Monument Terrace

Monument Terrace is the architectural heart of downtown Lynchburg: a broad ceremonial staircase of 139 steps climbing the hill from Court Street to the old Lynchburg Courthouse at the top. The terrace is lined with plaques and monuments to Lynchburg soldiers who died in various conflicts, from the Civil War through the 20th century.

The view from the top of the steps looks back down over the historic downtown and across to the Blue Ridge. The Lynchburg Courthouse at the summit, built in 1855, now houses the Lynchburg Museum with rotating exhibitions on local history. The neighborhood surrounding the terrace — Court House Hill–Downtown — contains some of the finest 19th-century commercial architecture in Virginia.

things to do sight
A story
Monument Terrace's 139 steps connect the downtown commercial district to the hilltop courthouse, a route that was first worn into the hillside by 19th-century lawyers and litigants climbing to the courthouse. The terrace was built in 1910 to replace a dirt path, and the war memorial statue was added in 1926 — a year when Lynchburg had no shortage of war dead to commemorate.