Francesca's at night

I went out last night in the rain looking for a Saturday night scene in downtown Lexington, but between having to hold my umbrella, struggling with night photos for the first time, and dead camera batteries, I came up pretty empty-handed.

This is the window at Francesca's Antiques on Nelson St. It looked captivatingly warm from the cold, wet sidewalk. The window in the picture is actually one of the antiques, propped up to form a backdrop for the window display.

Spared from the fire

The top story of the Alexander-Withrow Building, Main and Washington streets. It was built in the late 18th century, originally with a pitched roof. The Italianate roof was put on when the style became popular in the 19th C.

A fire in 1796 destroyed the original town of Lexington, which was built largely of wood. Only two buildings are said to have been left standing, including this one. It now houses an art gallery and an inn.

Open gate

The main gate of the Lexington Presbyterian Church, corner of Main and Nelson streets. The patterned bricks are said to be peculiar to the town.

Thanksgiving shadows

The clear, late November light casts interesting shadows.

The millinery shop advertisement on the side of this building at Washington and Main may look like it is from another era, but it's fairly recent. It was painted when scenes from the 1993 movie "Sommersby" were filmed in Lexington. I didn't live here then, but I've been told that the streets were covered with dirt to recreate what the town might have looked like during the Civil War. (The round shadow over the mural is from one of the street-light wreaths, already up for Christmas.)

Robert E. Lee

Lexington, Virginia -- a town of 7,000 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia -- is home to Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute, resting place of Civil War generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and at the center of one of the prettiest counties in Virginia: Rockbridge County. I hope this blog will capture something of the unique character of Lexington.

Today's photo is of the Robert E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church, lit by the late afternoon sun. This church sits across the lawn from the house on the campus of Washington and Lee where General Lee spent his last years as president of Washington College. The church was built and named in his memory after his death.