Monument Avenue - One of America's 10 Greatest Streets

Jefferson Davis Monument

Monument Avenue is located in the Richmond, the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia and notably the former capital of the Confederate States of America. The Avenue itself is located in western Richmond. Historically it has featured Civil War heros of the Confederate States of America. It has more recently been expanded to include non Civil War heros of Virginia as well. The Avenue proper is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the surrounding area is designated as the Monument Avenue Historic District.

Monument Avenue is located in Richmond's fan district. The area surrounding Monument Avenue was originally developed as an extension of the Franklin Street. A rich variety of architectural styles can be seen in the homes fronting this wonderful avenue including Tudor, Beaux Arts and Georgian.

The roots of this beautiful yet controversial street lay in the post civil war South. In America the Southern states still had great feelings of nostalgia for the antebellum south. The South had great pride in it's history and the Confederacy. The entire war was romanticized and thought to have been a lost cause. Even to this day Southerners will often refer to the American Civil War as "The War of Northern Aggression" or "The War for Southern Independence". One southern hero of the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee was particularly celebrated amongst Southerner's as a gentleman of renown bravery, and dignity in defeat.


Robert E. Lee Monument

Therefore it is of little surprise that Virginian's wanted to honor the commander of The Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee with a memorial and statue. Groups such as the Lee Monument Association and The United Daughters of Confederacy raised funds and selected the site for Lee's Statue in the then suburbs of Richmond. Construction on the Statue began in 1887. This statue featured General Lee mounted on horseback and is located in the center of a traffic circle today. The statue was unveiled to a crowd of 10,000 people in 1890.


Stonewall Jackson Monument

Throughout the years statues to other Confederate Civil War heros were installed for JEB Stuart, Stonewall Jackson and the Confederate President Jefferson Davis until 1920. Monument Avenue is a four lane road today. Each side of the road traveling in one direction has two lanes of traffic and one lane of parking. The street itself is paved with pavers, not traditional asphalt. A grass lawn separates the eastbound and westbound traffic and is elegantly lined with two rows of trees. The monuments are at intersections of Monument Avenue. The Sidewalks are also tree lined as well.


Jeb Stuart Monument

This Street is truly picturesque and is a must see in the fall, with autumn foliage. Monument Avenue was named one of the 10 Great Streets of America by the American Planning Association in 1997. It was selected for it's historic architecture, urban form, quality residential and religious architecture, diversity of land uses, public art and integration of multiple modes of transportation. The aesthetic qualities of grand avenue are not to be debated. It is wonderful street and remains a highly desirable place to live to this day.


Monument Avenue Architecture

Although Monument Avenue is a grand space to live in or enjoy, it nonetheless remains controversial to this day. The Street remains a symbol of the once racist and sadly pro-slavery South and can be offensive to people. It does feature statues of those whom were slave owners and pro slavery supporters. It also celebrates those whom attempted to destroy the United States through armed rebellion. Attempts have been made to temper these popular negative views of Monument Avenue through the addition of a monument to Oceanographer Matthew Maury and the famous tennis star and civil rights advocate Arthur Ashe.


Monument Avenue Trees

Monument Avenue has become a place in which Virginians and all Americans can remember and reflect upon some of our great conflicted historical figures as well as some of the deplorable things they stood for. It is a place of pride in our rich history and a place in which me must learn from mistakes of the past, in order to never repeat them again. It remains a great area to live work and play. Monument Avenue is uniquely American, full of beauty and is surely a national treasure. It is rightly designated one of Americas 10 Great Streets.