Customer Reviews

The Virginia Landmarks Register, Fourth Edition

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased one of the first editions to the book back in 1995 and have been buying the revised editions ever since. The book is great for history buffs, loyal Virginians, and tourists to the area. Provides a county/city guide to all registered landmarks. It's an excellent gift for someone from Virginia or a Virginia Lover...

For this much money and prestige, I expected this book to be everything Richard Guy Wilson's BUILDINGS OF VIRGINIA is and more. Well, it's more... and less. It's more in that its coverage is the entire state, and not limited to the tidewater and the piedmont (as Dr. Wilson's book is). It's less in that its building selection is limited to "landmarks", with a palpable emphasis on rural locations. The essays are more broad and historically contextual than those in Dr. Wilson's book. Also, the editor treats towns and historic districts as entire sites rather than as a collection of cataloged buildings. For example, rather than a treatment of 30 structures in Williamsburg (as could be expected for such an important site), this book offers a detailed view of a very few critical structures (such as Bruton Parish Church and the Randolph House), and a general statement about the "Williamsburg Historic District." This method will seem incomplete to some, and wonderfully concise to others. The book is arranged alphabetically by county (and independent city) name.

Every entry includes a black & white photograph, some good, some just adequate, and some far too old to be of much use today. Quite a few of the sites featured in the book look nothing like their respective photographs (undoubtedly from previous editions) suggest. A section of structures lost or otherwise removed from the Register is good, even though it's sad to see some of those lovely buildings die.

Virginia has an astonishing variety of important, historic architecture. This book treats the ensemble more as a whole than a sum of parts. For readers more interested in depth than breadth, buy Dr. Wilson's book, which is part of the "Buildings of the United States" series. Better yet, buy both. $$$$$$

A note to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources: Give us a new edition!