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In addition to being the state capital, Richmond, Virginia, was also the capital of the South during the Civil War. Today Richmond is a vibrant city that embraces its historical past while looking toward future developments.

After Reconstruction, businesses developed, and the warehouse district - Shockoe Bottom - was rebuilt, boosting Richmond's economic growth. Then & Now: Richmond uses late-19th-century photographs of Richmond neighborhoods, churches, businesses, and schools, contrasting these historic photographs with contemporary views of the same Richmond sites such as St. John's Church, the Capitol, Broad Street, Main Street, and the Old Stone House. Then & Now: Richmond takes a step back in time and compares the glory of the past with the progress of the future.

Blacksburg has always been on the frontier's edge: pushing the boundaries of westward expansion in Colonial Virginia, as a leader in agricultural and mechanical education with the founding of a land-grant university in 1872, and home to a leading research institution known today as Virginia Tech. The history revealed by numerous historic structures is the foundation that makes Blacksburg "a Special Place."

Just miles from the Washington, D.C. beltway is the small community of Lorton, Virginia. By the time it was formally named Lorton in the late 1800s, the area had already seen much history in the making. At the turn of the century, Theodore Roosevelt scouted out the territory for the makings of a new detention center in answer to the prison problems in the District of Columbia. When the land reverted back to Fairfax County in the late 1900s, the Lorton prison facilities were closed, and the community began a rapid development from a poor rural area to one of high-end

housing. Through the vintage and modern photos in this volume, walk the grounds of our founding fathers. See the home of George Mason, author of the Bill of Rights, and visit Pohick Church, designed by George Washington. Try to hear the laughter and conversation by the fire at the Fairfax Tavern, a favorite stopping place for anyone heading north. Witness the radical change from an agrarian Lorton to the subdivisions of today.

South Norfolk, Virginia, now a part of the bustling metropolis of Chesapeake, was once a small, close-knit community with sprawling farms and cozy locally-owned businesses. South Norfolk had its beginnings as a village. As population increased, it became a town, then a city of the second class, and finally, a city of the first class. By this time, South Norfolk was already offering residents a friendly, small-town identity in the midst of lovely homes, schools, and churches. Through vintage and present-day photographs, readers will experience the nostalgic and striking contrast between the world of old South Norfolk and the Chesapeake of today. Step back in time when life moved at a slower pace, and the community blossomed with friendship, trust, and goodwill. Meet prominent families such as the Portlocks and the Tilleys; travel dirt streets lined with horse-drawn wagons and a variety of vendors; walk the wintry snow-covered paths of beautiful Lakeside Park; visit the Grand Theatre, Jus Maid Ice Cream Store, Gornto's Bakery; or catch up with the gang at Preston's Pharmacy.