FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | March 5, 2004 |
Contact: Maribeth Cowan, Public Relations Director
(804) 342-9665 email:
maribeth@vahistorical.org
ENDANGERED ARCHITECTURAL DWELLINGS ARE SUBJECT OF SOUTHERN ARCHITECTURE
IN THE BALANCE: PHOTOGRAPHS BY GASTON WARD CALLUM II, ON VIEW THROUGH JUNE 6, AT
THE VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Richmond, VA–For more than a decade documentary photographer Gaston Callum has photographed nearly
800 dilapidated buildings, primarily in eight southern states. His primary objective is to draw attention to their need to be
preserved and to publicize their existence, condition, and availability for study. Southern Architecture in the Balance:
Photographs by Gaston Ward Callum II, a traveling exhibition organized by the Southland Historic Preservation and
on view at the Virginia Historical Society through June 6, 2004, presents thirty of these images, ten from Virginia,
of plantation mansions, yeoman farmhouses, slave cabins, dependencies, mills, and churches that are in dire need
of preservation.
In some cases these are homes of historically significant residents, such as Edmund Ruffin, who fired the first shot
at Fort Sumter igniting the Civil War, and in others they are important examples of centuries-old architecture. In every
instance, losing them is unacceptable to Callum. That is why he founded Southland Historic Preservation in 1997,
which links this pictorial archive of endangered historic buildings and sites to a preservation organization. Some
of the properties have been dismantled and moved, others have undergone or are undergoing preservation,
and still others have been destroyed or remain abandoned. This exhibition brings to light the importance of
preserving historic architecture before it is too late to be salvaged.
The Virginia Historical Society is located at 428 N. Boulevard. The Story of Virginia, An American Experience,
a 10,000-square-foot exhibition with more than a thousand objects covering all of Virginia history from prehistoric
times to the present is featured in the Robins Center for Virginia History. Hours: Monday-Saturday 10am - 5pm
and Sunday 1pm - 5pm (Museum Galleries only). Admission: $5/adults, $4/seniors 55+ ($2/Tuesdays–galleries
only), $3/children and students, free/members. Admission to the galleries is free on Mondays. For group tour
information, call (804) 342-9652. For more information, please call (804) 358-4901 or visit
www.vahistorical.org.
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