Zack and I thought it would be fun to do a little sightseeing around Staunton to show those of you back home what the town actually looks like. It's a concentrated downtown that has narrow, often one-way streets, and it is split into five historic districts.The picture at left is of Beverley Street, which is named after the first landowner of Staunton — William Beverley. Beverley purchased the first town plat in 1746. The city founded the following year, but wasn't incorporated until 1871. One nugget to note is that Staunton is credited with being the first city in the world to adopt the city manager form of government, in 1908. The move was a product of the Progressive Movement, which was used to "cure many of the ills of American society that had developed during the great spurt of industrial growth in the last quarter of the 19th century," according to NWtravel magazine.
This is where I work, The News Leader, which is on Central Street. The paper was founded in 1904 by Brig. Gen. Hierome L. Opie as The Evening Leader. Actually, there was a predecessor to the paper, The Daily News, founded in 1890. Opie actually worked at The Daily News, then started his own paper to compete with it, called The Morning Leader. He
eventually bought out the competition, combined the two papers and created The Staunton News-Leader. The Opie family sold the paper in 1979 to a company that was purchased by Gannett in 1995.
Ok, I know. I got a little caught up in the history lessons. So, here are some photos of other places downtown:
These buildings are both located along Beverley Street.
This is the Baja Bean Co. It's just around the corner from my work and Zack and I meet up a lot on my dinner break. This is one of our favorites, with homemade salsa and daily specials. There's also a bar in the back. There are a half dozen places that have actual bars, but all of them, including Baja, close around midnight. In fact, I haven't found a bar that is open past midnight yet. So ... very ... thirsty ... :-(
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