Monument Avenue

This little stretch of Richmond's signature boulevard is just a few blocks from my home. I left the traffic light in deliberately so you could see that Monument Avenue is not a tourist byway but a living street through the city. It derived its name, naturally, from the monuments dotting a number of cross streets. As Wikipedia so neatly sums it up, "The first monument, a statue of Robert E. Lee was erected in 1890. Between 1900 and 1925, Monument Avenue exploded with architecturally significant houses, churches and apartment buildings. A tree-lined grassy mall divides the east and west-bound sides of the street and is punctuated by statues memorializing Virginian Confederate participants of the Civil War Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Jefferson Davis, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and Matthew Fontaine Maury." The statue you see in the background here was the last one added, in 1996, and led to a great deal of racial tension. It commemorates Arthur Ashe, a Richmond native and international tennis star who happens to be African-American. The controversy has died down and if you would like to see a closer shot of the statue, click here. http://tinyurl.com/cn4hlfr
I am so happy the flowering cherry trees are in bloom for Sunday's Easter Festival where Monument Avenue is the place to be.

[karenann]

A gorgeous avenue and lovely color!! Ashe was such a talented and graceful tennis player ... I remember him well. Nice to see that statue!

[Kerri]

Beautiful

[Terry]

what a street to live on, I would not want to leave

[Rick Schies]

Now that looks quite beautiful

[Judi]

Lovely trees, such a shame about Arthur Ashe. Richmond should be proud of him. (I"m sure most Richmonites are ) .

[Mrs. Smith]

Beautiful! I'd love to see this sometime! Wow!

[Phil Howcroft]

the traffic light gives the shot a very surreal feel allison...mother nature beauty versus man made sensibility

[The Blue Gnu]

Quite a sight and really interesting.

[Barb Smith]

Look at those beautiful cherry trees. Spring has arrived in Richmond.

[Ann H. LeFevre]

Cherry trees are really so pretty when they flower. It must really be so lovely to see them in person. Too bad about the controversy over the stature. He was a great tennis player- I saw him play many years ago. He represented the best of the sport and was an impeccable person too. It's a jump from all the civil war statues, but certainly something I think Richmond should be proud of.