Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-02-2010, 04:03 PM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,951,973 times
Reputation: 19090

Advertisements

Finally, I get a chance to check off another New Year resolution! As promised here are some photos of Winchester. I was up there this week for the Apple Blossom festival, so these shots will show more crowds and festival booths than you normally see.

Since people are moving here and want to know what the town looks like I tried to get some everyday shots of the town as well as festival shots. I hope one of you forum regulars who live out in Winchester will contribute more photos to show what the area looks like on a non-festival weekend. (And also to show the parts of town I missed.) There's plenty of room on this thread for photos from lots of people.

The following photos show how the apple motif is everywhere. I’m not sure if these large apples are always there or if there were just put up for the festival
http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0018.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0029.jpg (broken link)

Here’s the library and a detailed look at some of the ornate carvings on that building. The town library and high school were built after a wealthy man donated funds for these buildings to the city. They are both stunning. I hope someone will post a photo of the high school, it’s a beauty.
http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0030.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0028.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0027.jpg (broken link)
Statue in front of the civil war museum.

Last edited by normie; 05-02-2010 at 04:17 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-02-2010, 04:10 PM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,951,973 times
Reputation: 19090
The next few images show the downtown pedestrian mall, which has gift shoppes, boutiques, and restaurants. Note: This photo tour was taken during Apple Blossom Weekend. The pedestrian mall was used as a midway, which is why you see the carnival booths and the crowd of people.
http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0013.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0012.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0033.jpg (broken link)
Love the old fashioned lamp post and clock.

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0021.jpg (broken link)
This building speaks volumes about how the people of Winchester feel about their historic buildings. The brick facade of this building is leaning, and you can see several devices that have been used to try to keep this building intact.

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0015.jpg (broken link)
This car show was one of the more popular events.

Winchester is a town with many personalities. On the one hand, it’s a typical suburb of the DC metro area. Many people live there for the inexpensive housing and commute to jobs in the tech corridor. OTOH, it’s also a small town that’s been around for a long time and has a strong pride in its confederate roots. Many people live there because their family has lived there for generations. Others move there because they want to be near DC but are also drawn to lifestyles that are more typical in small towns. Stock car racing is big here... but so is Thai food. Some people might say it has a bit of a "redneck" vibe. That's not exactly how I'd describe it, but the right word eludes me. A "country" vibe is the closest I can come.

Last edited by normie; 05-02-2010 at 04:36 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2010, 04:14 PM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,951,973 times
Reputation: 19090
http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0007.jpg (broken link)
Not every building is old, however. Winchester has plenty of contemporary architecture, such as this building. Once you leave the historic downtown area, a good percentage of Winchester is fairly new.

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0006.jpg (broken link)
You won’t be in town for long before you realize pick ups and SUVs seem to be the vehicle of choice.

The next few photos show some typical residential streets. Please note: I’m sure there are a wide variety of residential areas, these just happened to be the ones I walked by from my hotel to the festival. My hotel was about 2 miles from the festival, so there’s a lot of Winchester I did not walk by.
http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0005.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0004.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0002.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0022.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0042.jpg (broken link)
This last shot shows houses as well as vendors for the festival.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2010, 04:19 PM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,951,973 times
Reputation: 19090
http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0003.jpg (broken link)
I was struck by the many beautiful graveyards near downtown. This one is a National Cemetery for soldiers.


Random downtown shots:
http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0026.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0019.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0011.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0010.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0009.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0008.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0001.jpg (broken link)
Because Winchester is such an old city, it still has a number of mom-and-pop shops, like this vacuum cleaner shop. You’ll also find plenty of strip malls and chain stores, but if you love the idea of living in a town with lots of mom-and-pop shops as well, Winchester may be the place for you. Be aware that many of these shops are starting to get a bit run down, and some may not be around that much longer. Still, they’re there, and there’s a lot to be said for that.

The next few photos are parade scenes:
http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0024.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0023.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0017.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0016.jpg (broken link)

http://www.keogan.com/awinchester0020.jpg (broken link)
Tractors lined up for the parade. Also, a chance to glimpse down a typical side street.

So that's the downtown section of Winchester. Surrounding it, the neighborhoods are a little more typical of modern suburbia. Some areas are mostly residential, others have lots of strip malls, office buildings, motels. Plenty of McMansions too. So, there's something for everyone. Seems like a pretty nice town, although I hear some 20-somethings find it a little boring. Of course, YMMV. The best way to get to know it is to spend some time there yourself.

