not the eponymous “park.” Rather, Park Street was named after Park Mill, owned by the same person who owned the plantation at Pen Park: Dr George Gilmer. Dr. Gilmer and his family lived at Pen Park from 1777 to 1800; many of these individuals are buried on the premise in a family cemetery. The mill was located along Meadow Creek. Today a sign marks the spot with its earlier name: Cochran’s Mill (built around 1754). All that remains standing today is the miller’s house, the mill has long since washed away (as it was located closer to the river, in the floodplain).

As an aside, variants on the name “Park” have been added within the last several decades to 2oth Century streets, such as “Parkway” and “Park Plaza.” These were not formal streets in the 19th Century. If anyone knows the origins of “Park Hill,” please leave a comment below.

Which C-ville landmark is referred to as “central place.” Could it be the Courthouse ? UVA ? Main Street ? The correct answer is the fountain located in the middle of the downtown mall. The fountain was designed, in part, to commemorate the wells that once lined Water Street and other downtown roads (see the earlier post on Wells along Water Street). Designed by Lawrence Halprin, the fountain contains 3 concrete structures. They symbolize the three notches carved into trees that originally marked the path of “Three Notched (or Chopped) Road” (today’s Main Street / Route 250). If you look carefully as you stroll along the mall you’ll find the historic sign that describes the path of this early road. The fountain was dedicated in 1976, when the mall was re-opened as a pedestrian walkway. Ironically, it was meant to be a gathering place, but a metal chain was later installed to discourage people from going into the fountain. To learn more about the fountain, read The Hook’s article titled “Fountainblue.”

Today’s primary roads include Route 29 (N/S) and Route 64 (E/W). In the 1860s, the railroads paved the way for a reliable N/S trajectory, setting the route for the later highway (29 south). The E/W route was originally 250 (parts of which overlap with the 18th Century “Three Notched Road”). To understand 18th and 19th Century thoroughfares, you have to ignore modern-day 64 and 29 and look to the older routes. Before automobiles became the primary means of transport, the slope of the road was the most important variable in selecting a path. As a result, many of the historic roads lie on top of ridges, rather than in the valleys (to prevent the loss of altitude for as long as possible). These old routes contain hundreds of ruined cabins and agricultural features. As one local resident explains, they planted their orchards (especially apples) in the hollers and their corn along the steep edges of the hillside (terraced with stone walls). The former they sold for cash, and the latter was for consumption (for people and animals). A “holler” is defined as a narrow valley between two steep hills (often containing a small creek which provided drinking water).

The map illustrates one small segment of Albemarle County’s historic hollers (highlighted with orange lines) and the orientation of the accompanying steep hills and waterways. This area is referred to as the Ragged Mountains and originally extended from the Reservoir (seen in the north) all the way south to Covesville.

The next time you’re viewing a map of the county, look along its western edge and look for the “gaps.” Prior to construction of the Shenadoah National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway system, the Blue Ridge Mountains represented both a barrier and, through a system of highland valleys, a connection to the rest of the country. One such passage is named “Taylor’s Gap.’ Like most of the gaps, they are named after former residents. This one is named after Benjamin Taylor (d. 1809), his wife, Mary, and their family. Taylor’s Gap Road is located near their former homestead even though the widow left for Georgia in 1811 after her husband’s death.