February 19, 2005
Not your ordinary fence posts
Fence around the Egyptian Building
East Marshall and College Streets
This is some kind of record—two homework-free weekends in a row. With the extra time we decide to go take some pictures of neat architectural things downtown, particularly those facing imminent destruction. The Egyptian Building is on the National Register, so it is certainly not in danger, but I love photographing this building and its surroundings. I'm not the only one, either.
The Egyptian Building is an Egyptian Revival structure that was built in the mid-nineteenth century to house what is now the Medical College of Virginia. It is very much the Victorian idea of what ancient Egyptian stuff looked like and the fence is no exception. I wonder why they thought that mummy cases were appropriate dér for a place where one is learning the healing arts. Then again, this was the nineteenth century and they were still catching on to the idea of washing their hands before surgery, so maybe receptacles for dead people are in order.
I've walked by the mummy cases many times, but I think today is the first time that I notice the feet poking out the bottom.
Okay, so the Victorians put feet on all their furniture. But not human feet. Not human feet sticking out of coffins.
216 words | February 19, 2005 11:15 PM | Shutterbug