STAUNTON’S PRESERVED ARCHITECTURE IS FOCUS OF NEW EXHIBIT

   On Sept. 1, the splendor, diversity and economic impact of Staunton's historic architecture – and the hard-won fight to preserve it – will serve as the focus for an exhibit at the R.R. Smith Center for History and Art at 20 S. New Street.

   Hours for the exhibit, which is free and open to the public, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays; and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. The exhibit will run through Sept. 27.

   Staunton, which was founded in 1747, is considered nationally as a showpiece for community revitalization and the economic impact of historic preservation. The five historic districts comprising Staunton's downtown feature hundreds of restored structures, some of which have earned national preservation awards.

   The exhibit, which is the first of its kind in Staunton in more than 25 years, will feature architectural renderings by some of the city's most touted architects and artists, historic images in the form of photographs, postcards, prints and lithographs, artifacts from Staunton's past and illustrated timelines depicting the growth of the historic preservation movement in the Queen City. Many previously unseen and unpublished images from the Hamrick Photo Collection have been made available for the exhibit.

   Also included will be displays, quotes and images designed to stimulate thought and discussion about the future of Staunton's heritage.

  "This exhibit is a balance between the architecture itself and architecture as art, along with the story of saving that heritage," said William T. Frazier of Frazier Associates, one of the exhibit's coordinators. "A lot of preservation work has occurred since the last exhibit in 1981, and a group of us who were involved in the early years felt it was time to revisit the issue and share with the community the successes Staunton has enjoyed."
One of the architects featured in the exhibit, Frazier said, is Thomas Blackburn, who lived and worked in Staunton in the mid 19th century. Until recently, Blackburn’s work had been forgotten, but was rediscovered when an art dealer in New York found three portfolios of original Blackburn drawings and sold them to the Virginia Historical Society. Architectural historian Bryan Clark Green of Richmond is responsible for uncovering much information about Blackburn’s designs and has just authored a book on the architect who worked under Thomas Jefferson during the construction of the University of Virginia.

   Copies of some of Blackburn’s work – including a Masonic temple that pre-dated the current structure on West Beverley Street, buildings at Western State Hospital and other structures – will complement the drawings of T.J. Collins, his son, Sam Collins. The exhibit will also feature the original paintings of many Staunton buildings done by Charlottesville artist John Ruseau during the past forty years.

   Frazier said that numerous other images and artifacts have been provided by local collectors and Historic Staunton Foundation. He added that the exhibit will coincide September 22-25, 2007 with the 22nd annual Virginia Preservation Conference and Restore Virginia! Workshop offered by APVA Preservation Virginia and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources at the city’s newly refurbished Stonewall Jackson Hotel, the R. R. Smith Center, Blackfriars Playhouse and the Frontier Culture Museum.

   Frazier, in noting why Staunton’s historic architecture and its preservation are important, quoted from author, poet and artist John Ruskin: “They are not ours. They belong partly to those who built them and partly to all the generations of mankind who are to follow us. That which they intended to be permanent, we have no right to obliterate. What other men gave their strength and wealth and life to accomplish, it belongs to all their successors.”

   In addition to Frazier, exhibit coordinators include Deneen Brannock of Historic Staunton Foundation, Katharine Brown of Augusta County Historical Society, photographer and historian Rick Chittum, writer Charles Culbertson, Kathy Frazier of Frazier Associates, Terry Graham of APVA Preservation Virginia, Beth Hodge of Staunton Augusta Art Center, author Liz McCue, architect Doug Roller, Robert Rhodes and Beth Scripps of Frazier Associates, and Billie Guill-Smith of the R. R. Smith Center for History and Art.

   The R. R. Smith Center, named in honor of long-time state and community leader R. R. “Jake” Smith, is a collaboration of three leading cultural organizations in the Staunton/Augusta County area of the Shenandoah Valley: Augusta County Historical Society, Historic Staunton Foundation, and the Staunton Augusta Art Center. The center is housed in what was originally the Eakleton Hotel, a 25,200 square foot building designed in 1893 by noted local architect T. J. Collins. The Smith Center houses exhibit galleries, a lecture hall, classrooms, archival areas, a library and reading room, conference facilities, and offices for the three non-profit organizations.