Lynchburg, Virginia

Lynchburg, Virginia is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River. We decided to stop here briefly on our way to visit nearby Poplar Forest (Thomas Jefferson's summer home) in late October 2014. It doesn't take long to figure out why Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills", or just "The Hill City". We soon found ourselves gazing up at the iconic Monument Terrace, the link between Courthouse Hill and the central business district below, joined by 132 steps, 10 landings, and 11 markers and monuments. Slowly we worked our way to the top, while local residents on their lunch breaks used the steps and landings as an outdoor workout gym, passing us by in both directions. In general, I am not a big fan of all the war monuments in this country, and I yearn for more tributes to peace. But from an architectural standpoint alone, I found this presentation quite impressive. The way the monuments were arranged in chronological order along the ascent, with the forward passage of time advancing along with the stairs was quite effective. Once we got to the top of the hill, the view of the city was magnificent. Below was a grand view of the town and the river, and above was a street filled with beautiful old churches of every denomination. Although we didn't stay long, we enjoyed our visit to this old and historic Virginia city.