Picture of the day - March 22, 2008

Robert E. Lee Motel - Bristol, Va

Photo by Rick Rouse. Politics aside, most historians agree that General Robert E. Lee who commanded the Confederate forces during the American Civil War was the most brilliant and capable general of the era. After all, under his command a rag-tag army that was smaller in number, poorly fed and ill-equipped came within a cat's whisker of defeating their much superior Union foes. Although he ended up having to surrender to Grant in the end, Lee became a legend in his own time - and he still retains that status today in much of the land. Nowhere in the country has Lee been more highly regarded than right here in his home state of Virginia. From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap, numerous roads, bridges and monuments have been built and/or named in his honor. But here in my neck of the woods you'll find the remnants of a different kind of monument to Lee: The Robert E. Lee Motel near Bristol, Virginia on the appropriately named Lee Highway. After the construction of Interstate 81 through western Virginia was completed in the late 1960's, the bulk of the heavy traffic moved from Lee Highway to the Interstate, a move that forced the vast majority of the small mom-and-pop motels that once lined the old roadway out of business. The Robert E. Lee was one of those casualties, and all that remains today is a hulking, overgrown shell of a building and the sign that still bears the famous Confederate general's name and likeness. If you ever find yourself driving down I-81 through rural Washington County, Virginia, take exit 10 and turn left onto Lee Highway. You'll see what's left of the Robert E. Lee Motel standing amid the brush and brambles on the right-hand side of the road.     Visitor Comments... Name: Ed Widener Town: Goldsboro, NC Your use of black and white serves to emphasize the stark difference from the 1940s when this motel was probably the most colorful structure along Lee Highway - "Number 11" as folks commonly referred to.   Click here to comment on this picture.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!                                 Place the "Picture of the Day" on your website, for free! Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"