Last edited by normie; 05-02-2010 at 04:40 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2010, 04:20 PM
 
Location: Loudoun County, VA
1,148 posts, read 3,739,696 times
Reputation: 408
Very pretty! Thanks for the photo tour. Would you recommend the Apple Blossom Festival? Good to "see" you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2010, 04:45 PM
 
Location: Virginia-Shenandoah Valley
7,670 posts, read 14,245,563 times
Reputation: 7464
Nice pics indeed. I like Winchester and could possibly see myself living there if I don't move to New Hampshire. They do have some beautiful homes in Winchester. Too bad you couldn't make it to them. I have lived here since 73 and I have yet to attend the festival.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2010, 04:48 PM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,951,973 times
Reputation: 19090
Quote:
Originally Posted by EuroExpat View Post
Very pretty! Thanks for the photo tour. Would you recommend the Apple Blossom Festival? Good to "see" you.
It's OK. It's a typical small town fair, so if you love that sort of thing, you'll like this. Craft shows, carnival rides, parades, prayer breakfasts, country/western dance, that sort of thing. They charge you up the ying yang for every little thing--lemonade is $5 for a small cup, they close off most of the street parking so you're forced to pay $10 to park, it's hard to watch the parade unless you pay $6 for a folding chair, etc. etc.

I have a lot of friends who live there and a friend of my daughter's was crowned a princess this year, so we figured it was time to go. We had fun, but I don't think I'll go again.

By the way, I stayed at Hampton Inn and walked to everything because I like to walk and I refused to pay the parking fees on principle. If I had it to do again, I'd drive everywhere and pay the damn fees. I would not recommend walking. The sidewalks are right against the road and don't always make you feel very safe. I saw a few accidents happen and I got scared a few times, especially walking along Rt. 7. Also, some of the neighborhoods you walk through are nicer than others.

Last edited by normie; 05-02-2010 at 04:57 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2010, 04:57 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,617 posts, read 77,624,272 times
Reputation: 19102
I, too, was at the parade and the festival, and after this past weekend I just can't help but wonder why Winchester isn't growing even more rapidly than it already is. The city has everything you could possibly ever want. It has very affordable housing (I'm currently scouting out a few homes that are under $100,000), a good mix of a thriving historic central business district surrounded by typical newer suburbia, nearly every chain store/restaurant imaginable, VERY friendly and humble people, and a gorgeous setting in the Shenandoahs. I would think Winchester would have become very popular by now with Metro DC retirees, power-commuters, artists, etc.

My ultimate goal now will be to retain a cheap apartment in Reston ($1,100/month) to commute from on weekdays and find a roommate to pay me $500/month, leaving me with $600/month to pay on the apartment. For a sub-$100,000 home with a 30-year mortgage my monthly payments would be around $500/month, so I can apply the money my roomie would give me to pay my mortgage. I'd then look for a housemate for a weekend home in Winchester whom I'd charge $600/month, which would cover my half of the apartment rent, leaving me with just the other $500/month for the apartment to pay, along with maintenance, utilities, and taxes on each place. I could swing an arrangement like this financially, and it would do me a world of good to actually be able to build equity in a home in a true COMMUNITY like Winchester. Having roomies would help because neither home would be unoccupied during the course of the week. This is why when people say "I love Winchester, but it's too far to commute" I wonder why they haven't considered a similar proposal.

In my eyes Winchester has everything I want. It has charm, soul, and character. It has Chick-Fil-A, a university for me to pursue graduate studies, Sonic, Lowe's, plentiful mom-and-pop stores and restaurants, etc.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2010, 05:00 PM
 
Location: Alexandria, VA
15,144 posts, read 27,791,000 times
Reputation: 27270
Great pictures - thanks for posting them.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2010, 05:02 PM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,951,973 times
Reputation: 19090
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigfoot424 View Post
Nice pics indeed. I like Winchester and could possibly see myself living there if I don't move to New Hampshire. They do have some beautiful homes in Winchester. Too bad you couldn't make it to them. I have lived here since 73 and I have yet to attend the festival.
That's what I figured. Some of my friends live in gorgeous homes, but I didn't get a chance to hook up with everyone I wanted to--you're right that a lot of the locals don't go to this fair. Anyway, now that we finally have a photo thread started hopefully some of the people who live there will add some photos of the rest of the town.

Also, photos of Shenandoah University--that's a pretty little campus. I got a chance to walk around it but did not bring the camera that day.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top