Southern Gothic at its Finest 🪦
A Visit to Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery
Hey y’all. Happy Saturday.
I hope I help you find some peace this weekend.
On this week’s walk, we’ll visit historic Hollywood Cemetery.
No, not that Hollywood Cemetery.
I mean Richmond’s oldest public cemetery — all 135 magnificent acres of it.
Founded in 1847, Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery is 56 years older than that more famous town in California.
It was named for the stunning holly trees that grow on the grounds.
Hollywood Cemetery is full of exquisite Gothic revival statuary and gravestones — each one a part of Richmond’s unique story.
We’ll pay a visit to President’s Circle, the final resting place of two U.S. Presidents — James Monroe and John Tyler.
You’ll see reminders of Richmond’s troubled past as the capital of the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
Plus, there’s a really cool cast iron sculpture of a dog.
My favorite part of Hollywood Cemetery is that it was created in the rural garden style.
It was meant to be an area for the living and the dead to enjoy in peace.
To create a relaxing park like setting, landscape architect John Notman designed Hollywood Cemetery around the existing tree canopy.
Therefore, Hollywood Cemetery contains some of the best examples of native Virginia tree species in the Commonwealth — and is an accredited arboretum.
It’s a great place to hug a really old tree. Many of them are over 100 years old.
I hope you enjoy this week’s walk:
I plan on filming a series of walks through this amazing cemetery. I want to do a walk focused on the cool old trees.
I hope you’ll come along 😊
Turn on closed captioning if you’d like me to narrate the video. I include lots of local history.
Here is a map of today’s walk 😊
I’m thinking up fun things for paid subscribers — like in-depth subscriber-only articles on historic places and paid subscriber-only walks.
I’m interested in your ideas, let me know in the comments!
There will also be paid subscriber-only restaurant recommendations 😉
I might also do a calendar that founding members get for free, but I’m not there yet.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel!
I’d love for you to join me on more journeys through Virginia!