Resources

Staunton’s residents and approximately 100,000 annual visitors  have a long list of historic, cultural, entertainment, and recreational resources to take advantage of throughout the city.  The city-wide distribution of these primary resource areas is shown on Map 22.

As mentioned in the Economy section of this plan, tourism growth is one of the city’s key economic development initiatives. If the Staunton Frontier Trail is to reinforce efforts to expand tourism in the city, the trail’s route planning must consider the locations of the most popular tourist sites and the areas with the highest concentration of visitor attractions.  Maps 23 and 23A show the locations of many of these attractions in the city and Table 7 provides a description of each.

According to Staunton’s Director of Tourism, the walking tour of the most notable historic structures has been and continues to be the most popular tourism activity downtown. Aside from the historic downtown walking tour, the top three individual attractions which receive the most visitors are: the Frontier Culture Museum (#1), the Blackfriars Playhouse (#2), and the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace (#3 – part of the historic walking tour).

One of the most important objectives of this plan is to link the city’s recreation resources and open spaces.  This section also provides and inventory and description of the locations to be linked.  Staunton’s inventory of recreational resources includes three larger city parks and two small neighborhood parks, as well as a number of smaller public and private recreational facilities and open spaces. Located in the southern and western sections of the city, each of the three larger parks has a unique character and supports a different set of activities.  Betsy Bell Park offers a quiet, natural forest environment. Montgomery Hall Park supports much of the traditional sports activity. Gypsy Hill Park not only accommodates traditional sports, but it also serves as a true community gathering place for various recreational and cultural activities. The 2003 Comprehensive Plan also indicates the desire to better incorporate the various public school facilities into the city’s recreation network. This list includes six city schools, one state school, and one private college.

Central Business District

As shown on Map 24, a great number of the historic, cultural, and entertainment resources in Staunton are located in the central business district within a quarter-mile radius from the downtown intersection of Augusta Street and Beverley Street – including the Blackfriars Playhouse and Woodrow Wilson Birthplace. If the radius is extended to a half mile, the vast majority of the city’s primary attractions are included – except the Frontier Culture Museum two miles to the southeast. This key central area is also where most of the city’s public and private development investment has been and will be focused – including such high-profile projects as the proposed Globe Theatre, proposed Staunton Performing Arts Center, R.R. Smith Center for History and Art, Stonewall Jackson Hotel and Conference Center, American Hotel redevelopment, and possible Staunton Correctional Center / Original Western State Hospital redevelopment.

Original Western State Hospital Property

Although this property is currently abandoned, it holds a great deal of potential for Staunton because it combines attractive land with historic structures and proximity to downtown (see Map 25). If plans are realized, a development team (including Miller and Associates)  would transform the 78-acre original Western State Hospital complex into a mixed-use development. Project details are lacking because a purchase agreement is still being negotiated with the state, but it would reportedly include a combination of residential space, commercial offices, retail, hotels, and restaurants. A development of this size could certainly begin a significant southeastern expansion of commercial activity toward Betsy Bell Park around Statler Boulevard and Route 250. With careful planning, this property would be an ideal link between the CBD and Betsy Bell Park.

Frontier Culture Museum

Although it is somewhat removed from the hub of activity downtown, the Frontier Culture Museum is the top tourist attraction in the city because of its uniqueness, proximity to the interstates, and number of school group tours hosted throughout the year. Similar to the downtown historic walking tour, the Frontier Culture Museum offers a combination of entertainment, education, and outdoor enjoyment. Of the museum’s 208 acres of prime real estate, most is currently undeveloped aside from the abandoned DeJarnette buildings, the farm interpretation areas, and the parking lot (see Map 26). Most of the land, including the farm areas, allows visitors to enjoy wide-open, lush fields and rolling hills. This natural landscape and celebration of early rural America is surely a welcome break for road-weary travelers.

