Panorama (Montross, Virginia) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Panorama
|
|
 |
|
 Location in Virginia
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | 1005 Panorama Road, Montross, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Area | 133.5 acres (54.0 ha) |
| Built | 1932 |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 10001186 |
| Added to NRHP | January 31, 2011 |
Panorama is a historic estate located in Montross, Virginia. A historic estate is a large property with an old, important house. The main house at Panorama is a two-and-a-half-story brick building. It was built in 1932 and designed by an architect named Joseph Evans Sperry. The house sits on a large property of over 130 acres (about 52 hectares).
The house was built for Charles E. Stuart, who was a local politician and lawyer. A politician is someone who works in government. The house looks almost exactly as it did when it was first built. It is located between two parts of Chandler's Mill Pond. The house has two main fronts. One faces the long driveway from the road, and the other faces south towards the pond. You can easily see the house from Kings Highway (Virginia Route 3), which crosses the dam of Chandler's Mill Pond.
Contents
How Panorama Looks
A Special Style of Architecture
Panorama is built in a style called Colonial Revival. This means it looks like the grand homes built during America's colonial times, but it was actually built much later. This style often includes features like tall columns, symmetrical designs, and brick exteriors.
Similarities to Another Historic Home
Panorama looks a lot like another famous old house called Bushfield. Bushfield was the home of John Augustine Washington, who was the brother of George Washington, America's first president.
The outside of Panorama copies some of the changes made to Bushfield. Both houses have two main fronts. One front has three sections with a part that sticks out in the middle, which is where the main entrance is. The other front has a very grand, two-story porch with tall columns. Even the staircase inside Panorama is a mirror image of the one in Bushfield Manor. This shows how much the design of Panorama was inspired by Bushfield.
National Recognition
Listed on the National Register
In 2011, Panorama was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a special list of places in the United States that are important because of their history, architecture, or what they represent. Being on this list helps protect these places and recognize their value.
The Name "Panorama"
Where the Name Came From
The name "Panorama" for this estate in Montross, Virginia, actually came from an older Stuart family home. That original home was in King George County, Virginia.
The first Panorama mansion was built on a high ridge. From there, you could see beautiful views of the Chotank Creek and the Potomac Valley. Because of these wide, beautiful views, the name "Panorama" was a perfect fit for the property. This first house was a two-story mansion built in the Greek Revival style, which was popular in the 1800s. It stood in a large yard with many trees.
The original Panorama estate was bought by Richard Stuart in the 1830s for his daughter, Margaret Robinson Stuart. She and her husband, Thomas Lunsford Lomax, built the first Panorama mansion. They raised their children there. Later, the estate was used by the Stuart family as a summer home. The original mansion was left empty for many years and was eventually destroyed by a fire in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Today, only a small part of the old road that led to the original estate remains.
