An ornate parlor with a baby grand piano. A library with hundreds of books and framed diplomas. All part of a 28-room “urban mansion” that housed four generations of her family.

That describes the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site – the home in Richmond, Virginia, where Walker, a trail-blazing African American businesswoman and civil rights leader, lived from 1905 until her death in 1934.

“When I walk through the halls of this house, honestly, I feel like the family’s still there,” said Mark Wilcox, a ranger with the National Park Service, which provides free tours of the home in Richmond’s Jackson Ward neighborhood. … [My article for AARP]