More intense development is planned for some of this green space and some has already taken place. A couple of years ago a three-acre corner of the property at the intersection of Frontier Drive and Route 250 was leased and a Sheetz gas station was built. Even larger plans are in the works for a portion of the land along Route 250. In 2003 and 2004, $270,000 in transportation enhancement funds have been awarded by VDOT for the proposed $1 million Shenandoah Valley Crossroads Travel Information Center which would also be accompanied by a significant retail development.

By creating attractive corridors which clearly direct people between the city’s key historic, cultural, and entertainment resources, the Staunton Frontier Trail will encourage broader enjoyment of the city by visitors and residents alike. On the Frontier Culture Museum and original Western State Hospital properties, the trail will help preserve a portion of the natural beauty and open space which will certainly be coming under increasing development pressure in the near future.

Parks

Betsy Bell Park, the smallest of the three main parks, is located between Statler Boulevard, Frontier Drive, and Richmond Road in the southeastern section of the city (see Map 27). The original 49 acres were donated to Staunton by Charles Catlett in 1941 with hopes that it would serve both as an area for outdoor enjoyment and as a memorial to U.S. veterans.  From Betsy Bell Road, a steep, rough, partially paved access road winds through the trees to the 1,949 foot summit of Betsy Bell Mountain. The park’s 63 acres are almost all completely wooded other than the area cleared for the observation deck. There are no facilities other than a couple of benches and a picnic table at the top.

Currently, the park is primarily for the enjoyment of the forest environment. Some people walk or bike up to the top and back on the access road, but wider use of this park is limited because there are no hiking/biking trails on the slopes, and the steep access road does not accommodate all vehicles. Nonetheless, this is a peaceful place to relax, take in views of the Shenandoah Valley, and enjoy a wilderness environment only minutes removed from the busyness of urban life. Lately, because of encroaching new housing development on the mountain’s eastern side, there has been growing concern about the preservation of this treasured natural landmark.

Montgomery Hall Park, the city’s second largest, is located in the Staunton’s southwestern corner west of Montgomery Avenue and south of the CSX rail line (see Map 28).  Roughly a third of the park’s 146 acres have been cleared to accommodate various facilities, and the other two-thirds remain wooded. In addition to serving as the Department of Parks and Recreation headquarters, the park offers tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball courts, several softball fields, soccer fields, a public swimming pool, and playgrounds. Two picnic shelters and the department’s offices (activity room, kitchen, restrooms) are available for rental by the public. For walkers, joggers, and mountain bikers, a short network of trails has been cut through the park’s forested rear section. With its range of active and passive recreation opportunities set among trees and attractive rolling hills, this park is a versatile asset for the city.

Gypsy Hill Park, established in 1889, is Staunton’s oldest,  largest, and most popular recreation area (see Map 29). The western two-thirds of the park are used as an eighteen-hole public golf course, and the eastern third offers quite a variety of recreational and cultural opportunities. A baseball field, football/soccer field, three basketball courts, a skate park, softball field, three tennis courts, and a three-acre pond are all located together around the Armory Building on the Thornrose Avenue side of the park. The 100-500 yard-wide strip of land running along Churchville Avenue in the northeastern section of the park actually sees the most daily activity. This relatively small area offers the Loop Road for walking/jogging/biking, a softball field, two Little League baseball fields, an Olympic-sized public swimming pool, a working miniature passenger-carrying train, the Duck Pond, the Bandstand (hosts free evening concerts), a playground, the Staunton/Augusta Art Center, and covered shelters for picnics and group gatherings.

Because of the large number of different activities for all ages provided at Gypsy Hill, this park is, in the words of one city official, “nearly loved to death,” - especially during the warm months. The Loop Road is so popular with joggers, walkers, and bikers that there are literally morning and evening rush hour periods during which the recreation traffic circling the loop becomes quite heavy. Because the mix of cars, walkers, joggers, and bicyclists all compete for the very limited road space, some citizens have adjusted by coming as early as 4:00am to exercise without the crowds. Add in the Little League baseball crowds and visitors coming to the free evening music performances at the Stonewall Brigade Bandstand, and it is easy to see why Gypsy Hill Park is both an exciting, yet sometimes frustratingly crowded gathering place.

