Originally appeared in West Ends Best Magazine

By Lisa Puster
Tour a late 19th century mansion, take a carriage ride, visit a nature center, wander through Italian and Japanese gardens, stroll through the wooded wildlife park, pet animals at the children’s farm, and witness an amazing collection of over 200 trees and shrubs from around the globe. You can do it all at Maymont, located in the West End of the city. It’s no wonder their unofficial slogan is “So Many Places in One”!
Maymont first began in 1893 when James and Sallie Dooley, a wealthy Richmond couple, completed a spectacular 12,000 square foot, 33-room Victorian mansion built on 100 rolling acres high above the James River. Per the request of Mr. And Mrs. Dooley, Maymont was left to the City of Richmond after their deaths in the mid-1920s and opened as a public park and museum just six months after the death of Mrs. Dooley in 1925.
Today, the Maymont House Museum, which was restored to its original splendor starting in 1970, successfully represents the lavish lifestyle of the Gilded Age. The house boasts the latest modern conveniences of the era, including electric lighting, an elevator, three full bathrooms and central heat. Twelve restored rooms on the first and second floors are available for viewing during tours. The basement exhibition introduces visitors to the lives of the Dooley’s’ domestic and service help and the rapidly changing household technology of that period. Maymont House Tours: Tuesday-Sunday (closed Mondays) from 12-5pm (last tour begins at 4:30). Sign up in the basement for guided tours of the upper floors. Suggested donation: $5 per person.
Near the Maymont House Museum, you can view Maymont’s Carriage Collection, which is one of the largest in the country and still housed in the original estate carriage house. A wide variety of late-19th and early-20th-century vehicles demonstrate transportation during that period. Horse-drawn carriage rides and carriage tours are available all year long.
The Robins Nature and Visitor Center, which opened in 1999, is a state-of-the-art attraction at Maymont, designed to interpret the natural environment of the James River. With a 20-foot waterfall cascading into thirteen aquariums, which are home to river otters, turtles, fish, and several interactive exhibits, you’ll get up close and personal with nature. The Maymont History Exhibit, Gift Shop and Café are also located in the building. Nature Center Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 12-5pm (or 10-5pm for Maymont members). A $4 donation is suggested at the Nature Center. All groups of 10 or more require a reservation and a donation of $2 per person is suggested for groups.
Maymont’s Italian and Japanese Gardens magnificently showcase the Dooley’s’ interest in foreign travel. The Italian Garden, with its stone terraces, pergola, and formal beds and plantings, is a great place for a peaceful stroll and is also a popular location for weddings. The ponds, bridges, trees and shrubs of the Japanese Garden create a landscape of relaxation, serenity and beauty. Also found on the grounds are the Herb Garden, Daylily Garden, Butterfly Garden and other specialty gardens.
Take a stroll down the winding, wooded path that leads to the 40-acre Wildlife Park and discover native Virginia wildlife. Maymont’s Wildlife Exhibits are carefully designed habitats that are home to a variety of creatures, including bison, elk, deer, foxes, bears, bobcats and many birds of prey, including those found in Virginia’s wetlands.
The Children’s Farm features domestic animals that have been raised on local Virginia farms. Children will enjoy viewing, petting and feeding goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, donkeys, rabbits, horses and cows. The Farm is open year-round.

2626 W. Broad Street
804 474-2667
www.maymont.org