eating in Lynnhaven Borough.

 

Hurd's (seafood restaurant) inhabited the back of the Little Neck area for decades..

At the time, the area was not incorporated in to Virginia Beach, so it's location was characterized as Lynnhaven (Borough). Today, there is still a Hurds Road located in the area.

In the days when MasterCard was still mastercharge.

I like this hand-drawn art on their menu cover.. and check out the prices~

contact- nat.rain@gmail.com

 

Bygone High's Ice Cream, Atlantic Avenue.

High's was a regional ice cream chain that began nearing extinction in the late '90s. It was founded in the 1930s, & for a chain that thrived & survived for 70 years, there isn't much info left to honor it.

I worked for High's for about 6 months as a young guy. I didn't mind travelling around Hampton Roads, so I worked @ Tidewater Drive, the shop they had downstairs in the original Waterside, and the Great Neck location (near Y-Not Pizza). And as a younger kid I was an occasional customer at their Princess Anne Plaza & Kempsville locations. The building that used to house their Kempsville shop has completely vanished (5129 Princess Anne Rd, near Withduck). I was a bigger fan of High's before I became an employee, but that's a typical experience, after seeing behind the proverbial (food service) curtain.

In 2006 The Virginian Pilot ran a brief article on what sounded like the last High's (in Portsmouth).. not sure if it's still operating.

It's regrettable seeing a popular, local business go under.. Their banana ice cream was good as Hell too.

contact- nat.rain@gmail.com

               Ruins of the old McDonald's on General Booth Boulevard (intersection wtih Birdneck).

Like the sign says, thankful for 33 years.. I remember this location (mostly) from the '9os. I liked their stone work, which I think was somewhat unique for a McD's exterior.. Nice '80s flavor.

(Dining patio, with the tables long gone.)

Footprint of the (once) Golden Arches.

Their 2018 farewell banner would date their original opening as 1985.. which makes sense, that's probably when Jungle Falls (turned Ocean Breeze) started taking off. There were probably a lot of patrons looking for nearby gruel. 

Rest in peace.

contact: nat.rain@gmail.com

Extinct, obscure one (I say obscure, because I couldn't find any images, or vintage postcards of it online, but who knows).. This ad's from a 1970 accommodation directory I have.

Building is no longer standing, but moving laterally from it's original location, there are a couple similar buildings. An almost identical set of apartments on 23rd, then the MacThrift on 22nd.. which has a two-story strip of rooms similar to The Virginian.

Back in the day, as a carefree low-life, I stayed in the MacThrift for a couple weeks, so I have a mental image of what The Virginian's interior likely looked like.. 

I notice as I go thru this 50 year old directory, the independently owned, bygone motels often used names & marketing invested in regional and local identity.. now most of the oceanfront hotels are essentially indistinguishable, cookie cut members of uniform chains.

If anyone has pics, or postcards of The Virginian to share, I'd like seeing them:  nat.rain@gmail.com

Loehmann's Plaza' long gone Herman's World of Sporting Goods. 

Feb. 1983 article covering Loehmann's groundbreaking. Photo with Meyera Oberndorf, who would eventually have nearby Central Library bear her name. Other thing that sticks out to me, the pic documents the shopping center's correct name Loehmann's, while headline underneath inaccurately describes it as a non-possesive, singular Loehmann.

Two years later (Oct 85), opening of Herman's is announced. It was at the west end of strip mall.

Former Herman's space, now a golf supply store.. Good view of the Spanish tile roofing:

Contemporary Loehmann's maintains a nice page: 

https://www.facebook.com/LoehmannsPlazaVB/

For comments, corrections, or memories to share. Contact: nat.rain@gmail.com

(I have additional pointless, esoteric Va Beach retail history coming..)

Ultra Vision Theatre that once inhabited a back corner of Pembroke Mall's parking lot..

Bottom of the photo depicts a similar theater built in Florida. I notice the ad generically refers to Pembroke's location as 'Norfolk, Virginia' (instead of it's accurate location in VB). Guess Norfolk had more national recognition at the time..

Crowd outside, 1982.

They also had a summer tradition of showing kinda second-run kids' movies..

An exterior shot I found in a local 1984 yearbook.

I believe the theater (their spelling was theatre, but..) was bulldozed in the late '80s, and replaced by theaters inside Pembroke. The last reference I found to it's existence, was controversy surrounding their potential showing of the Last Temptation of Christ (Sept 7, 1988 Daily Press).

Public comments are disabled, but if you have comments, corrections, or memories please contact: nat.rain@gmail.com