What better setting for a showcase of "re-purposed" items than a building that is itself re-imagined.  This facility began as one of late-19th-century Danville's premier producers of "plug and twist" tobacco for chewing and smoking, as well as processing like stemming and prizing (pressing) the golden leaf for storage in large barrels known as hogsheads.  Reincarnated several years ago as The Burton, the city's first residential "warehouse" conversion, adapted from the former F.X. Burton Factory.  The Burton enterprise emerged in the 1870s, '80s and '90s, when the core of this complex was built for its namesake, Francis Xavier Burton.  Mr. Burton pioneered also as one of six founders of the Riverside Cotton Mills, predecessor of the long-time textile leader, Dan River Inc.

Burton Condos are set in the largest of Danville's five National Register historic districts, the Tobacco Warehouse District (TWD).  Created in 1981, the TWD grew out research in the late 1970s by a team of 13 young professionals with the Historic American Engineering Record, hired for summer field work by the City of Danville.  Bounded on the north by the Dan River and on the east by Amtrak's Crescent line, the TWD has benefited over the years from numerous Transportation Enhancement Grants from Virginia's Department of Transportation for the nearby Crossing at the Dan.

Four levels of massive post-and-beam factory construction and heart pine floors make a striking counterpoint to The Burton's contemporary sculptural walls and layout, introduced by the Johannas Design Group of Richmond.  Such appealing features provide the backdrop for four talented local designers, working individually and pooling their talents to show how, for example, found objects like reclaimed wood can fashion a table and spools from Dan River Mills can become handsome accessories.

Designers Amanda Marley, Matt Smith, Andy Newland and DHS Board Member Liz O'Daniel share the preservation ethos that "reusing is better than throwing away" - whether they're recycling old boards and spools, or adapting, restoring, and preserving intact, whole buildings - the ultimate recycling.  The best setting for unique recycled "artifacts" is a building that has its own story to tell, one like The Burton that's "been there and done that."