City: Richmond, VA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (804) 644-3041

Address: 2501 Monument Ave.

Description: Designed by John Russell Pope for the Branch family, this Tudor Revival showplace was a winter retreat—their spring place was in Italy, and their summer home a farm in upstate New York. Something tells me they weren’t exactly homeless in the fall. For years the headquarters of an insurance company—hard to believe, but true—the Branch House has been reborn as the Virginia Center for Architecture, one of the few architecture museums in the Southeast. Besides showcasing the amazing bit of architecture sitting right here on Monument Avenue, the idea at the Virginia Center for Architecture is to focus on the importance of the built environment in general. The Long Gallery is the main exhibition space and is glorious to be in even if it’s empty. A typical exhibit is the annual Design Awards display that tips its hat to the year’s award winners in the mid-Atlantic region. Children love to build, so it makes sense that there’s plenty here to appeal to younger children. Dominating the Chapel Gallery is a Lego model of the Branch House that kids would love the chance to replicate. Occasional family days offer a variety of activities in the education room, which isn’t wheelchair accessible. Look closely wherever you go in this building—up is especially important as the ceilings are often plaster masterpieces, but observe door handles, doors, and windowpanes. Every surface tells something about design and form and function.