On your left is the oldest house in Richmond, erected about 1686. On the front wall may be seen the letters “J.R.,” supposed to signify “Jacobus Rex,” James II, who was then King of England. The building is now a part of the Edgar Allan Poe Foundation, which includes also the small buildings on the left and right, in the three of which are housed much Poe material and many articles relating to his residence in Richmond. In the rear is an “enchanted garden” which leads to a classical loggia, built chiefly of material from the former _Southern Literary Messenger_ building. ¶ _Turn right on Twentieth to Cary._ [Illustration: _Poe Shrine_] Libby Prison On the southeast corner of Cary stood Libby Prison, where thousands of Federal prisoners were confined during the War Between the States. The old warehouse-prison building was torn down and taken to Chicago to be rebuilt for the World’s Fair of 1893. You are now in the heart of the tobacco district of Richmond. For blocks may be seen Richmond’s famous “Tobacco Row.” ¶ _Turn left on Cary to Twenty-first, left on Twenty-first to Main, left on Main to Eighteenth Street; right on Eighteenth one block to Franklin._ Oldest Masonic Hall The wooden building on the right is the oldest Masonic hall in continuous use in the United States which was built originally for Masonic purposes. Governor Edmund Randolph was among the many prominent Virginia Masons who participated in the corner-stone laying in 1785. Lafayette was given a reception here in 1824 on his triumphal return visit to the scenes where he had served in the American Revolution. ¶ _Proceed east on Franklin, halting briefly between Twenty-first and Twenty-second._ At the top of the hill to your left, you can see a typical old galleried home of early Richmond, now incorporated in the buildings of Monte Maria Roman Catholic Convent. ¶ _Turn right on Franklin at Twenty-third, go to Main, turn right, then proceed to Twenty-first Street, turn right and continue north to Broad, turn right on Broad, continue to Twenty-fourth._ You are now entering Church Hill, Richmond’s oldest residential section. ¶ _Stop at Twenty-fourth and Broad, location of St. John’s Church._ St. John’s Church (_Front Cover_)