- Joined
- Jul 4, 2016
- Location
- Rockbridge County, Virginia
A good friend of mine & I were in Lexington yesterday. He told me that he'd never been to Lee Chapel. I couldn't help myself, & being that I hadn't been there in a couple years myself, thought it would be worth seeing in person whatever changes had been made.
Wow. Here's a few pics I took of the visit:
Right off the bat, I was taken by the "security" of the place. It seemed really unnecessary, & overly dramatic. There were 2 security guards at the entrance when you walk in, and you have to now walk through a metal detector. It had a really weird vibe to it. Granted, I've been here many times over the years, and this security presence is relatively new. At least the over the top multiple guards, and metal detector. It wasn't that long ago that Lee Chapel was staffed with a Docent, and History major student volunteers.
Anyways here's the view in side:
How's that for a sanitized view..? No longer will students be forced to look at Edward Valentine's Recumbent Lee. Or anything depicting Lee for that matter. The docent gave her presentation on the place that was very focused on the building itself. She was very firm that this was not a church. Which I found odd.
While the building was multi-purpose from the beginning, Robert E Lee (and many students) attended religious services in the chapel daily before retreating to his office downstairs. None of which was mentioned. I asked her after she was done speaking why nothing about Lee, or his attendance in the Chapel was mentioned. She never answered. Just asked what I wanted to know. I then pointed out how she didn't even mention that Lee attended services daily in the Chapel, and sat right over (pointed) there. She let out a sigh, and said well other guests are here, and walked away to greet them.
I'm not doing well at historical sites lately.....
Here's a close up of the covering wall:
Finally, Edward Valentine's Recumbent Lee:
The gift shop was gone a couple years ago when I last visited. It had been replaced with a "gallery". At the time it didn't feel like it belonged. At least now there's some resemblance of significance to the Chapel:
Pretty disappointed to learn the museum is still closed:
Of course I just couldn't help myself, & pulled the curtain back. Of course they already knew folks like me would do that so they installed a partition blocking view. Though you could see around it, & the museum looked undisturbed (from the limited view I could see), and very much like it did the last time I toured it several years ago. There were some really cool artifacts in this museum, as well as a ton of information discussing Lee's contributions to the school. I'm convinced that's why it's closed.
They (like some others) don't want to humanize Lee, or talk about his contributions or significance to the school. It is pretty clear to anyone studied on Lee and his tenure as President of the college, it may not exist today without his influence. Certainly when you combine his son's tenure after. Lee brought attention, donors, and students. From around 40 students in 1865 to over 400 at the time of his death. The most dramatic increase in enrollment for the schools history.
Lee's Presidency transformed the school from a financially struggling small college, to a modern university. He incorporated Lexington Law School in to the college. Added courses in Journalism, and business. Expanded the engineering, and agricultural programs. The school wouldn't be what it is today without the contributions of Robert E Lee & family. It's sad that the university is ashamed of him, & does their best to hide most of this.
Downstairs there were 2 more security guards. I watched in disappointment as a young boy asked them a question about the chapel, & they both shrugged their shoulders exclaiming, "I don't know". Downstairs used to be manned by History major student volunteers. They were typically eager to engage in conversation, & well informed. What a shame....
Well, they haven't dug up Traveller yet....
Wow. Here's a few pics I took of the visit:
Right off the bat, I was taken by the "security" of the place. It seemed really unnecessary, & overly dramatic. There were 2 security guards at the entrance when you walk in, and you have to now walk through a metal detector. It had a really weird vibe to it. Granted, I've been here many times over the years, and this security presence is relatively new. At least the over the top multiple guards, and metal detector. It wasn't that long ago that Lee Chapel was staffed with a Docent, and History major student volunteers.
Anyways here's the view in side:
How's that for a sanitized view..? No longer will students be forced to look at Edward Valentine's Recumbent Lee. Or anything depicting Lee for that matter. The docent gave her presentation on the place that was very focused on the building itself. She was very firm that this was not a church. Which I found odd.
While the building was multi-purpose from the beginning, Robert E Lee (and many students) attended religious services in the chapel daily before retreating to his office downstairs. None of which was mentioned. I asked her after she was done speaking why nothing about Lee, or his attendance in the Chapel was mentioned. She never answered. Just asked what I wanted to know. I then pointed out how she didn't even mention that Lee attended services daily in the Chapel, and sat right over (pointed) there. She let out a sigh, and said well other guests are here, and walked away to greet them.
I'm not doing well at historical sites lately.....
Here's a close up of the covering wall:
Finally, Edward Valentine's Recumbent Lee:
The gift shop was gone a couple years ago when I last visited. It had been replaced with a "gallery". At the time it didn't feel like it belonged. At least now there's some resemblance of significance to the Chapel:
Pretty disappointed to learn the museum is still closed:
Of course I just couldn't help myself, & pulled the curtain back. Of course they already knew folks like me would do that so they installed a partition blocking view. Though you could see around it, & the museum looked undisturbed (from the limited view I could see), and very much like it did the last time I toured it several years ago. There were some really cool artifacts in this museum, as well as a ton of information discussing Lee's contributions to the school. I'm convinced that's why it's closed.
They (like some others) don't want to humanize Lee, or talk about his contributions or significance to the school. It is pretty clear to anyone studied on Lee and his tenure as President of the college, it may not exist today without his influence. Certainly when you combine his son's tenure after. Lee brought attention, donors, and students. From around 40 students in 1865 to over 400 at the time of his death. The most dramatic increase in enrollment for the schools history.
Lee's Presidency transformed the school from a financially struggling small college, to a modern university. He incorporated Lexington Law School in to the college. Added courses in Journalism, and business. Expanded the engineering, and agricultural programs. The school wouldn't be what it is today without the contributions of Robert E Lee & family. It's sad that the university is ashamed of him, & does their best to hide most of this.
Downstairs there were 2 more security guards. I watched in disappointment as a young boy asked them a question about the chapel, & they both shrugged their shoulders exclaiming, "I don't know". Downstairs used to be manned by History major student volunteers. They were typically eager to engage in conversation, & well informed. What a shame....
Well, they haven't dug up Traveller yet....
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