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University of Richmond (or U of R) University of Richmond (or U of R) Review

The University of Richmond (or U of R, as it's locally called) is the closest thing in Virginia to a northeastern Ivy League School. My friends who attend (or are alumni of) the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and William & Mary in Williamsburg might beg to differ, but I still contend U of R has more of an Ivy League feel than those two other fine universities. U of R has that Ivy League feel because of the old style architecture of the residence and academic halls. Much of the student body is from the Northeastern United States. A good friend of mine goes here. It was hard narrowing down just 5 photos for this beautiful campus. Each building has its own unique history and most buildings have quite an imposing architectural style. For fans of architecture, the U of R campus could be a VT page unto itself. Its rolling hills, high pine trees, and Westhampton Lake give it a leafy, parklike feel. However, U of R hasn't always been at this site. U of R traces its roots to 1830, when Virginia Baptists opened a men's seminary. It was incorporated as Richmond College in 1840. During the War for Southern Independence, the University was used first as a hospital by Confederate soldiers and then as a barracks for invading Yankee troops. In 1870, the University opened the T.C. Williams School of Law, one of the oldest law schools in the state. In 1914, Dr. Frederic Boatwright led the move from downtown Richmond to the University's current location: a 350-acre tract of land in the West End of Richmond that was then the site of an abandoned amusement park. On 15 October 1992, U of R gave birth to a new style of presidential debate. Candidates George Bush (the daddy), Bill Clinton and Ross Perot came to campus for the first-ever "town hall" televised presidential debate broadcast worldwide. Since then, the style came to be known as "the Richmond format."

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BB & T (old First National Bank) Building BB & T (old First National Bank) Building Review

The old First National Bank Building was one of the first high-rise buildings in Richmond (built in 1913). It helped create the skyline of Richmond and dominated it for almost 40 years and was the tallest building in town for almost 20. The building is still a landmark structure along Main Street and has been placed on the National Register of Historic places. BB&T and several other tenants occupy this building today. Because Lee works for BB&T and occasionally works at this downtown office when called to do it, he was able to get us in to see the architecture from the inside. The old First National vault is used for display and several movies have been filmed here and feature the vault.

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the river The River Review

Many Richmonders go for bank holiday weekends to the river. I don't mean the James River that bisects the city, but to cottages they maintain or rent along the Rappahannock or Potomac Rivers. In the early 1970s, my family would rent a cottage in Bowler's Wharf (near Sharps), Virginia.