Page 7 - Downtown Walking Tour

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800 BLOCK MAIN STREET
15 827-829 Main Street. Built in 1905, the Krise Building oc-
cupies one corner of what has been Lynchburg’s premier business location for over 200 years. Upon construction, the “skyscraper” was Lynchburg’s tallest building, and featured a number of modern amenities for its time, including an automatic sweeper, mail chutes, and electrical hydraulic elevators. 16 801 Main Street. Built as
the Peoples National Bank building by 1914, this tower replaced the Krise Building as the city’s tallest. Three quarter Ionic columns grace the Main Street façade, while pilasters support the secondary Eighth Street side. The building is surfaced in terra cotta and stone, and is topped by a re ned cornice. The structure has served as the First and Merchants Bank, Nations Bank, and Bank of America.
700 BLOCK MAIN STREET
17 The pair of three story houses at 713-715 Main Street rep-
resent some of the last vestiges of Lynchburg’s early Federal period commercial architecture. Probably built during the rst quarter of the 19th century, the gable-roofed buildings have seen some façade alterations, including new storefronts and surfaces on the Main Street façade (stucco on 715 and new brick on 713). The side and rear façades utilize the three course American brick bond, and remnants of plaster interior walls from a formerly adjacent structure of the period can be seen on the east façade.
600 BLOCK MAIN STREET
18 600 Main Street. Lynchburg’s 1905 Academy of Music Theatre
is the last of seven Academy theatres originally built in Virginia. The structure was designed by architects Frye & Chesterman and suffered a re in 1911. Entertainers who graced the stage include Otis Skin- ner, Will Rodgers, and Paderewski. This was Lynchburg’s rst fully electri ed building, and was the city’s rst structure to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. After more than 100 years
of existence, it is experiencing a renaissance, and is becoming an anchor of Lynchburg’s downtown revitalization.
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