Journeys Near and Far

Fairfax, Virginia...

• ...The Crossroads of History for Two Hundred Years

Stroll the tranquil tree-lined streets of the historic city of Fairfax, and you'll forget you're in congested northern Virginia.  This charming town offers visitors an array of unique attractions -- both inside and outside the city limits.  And with a location just fifteen miles southwest of the nation's capital, it's a great base for exploring not only northern Virginia but Washington, D.C., as well.

I began my sightseeing with a walk through Old Town Fairfax.  Though only six blocks long, the Old Town covers considerable ground in American history, and the best way to explore it is on foot.

Stop first at the Fairfax Museum and Visitor's Center, located in a restored two-story 19th centry schoolhouse.  Here, visitors learn about the area's history and attractions through detailed exhibits.

One exhibit, called "The Fairfax Story", showed me that this area was nothing more than a remote crossroads in the late 1700s, home only to a General Store called Caleb Earp's.  However, in 1790, George Mason, a statesman and politcal thinker, petitioned the Virginia General Assembly to relocate the County Court from Alexandria to Fairfax.  This made it more accessible to Fairfax County's rural inhabitants.  The court was moved to Earp's Corner, the center of Fairfax County and today's city of Fairfax.

Another exhibit I enjoyed, "Raids, Romance and Writing", tells the enchanting Romeo and Juliet-like story of beautiful Fairfax resident Antonia Julia Ford.  Ford allegedly rode out behind enemy lines to warn Confederate forces of troop movements toward Manassas.  The tale of Ford's imprisonment as a spy and her romance with Union Army Major Joseph C. Willard is one of the great love stories of the 19th century.

After leaving the Visitors Center, there are several stops you can make:

Fairfax Courthouse -- Walk to Fairfax Courthouse, where George and Martha Washington's wills were probated and still remain.  The Courthouse lawn (photo above, right) was the scene of one of the earliest skirmishes of the Civil War --  Confederate Captain John Quincy Marr, the first Confederate officer to be killed in action, was shot on the lawn on June 1, 1861.

Ratcliffe-Allison House and Pozer Gardens -- (Photo top, left).  Built in 1812, it's the oldest historic residence remaining in the city.  It served many functions, including that of a cobbler shop, and was occupied until the 1950s; the house was home to famed gardener and writer Kitty Pozer.

Fairfax's Old-Town Hall -- Once the city's social center, the Old-Town Hall is another site to see.  Joseph E. Willard, the only son of Confederate spy Antonia Ford and her Union captor, Joseph C. Willard, built this Classical-Revival building in 1900 as a gift to the city.

Historic Blenheim -- (Photo below) is a 12-acre estate that was once part of a 360-acre farm owned by several generations of the locally prominent Willcoxon family.  What made my visit to Blenheim so interesting was the Civil War soldier graffiti in the attic.  Blenheim contains the most voluminous and best-preserved Civil War graffiti in the nation.  The art, signatures and poetry written by Union soldiers during their occupation in 1862-1863 gave me insight into typical soldier life during the Civil War.

Outside the City -- Venturing further out from the city of Fairfax, there is much to do.  I'll write about my visits to Sully Plantation, Mount Vernon, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Gunston Hall, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in future posts.

Whether your aim is to visit historical sites, explore museums or see the nation's capital, all of these (and many more) sites can be reached within a 30-minute drive from Fairfax -- where travelers have been rediscovering the past and savoring the present for two hundred years.

Note:   I haven't read it yet, but I found a book on Amazon.com called The Spy in Crinoline:  Antonia Ford's Civil War, by Karla Vernon, for any romantics or history-lovers out there who want to learn more about Antonia Julia Ford.

Courthouse Photo courtesy of Destination Fairfax.  Other photos by Melody Moser.

Portsmouth's Commodore Theater

It's More than Just a Movie at Portsmouth's Commodore Theatre...

...It's an experience.  A fun one, at that.  Last weekend when I was in Virginia, I spent an evening with some friends at the Commodore Theatre in historic Olde Towne Portsmouth watching Pirates of the Caribbean:  At World's End.  And whenever I was able to tear my eyes away from Johnny Depp, I spent some time admiring my surroundings. 

The Art deco style motion picture theater, which originally opened it's doors in 1945, became the restoration project of Fred Schoenfeld in 1987 after being closed for twelve years.   Fred, who I had the pleasure to speak with before the movie started, told us he wanted to restore the theater back to the way it was in 1945.  He did, however, reduce the seating capacity from 1,000 seats to 318 on the balcony, and 190 on the main floor, which he designed as a dining area.

And that's what makes the Commodore experience so much fun -- being able to dine while you're watching a movie.  Phones on the tables allow movie-watchers to place their orders for a variety of great-tasting meals, including "Previews" such as Fried Cheese Sticks or a Spinach and Artichoke Skin Dipper, "Feature Presentations" such as Fish & Chips, Breaded Fantail Shrimp, pizza or sandwiches, and "Great Endings", which include Hot Apple-Caramel Deep Dish Pie and Gourmet Florida Keylime Pie, among others.  Beer, wine and soft drinks are available, too.

Meals must be ordered before the movie begins; deserts and drinks can be ordered before or during the first half-hour of the show.  And once you're involved in the movie you barely notice the wait staff -- at least not when Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom are onscreen.  Clad in black, the waiters quietly deliver your dinner.  And the cushy seats move around easily so you can always get a good view of the film.

Fred designed the theater's state-of-the-art sound system with the help of George Lucas' THX group at LucasFilm in Marin County, California.  The theater shows 35 MM film exclusively in Dolby Digital sound, with 9 large JBL speakers mounted behind the screen and 22 surround speakers placed throughout the auditorium.  The theater's 20 by 40 foot side murals, behind which 6 of the speakers are located, were completely redone with the original scenes. 

Some other interesting changes Fred made:  the kitchen occupies the old manager's office and men's smoking lounge and the ladies' smoking lounge was restored with new wall coverings, a chandelier and comfortable furniture.  The theater curtains are designed with the "old time" presentation of having both a house curtain as well as a screen curtain.   One more plus?  Other than previews of coming attractions, there are no commercials shown prior to the film.

Another cool thing is that the balcony patrons and main floor patrons are not visible to each other allowing each to view the screen without distractions -- I had to climb up to the balcony to see what it looks like.

So if you plan to be in or near Olde Towne Portsmouth, you should definitely see a movie at the Commodore.  Next up is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, starting Wednesday, July 11th, 2007.  Get there early!

[Note:  For more information, call 757-393-6962.]

Bottom two photos courtesy of the Commodore Theatre.