Visiting Charlottesville, Virginia? May I suggest that you and yours treat yourself to a self-guided Mama's Chicken & Dumplings Walking Tour?
Pack a lunch, don on your comfy shoes, and get ready to be inspired by Charlottesville's rich African American history while imagining you're Allie on a West Main Street adventure!
Pack a lunch, don on your comfy shoes, and get ready to be inspired by Charlottesville's rich African American history while imagining you're Allie on a West Main Street adventure!
Stay at a hotel located on the ground that once was the Vinegar Hill neighborhood. There are three: Omni Charlottesville Hotel, Residence Inn by Marriot Charlottesville Downtown Mall and The Doyle Hotel.
Walk through the Staples parking lot located on Ridge Street and imagine you're walking down streets of Vinegar Hill like Third St. NW and Williams St., just like Allie did when visiting her best friend Jewel.
Walk through the Staples parking lot located on Ridge Street and imagine you're walking down streets of Vinegar Hill like Third St. NW and Williams St., just like Allie did when visiting her best friend Jewel.
Cross Fourth St. NW, and tour The Jefferson School Heritage Center. It's located inside the building that once was the "New Jefferson School," where African American kids attended grades 6-12 in Allie's day. Arrange for a guided tour if you have time.
From the Jefferson School Heritage Center, walk down Commerce Street to 6th Street NW to get a feel for the historic Starr Hill neighborhood where Rebecca Fuller McGinness and Nannie Cox Jackson (namesakes for Allie's teachers) once lived.
On the corner of Commerce and 6th St, NW, on the left, you will see the historic J. F. Bell Funeral Home still operated by descendants of the original funeral director, John Ferris Bell. Allie mentions Mr. Bell along with Dr. Stratton, who practiced in the Starr Hill neighborhood, as transporting Jewel's ailing grandfather to the basement ward located within the University of Virginia hospital.
From the Jefferson School Heritage Center, walk down Commerce Street to 6th Street NW to get a feel for the historic Starr Hill neighborhood where Rebecca Fuller McGinness and Nannie Cox Jackson (namesakes for Allie's teachers) once lived.
On the corner of Commerce and 6th St, NW, on the left, you will see the historic J. F. Bell Funeral Home still operated by descendants of the original funeral director, John Ferris Bell. Allie mentions Mr. Bell along with Dr. Stratton, who practiced in the Starr Hill neighborhood, as transporting Jewel's ailing grandfather to the basement ward located within the University of Virginia hospital.
Walk down 4th St. NW From the Jefferson School Heritage Center to the corner of West Main Street. The building on the left is a fine-dining restaurant that once housed George Pinkney Inge's grocery store called The Tavern & Grocery. Allie and her friend Jewel love to run down to Mr. Inge's grocery store to buy Mary Jane penny candies.
From there, walk east, cross over Preston Ave. and walk down Charlottesville's Historic Downtown Mall. Imagine Allie and her Mama back-to-school shopping at Woolworth's Five & Dime (then located at 204 East Main Street), and Tilman's Department Store (then located at 310 East Main Street).
While on the pedestrian mall, be sure to check out the Third Street entrance of The Paramount Theater where Allie watched films with her family. You can arrange for a tour of the Paramount to get an inside look. It's a gorgeous place.
While on the pedestrian mall, be sure to check out the Third Street entrance of The Paramount Theater where Allie watched films with her family. You can arrange for a tour of the Paramount to get an inside look. It's a gorgeous place.
From the Downtown Mall, walk to Market Street and gander at the portico of the central branch of Jefferson Madison Regional Library. There you'll see that the building once contained the U.S. postal office. It's where Allie mails her letters to Jewel after Jewel moves to Chicago. (Check out the Swanson historic plaque, which tells the story of the first Black man who sued to be admitted to UVa's law school and won the case.)
Pop around the corner and look inside the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society. (In Allie's day, this building was the library for European Americans only. Allie's library was housed inside her school.) You can schedule an ACHS guided walking tour highlighting local African American history.
Pop around the corner and look inside the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society. (In Allie's day, this building was the library for European Americans only. Allie's library was housed inside her school.) You can schedule an ACHS guided walking tour highlighting local African American history.
Next, take the University of Virginia's Free Trolley from downtown Charlottesville to the grounds of the university. Along the way, you'll see the historic First Baptist Church located at the corner of West Main and 7th Street NW. This is where Allie worships with her mother. As you turn onto The Corner, look to your left and spy the building that housed the university's hospital in the 30s. It was in the basement ward where Jewel's grandfather gets treatment.
While on the grounds, be sure to do UVa's Black History Self-Guided Walking Tour. It's truly inspiring.
While on the grounds, be sure to do UVa's Black History Self-Guided Walking Tour. It's truly inspiring.
Finally, and you may want to get an Uber for this, visit the park that's now Booker T. Washington Park. Read the historic marker that explains how In Allie's day, Washington Park was considered a "colored" park established with donated funds given to the city by Paul Goodoe McIntire. Allie's mom works for a fictional Mrs. McIntire who lives on Preston Ave.
Please let me know in the comments below what you and yours thought of your Mama's Chicken & Dumplings Walking Tour!
Please let me know in the comments below what you and yours thought of your Mama's Chicken & Dumplings Walking Tour!
A West Main Street adventure set in 1935 Vinegar Hill, a once thriving African American neighborhood that was razed by the city of Charlottesville in the 60s.
