Photo by Ken Odor
RiversBend, on Lee Road, was built in 1992. This stately residence combines Mississippi Lowland architecture with Jefferson’s Palladian influence, and is owned by Rob and Lynda Bloch.

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Among the homes that visitors to the 2008 Goochland Historical Society House Tour will see is the stately edifice known as RiversBend, home of Rob and Lynda Block at 525 Lee Road.

The Oct. 11 tour will feature homes in the Crozier area.

Built in 1992, RiversBend is aptly named, as the James River and the Kanawha Canal are visible from the observatory that crowns the home.

RiversBend displays a mix of Mississippi Lowland architecture and neoclassical Palladian influence.

“This house is nothing but nice places,” said Rob in an interview last week. “It has a timeless feel.”

“It was just intriguing,” said Lynda, who has lived all over the world. “The Italian feeling really captured us.”

The Blochs have done considerable work since they acquired the property two years ago.

The winding driveway leading to the parking area is paved with cobblestones imported from India.

“It took us five months to do the driveway,” said Lynda. “We wanted to age the house,” she explained.

The Blochs said they picked RiversBend because they wanted to downsize from their 500-acre farm in Keswick.

They are active in the retired Thoroughbred program, having taken in four horses. They also have two donkeys, a Shetland pony and six dogs.

The Blochs’ new home features a Mediterranean style pool, made of marble from the mountains of Peru and flanked by two octagonal pergolas constructed with reclaimed heart pine and redwood.

Rob’s music room contains his guitar collection (one of the instruments was signed by Les Paul) and has been painted in a 1940s nightclub motif.

On the walls of the observatory are life-sized paintings of peacocks.

Antiques from the couple’s travels grace the home. Eighteenth and nineteenth century French and English are the dominant styles.

The House Tour, the Society’s 25th since 1979, is Oct. 11. Other tour attractions are First Union School, Old Mill Cottage, The Mitchell Homeplace, The Forest and Tanglewood Ordinary restaurant, where lunch will be served.

The historical society will sell its 2009 Vintage Goochland calendars on the house tour and the Goochland Garden Club will conduct a plant sale on the grounds of RiversBend.

2008 House Tour:

When: Oct. 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where:  The tour will visit houses throughout Crozier.

Cost: $20 in advance, $25 the day of the tour.

Details: Learn more about the tour by calling 556-3966 or by visit http://www.goochlandhistory.org.

Photo by Ken Odor
The octagonal observatory at RiversBend hosts a telescope and life-sized images of peacocks.

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