In addition to the trio of parks described above, Staunton also has two smaller “pocket” parks and other indoor and outdoor recreation facilities (see Map 30).  Three-acre Woodrow Wilson Park along Sears Hill Rd. is a small, partially-wooded area on a hill opposite the historic C&O train depot. Looking north from the park, one is presented with a beautiful view of the historic downtown Staunton cityscape.  Reservoir Hill Park is a four-acre lot adjacent to the eastern corner of Thornrose Cemetery. Nestled between the Old Lee High and New Town neighborhoods, the park offers open field space and minimal softball facilities. Men’s Green Thumb Park sits on a nearly one-and-a-half acre parcel at the corner of Richmond Road and Greenville Avenue. This area serves as an attractive open space along one of the city’s primary entrance corridors.

Schools

One of the city’s 2003 Comprehensive Plan objectives states the citizens’ desire to, “create a network of low-density neighborhood ‘pocket parks’ throughout the city, including more utilization of school grounds and playgrounds.” This is a pragmatic approach which calls for efficiently maximizing use of public open land already available in the city. In keeping with this strategy, sections of all city and state school grounds will be considered as part of the city’s existing open/green space and recreational inventory. The city operates six public schools (shown on Map 31). In addition, Mary Baldwin College (private) and the state-run Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (VSDB) are also located in the city.

Thomas W. Dixon Elementary School is located on 18.5 acres along Shutterlee Mill Road in the northwest corner of the city. Half of this lot is wooded, but a mixture of open field space and paved play areas lay behind and beside the school building. Two city schools, Arthur Ware Elementary and Shelburne Middle, are located side-by-side across Morris Mill Road from Unifi Manufacturing and only a tenth of a mile west of Gypsy Hill Golf Course. These schools sit on 33 acres which offer several open fields, a cinder track, a gymnasium, minimal softball facility, and two outdoor basketball courts.

About a mile and a half northeast of the CBD, Robert E. Lee High School and Thomas McSwain Elementary are located on a combined 38 acres of city-owned land.  The elementary school has a playground and one large field which incorporates a simple softball diamond. The high school sits on two parcels, one of which is partially wooded. Along with the gymnasium, Robert E. Lee High also has a paved track, six tennis courts, and significant open field space which accommodates football and soccer. The city’s fourth elementary school, Bessie Weller, is situated on a ten-acre lot about a mile south of the CBD just west of Greenville Avenue. This school only has a small paved play area with some playground equipment and a small open field in the back. This and other city school properties collectively augment the rest of Staunton’s recreation network with a significant amount of open space and play area.

The downtown areas occupied by Mary Baldwin College and VSDB are shown on Map 32. Mary Baldwin College uses 55 acres north of Frederick St. and west of N. Coulter St. The college’s athletic facilities are grouped together across Prospect St. just northeast of the main academic buildings. This complex includes a gymnasium, baseball field, seven tennis courts, and a paved track with an open, grassy infield. The remainder of the small campus offers relatively large sections of open, yet hilly land. The Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (VSDB) is located just southeast of Mary Baldwin College on 76 acres along Commerce Rd. This state facility offers even greater opportunity for outdoor recreation.  The northeastern third of the VSDB property is mostly undeveloped and wooded. The other two-thirds of the large parcel consist of an expanse of open fields used by the city community for soccer, football, and other outdoor activities. Trail users in this location would also be able to enjoy a nearly half mile long section of Lewis Creek which runs along the eastern edge of the open field area.

In addition to outdoor activity at the city’s parks, schools, and two golf courses (Gypsy Hill, and Ingleside), residents also spend recreation time at a number of other public and private recreation and community gathering places. Some of these are:  Westside Swim Club, Steele’s Wheels, Staunton Bowling Lanes, Staunton Racquet Club, Nelson Street Teen Center, and Booker T. Washington Community Center.