“How on Earth did you end up in Danville?”

It’s a question many of us have heard, having spent our lives elsewhere and, somehow, landing by chance or design (or a combination of both) in Danville, Virginia. The question is equally familiar to Bryan Hale, the most recent owner of the J.H. Griggs House at 808 Green Street.

Bryan started out on a dairy farm in Northern California about 40 miles north of San Francisco. While in college, he became interested in vineyards and subsequently found himself, after leaving school, learning about the wine industry while working on a vineyard in Sonoma County. During his time there, he became acquainted with a woman who produced concerts and live events. With her help, he found an entrance into the entertainment industry and subsequently moved to Los Angeles where he began working in nonfiction television and where he became involved with such reality tv shows as Fear Factor and Big Brother. As his career evolved, he eventually developed an idea which he hoped would present a different narrative for African American women. Up until that time, it was fairly uncommon to see affluent black women portrayed on television. His idea developed into what would become The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Throughout his success in television, Bryan maintained a fascination with old houses. He worked on some remodeling projects in Santa Monica and even helped his sister build her own home in Tacoma, Washington, but the allure of new construction never really stuck, and he increasingly became enamored with the idea of restoring a historic home of his own.

By the time the pandemic hit, Bryan was burned out of reality television. He wanted to tell stories that were meaningful and inspiring, but the industry was changing, and toward what direction it was too soon to say, and, in many ways, still is. “Reality television manipulates the story toward drama,” he says. Real Housewives, though wildly successful, did not quite do all he wished in the way of elevating the images of black women in America. And yet Bryan’s altruism, particularly where it lead him towards activism, needed an outlet.

He began to consider taking a break from the entertainment industry and thought it might be a nice change if he were to get his hands dirty with a historic home project. He had made it a habit already of following CircaOldHouses.com, and it was when he began to look a little more seriously at the possibility of taking on a project of his own that he began to notice a pattern. So many of Circa’s houses were in Danville, Virginia. It piqued his interest.

Bryan next found the OldWestEndVA.com website and reached out to Paul Liepe. Through Paul, he learned about Danville’s revitalization efforts and the role the Friends of the Old West End organization is playing in that endeavor. Bryan, ever the storyteller, saw potential in the rebirth of a neighborhood which had, by and large, formed and reinvented itself within a period of a few years. “All these people were coming in and buying houses here in what was roughly a three or four year period … and most of those houses were sold to non-natives of Danville. There has to be a story in that.”

And so Bryan came down from New York to see for himself what was happening in Danville, Virginia. He toured the neighborhood and was shown a number of different houses. He also spent some time talking to people, getting their stories, and learning what brought them and what has persuaded them to stay. After considering a few different houses, he at last decided on the J.H. Griggs House on Green Street.

“I love that it’s white and simple and had that red roof. It sat up on a hill, like a little gem. And it has such a presence to it. I love the big central hallways and the ease of the rooms. It reminds me of a farmhouse; they aren’t stuffy and pretentious.” He also loves the wide entrance, as if the house was built originally on a central hall plan (which it may have been; the provenance of its first iteration remains something of a mystery). The hallway, uninterrupted by the staircase, which is tucked away near the back of the house, allows for a sense of airiness and space.

Upon leaving his career in the entertainment industry, Bryan at first felt himself at something of a loss. “I didn’t know what else I could do.” But restoring an old home just made sense to him. “At the end of each day, I’ve made something better. Something is stronger and more resilient than it was before, and the work I’m doing prepares it for a future that matters. TV is so disposable. Who knows what happens in the future, but if I could give this house another hundred years, wouldn’t that be amazing?”

With exception of HVAC and plaster, Bryan is doing the work himself. As his house will be featured on this year’s Holiday Tour, he has a lot to do to make it ready to be seen, and so he’s keeping quite busy. He enjoys the work, and the work appears to suit him. “It’s cathartic,” he says, “and it’s healing.”

In the process of working on the house, Bryan has begun to get a feel for the lives of previous residents. The house was once the home of Louise Booth who had brought to her Green Street home, and to her marriage, three children by a pervious marriage. Her two sons, Bennie and Coleman were twins and were apparently plagued by depression. Bennie committed suicide in 1929, followed in 1931, by Coleman. Bryan feels that it was not a happy home, and that Mrs. Booth perhaps had dreams and aspirations she was not able to live out in this life. A floor cloth found on the floor of the upstairs master suite reminds one of her time here, and so Bryan has endeavored to honor her as he carries out the restoration.

Bryan’s relocation to Danville is the beginning of a new chapter for the J.H. Griggs House and for himself as well. “There’s something incredibly rewarding about taking an old house and turning it into a home again. Danville, too, feels like a city that’s being reborn and reimagined.”

For many of us, Danville has proven an unexpected and welcome home, a place to start again and to find meaning and purpose. May it be so for Bryan Hale. We are very glad, at any rate, that he is here and that the J.H. Griggs house is in such good hands. If you are interested in following Bryan and the process of restoring the J.H. Griggs house, please follow him on Instagram at @HomeAgainHouses.