Page 5 - Downtown Walking Tour

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MAIN STREET 1300 BLOCK MAIN STREET
• Representing a hint of art deco style, the Piggly Wiggly building at 1307 Main (at left in photo 1)was built around 1948 as one of Lynch- burg’s rst self-service grocery stores. To add to its novelty, the store featured a dumbwaiter system that delivered customers’ groceries to the curb for easy pick-up. 1 Designed by architect August Forsberg, the Bowman & Moore Leaf Tobacco Factory at 1301 Main was built by tobacconist Maurice Moore in 1880. Moore’s initials “MM” can be seen in two of the marble keystones above the windows. This structure was built on the site of Feguson’s Tobacco Factory, which was a hospi- tal during the Civil War. 2 Built in 1902, 1300 Main boasts intricate brickwork and an elaborate, multi-level cornice.
1200 BLOCK MAIN STREET
3 In the early 19th Century, this lower portion of Main Street (then called Second Street), was a prime residential neighborhood. One example of this is the structure at 1200-04 Main, which was built as a dwelling by prominent citizen Meredith Lambeth by 1802. Soon after selling the property to Major Oliver Towles in 1814, the house became known as Cross Keys Tavern. It is said that Thomas Jefferson once ate a morning meal there while en route to Poplar Forest. The tavern was converted to three storefronts around 1900. 4 Across the street at 1219 Main, the Lynchburg Community Market carries on a Lynchburg tradition since 1783. 5 With its stepped façade and circular window, a striking example of turn-of-the-century manufacturing & showroom space can be found at 1222 Main. • The massive slate-roofed ware- house at 1225 Main was built in 1878, and served as a James T. Davis paint store, amongst other things.
1110 BLOCK MAIN STREET
6 The largest and most prominent building on this block is the 1910 City Auditorium and Market at 1112-16 Main. This edi ce was de- signed by the architectural rm of Frye & Chesterman, and replaced an 1873 market building on the same site. The market occupied the rst oor, and more than 2,000 people could be seated in the second oor auditorium. • 1107 Main is a typical example of evolution in store- front architecture. The 1880’s Italianate façade was revamped in the mid 20th century, creating an entrance of native Lynchburg Greenstone on the rst oor. • The buildings at 1101-03 and 1122-24 Main Street were all built between 1900 and 1910.
• Entries without numbers are located on map but not illustrated 456