Remembering the opening of Virginia Beach's Great American Outlet Mall.
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Wednesday, December 14, 2022
young Cavalier
Cavalier under construction. 1926
Aerial shot of the Cavalier. 1927.
What I find interesting about this view, you can see that Atlantic, Pacific, and Holly were already established routes. And they remained basically unchanged for a hundred years. I think Atlantic was recently truncated in to a dead end (to create space for new buildings), but.. Even just a few years back, Atlantic Avenue still followed this 1927 route.
There's a nice (mostly photo) book on the history of the Cavalier: The Cavalier. Reclaiming a Virginia Beach Icon. That's the source for the construction photo above. And the book has a lot of modern photos of the Cavalier's remodel.
contact: nat.rain@gmail.com
Monday, August 15, 2022
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.
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Wednesday, April 27, 2022
HQ
HQ (Home Quarters Warehouse) was basically the first hardware mega-store I remember in Virginia Beach. Which I guess makes sense, they were initially headquartered in Hampton Roads. There was a Hechinger hardware store that preceded the Barnes & Noble at Columbus. But it's floor plan was sort of in between a mega-store and smaller, traditional mom & pop hardware stores.
This is a photo from years after HQ was abandoned.. maybe 2006. This was the store I remember most, at Pembroke (where Wegman's is currently located).
(jokes kinda wrote themselves with this tagline)
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Thursday, February 17, 2022
Back in the 80s, this building on Virginia Beach Blvd housed a chain meat shop called Murry's. Murry's was a regional chain.. Maryland, Virginia, DC.. I think mostly Mid-Atlantic and upper South.
The building is at 4135 - 4143 Virginia Beach Blvd, and is now occupied by a cabinet showroom and a cake shop.. the building has a subtle second story. Back in the mid-80s, the second story had some apartment units. There was a cool kid (Amanda) who used to live over the meat shop..
Behind the Murry's during the 80s & 90s, was a small, well hidden collection of shacks. They looked like they may have once been temporary housing for long-gone migrant workers. They seemed really out of place in late 20th Century Virginia Beach. But, who knows..
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Monday, January 31, 2022
Godspeed Pembroke Mall
For people who didn't hear (or basically don't care), and the Hampton Roads diaspora who haven't thought about Pembroke Mall for a long time.. It is being transformed in to assisted living & hotel space. The reporting is that the anchor stores that surround the mall will remain (Target, Kohl's etc), while the smaller stores that made up the guts of Pembroke will be gone & replaced with housing.
It's a strange transformation.. but regrettably makes sense in an era where large retail space is becoming obsolete..
The abandoned Sears in it's last days..
Bit of England in it's last hours..
contact- nat.rain@gmail.com
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