White House of the Confederacy

The White House of the Confederacy in Richmond, VA, located on the campus of the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and part of the Museum of the Confederacy, itself part of the American Civil War Museum chain.  I took this picture with the sepia setting on my camera, trying for an "old time" appearance.  I think the VCU building in the background ruins the effect somewhat.

Historical Trivia: The house that became known as the White House of the Confederacy was built in 1818, originally as the residence of Richmond resident Dr. John Brockenbrough.  The original house was constructed with only two floors, with the third floor added in the 1850s by then owner Lewis Crenshaw, who owned the house until 1861.  When Virginia seceded and joined the Confederate States of America in April of 1861, the City of Richmond bought the house from the Crenshaw family (with Confederate currency) and then leased it to the Confederate government for use as the Executive Mansion when the Confederate capital was moved from Montgomery, Alabama.  It was here that Confederate President Jefferson Davis lived, along with his family, and worked during the American Civil War until the Confederate government was forced to evacuate Richmond on April 2, 1862.  After the Confederates abandoned Richmond, occupying Union troops used the White House for their own headquarters and continued doing so until the end of Reconstruction in 1870, at which time the City of Richmond took over ownership again.  The City of Richmond converted the White House into one of the city's first post-war public schools and used it as such until 1890, when the city decided to build a larger facility and demolish the White House.  However, a foundation known as the Confederate Memorial Literary Society managed to save the White House from demolition, renovated the interior, and, in 1896, opened the first Confederate Museum in the building.  The White House continued to serve as the site of what is now the Museum of the Confederacy until 1976, when the museum's collection was moved to it's current location (next door to the White House) and the efforts began to restore the White House interior to its state to when Jefferson Davis was in residence.  Restoration was complete in 1988 and the White House reopened to the public that same year.  The Museum runs guided tours hourly at the White House, which covers only the first two floors; the third floor is used as office space for the museum staff; for preservation purposes, photography is not allowed inside the White House.