The Virginia State Capitol (daily 9am-5pm; Jan-March closed Sun; last tour 4.15pm; free), which has been in use since 1788 as the seat of the state (and, during the Civil War, Confederate) government, is the focal point of the city, visible from all over Richmond and offering a sweeping view from its columned portico. Thomas Jefferson had a hand in the design, based on his favorite building, the Roman Maison Carré in Nîmes, France. The domed central rotunda, not visible from outside, holds the only marble statue of George Washington modeled from life, and busts of Jefferson and the seven other Virginia-born US presidents line the walls. Likenesses of famous Virginians, including a solemn bronze Robert E. Lee, fill the adjacent Old House Chamber , where Aaron Burr was tried and acquitted of treason in 1807.
Just two blocks north of the capitol, the Museum of the Confederacy , 1201 E Clay St (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; $6), gives an even-handed history of the Civil War. Personal effects of Confederate leaders include J. E. B. Stuart's plumed hat, the tools used to amputate Stonewall Jackson's arms at Chancellorsville (he died), and Robert E. Lee's revolver and the pen he used to sign the surrender. An exhibition entitled "From Sunup to Sunup" highlights the reality of slavery. Next door, the so-called White House of the Confederacy (same hours; $7), a Neoclassical mansion where Jefferson Davis lived as Confederate president, has recently been restored to its 1860s appearance. Tours of the house itself are reverential and rather dull, though it's interesting to reflect that Abraham Lincoln came for a look just days before his death; far more engaging is the exhibition on Davis's staff, telling how some of his slaves were supposedly "bribed" into escaping north, and a small collection of domestic memorabilia with captions hurriedly written by Davis's wife. A $10 combination ticket allows access to both the house and museum.
Two blocks to the west, the 1812 Wickham House now forms part of the excellent Valentine Museum at 1015 E Clay St (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; $5). This Neoclassical monolith houses a small local history museum, focusing on the experience of working-class and black Americans, as well as an extensive array of furniture and pre-Civil War clothing such as whalebone corsets and other Gone with the Wind -era apparel.
West of the Convention Center on Sixth Street is a neighborhood of early nineteenth-century houses, many fronted by ornate wrought-iron balconies similar to those in New Orleans' French Quarter. Known as Jackson Ward , and filling a dozen blocks around First and Clay streets, this has been the center of Richmond's African-American community since well before the Civil War, when Richmond had the largest free black population in the US. As well as covering local history, the Maggie L. Walker House , 110 E Leigh St (Wed-Sun 9am-5pm; free), traces the working life of the physically disabled black Richmond woman who, during the 1920s, founded and ran the first non-white-male-owned bank in the US, now the Consolidated Bank and Trust. Nearby, the Black History Museum at 00 Clay St (Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm; $4) houses displays on Richmond's role as a center of Southern black society, and includes a well-presented gallery of the civil rights movement.
A refreshing example of recent urban revitalization is the landscaping of a 1.25-mile stretch of waterfront into Canal Walk , running between Downtown and Shockoe Bottom. For an interesting (and free) insight into the Confederate period, you can start or end your stroll at the Richmond Civil War Visitor Center , newly opened at the refurbished Tredegar Iron Works, down by the river below Fourth St. More of a museum in reality, it has a regular slide show about Civil War history and three floors of exhibits, including moving personal accounts of the war from ordinary soldiers.
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