gosscj
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Posts posted by gosscj
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Unbelievable.
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Norfolk plans premiere park for Town Point
The city is planning an $11.5 million face-lift, which will include fountains, landscaping, decorative fencing, promenades, terraced sections creating outdoor rooms, and more. -
It's sad to see these comunities starting to disapear. Homophobia is just as prevalent today as it has ever been, people just are not as open about as they used to be. I have noticed in the past 5 years this trend and I don't think its a positive. I see it as a problem whenever you lose your cultural identity and soon there won't be anywhere to go to just be around people like yourself.
I agree, here in Philadelphia you can barely tell you're entering the main gay district except for a few gay bars and the rainbows the city council recently installed over all the street signs in the area. They're neat, I admit, but it's another sign of the neighborhood losing its former ("real") identity and becoming just a spot for tourists to hike through. As to your point about the continuing problem of homophobia, you're spot-on. It's just not as overt as it used to be. I used to think there were promising signs, and sometimes I still do, but I'm far less certain.
(Imagine they're both the same gender, doesn't matter which.) -
That is a real loss for the city. I feel like they were probably holding onto that space in anticipation of the much-spoken-of development north of Brambleton (which will probably be a while, as thing stand today). I saw some great local art at the JAC - and hung a few things myself. It's said to see it go.
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Henry Ryto, just curious: What do you think are the odds of these options happening and what do you think about the time-frame? I'm especially curious about your #3. Am I remembering correctly that you are personally involved with the planning at HRT?
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Well, it's good to know there are plans for the land. Otherwise, what a waste! I hope they stick by the original idea of creating a step-up effect with the buildings from the water.
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Was walking down there the other day and I talked to some of the guys doing dirt work. They said that it is very temporarily (1 year) going to be used as a parking lot and then the Harbor's Edge 2nd building is going to be built on it.
Do you mean the location of the old warehouses along the water that were just torn down?
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It's the beginning of the article that I take offense to. Dougherty is slyly reinforcing the ingrained stereotype of Portsmouth as backward, low-class and generally not worth the time it takes Va Beachers to get there. Oh my god, they don't even have a Starbucks?! I agree that their coffee is mediocre and their hype as a status symbol is laughable. That is exactly why I'm offended by her suggestion that Portsmouth's City Council and citizens must be jumping for joy at the announcement of a stand-alone Starbucks -- as if its the highest compliment the city deserves, and a generous compliment still. As a longtime Portsmouth resident, I'm sensitive to these things.
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Been too long since you've read a truly nasty, condescending insult to Portsmouth's integrity and value to Hampton Roads?
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Stand-alone Starbucks will be Portsmouth's first
The City Council on Tuesday approved plans to build a Starbucks on a vacant lot at 361 Effingham St. The property, at the corner of North Street, is on the edge of Olde Towne and on the way to the Naval Medical Center. It will feature indoor and outdoor seating, plus a drive-up window.Starbucks will use about a half-acre of the property; the rest of the land will be used for a small, four-unit condominium, developers said in a written proposal.
Ha, you just beat me to this!
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\(I consider P-town part of Norfolk's skyline.)
Me too. And hopefully soon they will really make a positive contribution! Even now when you travel west on 264 over the Berkeley Bridge, having Harbor Tower and the several other notable Portsmouth structures does a lot for Norfolk's skyline.
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Boy, just picture Granby and Wachovia Towers in that picture. Great find!
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I see our history as encompassing two eras. In the first, Norfolk was a town, while Richmond, DC and Atlanta were fairly large cities with lots of imposing old structures. The second era really happened around WWII, when Norfolk emerged as a true city. With a compact downtown, space was needed for such post-war projects as the new jail, library. the Maritime Tower, Plaza I, Virginia National Bank, Seaboard Citizens Bank, The Golden Triangle Hotel, the new Norfolk General Hospital, and eventually Scope and Chysler Hall. Some of these structures have already met the wrecking ball, so age isn't the only criterion of worth.
There is a third period, actually, and this is the one in which Norfolk's influence on national history is most notable - that is the period beginning roughly in the middle of the eighteenth century and lasting until 1776, when the city was leveled in rebellion. At the time Norfolk was the only real city in a territory whose political power in America was matched only by Massachusetts. I believe (and have written at length if anyone is interested) that the burning of Norfolk did more to convert rebellious, discontented Virginians into true revolutionaries than any other event or document, including Common Sense (which was published shortly after the burning of Norfolk and was not widely read in Virginia). And when Virginia signed on to the revolution virtually wholesale - unlike in the other colonies, loyalism was extremely rare in Virginia after Norfolk was destroyed - it provided the credibility needed to enlist the other colonies to a cause that had previously been a primarily urban uprising that did not take separation from Great Britain as its aim. The burning of Norfolk was the crucial moment for Virginia in the early revolution, and as such its effects were felt far beyond the colony's borders.
Only problem is, there wasn't much left afterwards.
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I think that would be feasible but there really aren't any destinations along that route between Fort Norfolk and ODU. Sad as it is, I don't think many people would walk across Hampton Boulevard to get to Colley or 21st St.
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Great find. I realize this is only a starter line but I really wish somehow it could be extended a little to the north to include a part of Ghent.
I agree. Just ONE MORE stop would make a huge difference in the ridership figures for this line.
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Thanks for all these pictures, vdogg! Very nice, as always!
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LRT on Atlantic Ave. is a non-starter: the VBHMA doesn't want anyone touching the traffic patterns on Atlantic. (See: BRT debate)
Can someone explain this briefly?
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Absolutely. The affluent will be able to pay these fines with no problem while the poor will most likely be driving around without licenses because they will never be able to afford the fees. I wonder if these legislators thought about this, or whether they even care?
Well worth repeating, vdogg.
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Unfinished business for growing cities
This is a pretty good editorial from the Pilot criticizing Chesapeake and Suffolk for postponing their vote on the regional roads authority until after 7 localities had already backed it. Read it.
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Lambda Rising will close in Ghent
Hampton Roads' only queer bookstore closing? Very unfortunate. I never got the chance to visit the place - I was only 18 when I left HR and not quite ready for it. Still, I can't believe that a region of 1.7 million can't support a single queer bookstore. Hopefully it will be replaced shortly.
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I might be alone but I prefer the older gray rendering to this new brick-colored one they're now using. The old one was a bit "institutional" but at least it was interesting.
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Well they do say "major revitalization effort". Could they perhaps be talking about revitalizing the Union Mission Building? That seem about the right size for the number of apartments.
I could be wrong, but I can't see how there could possibly be enough room for 123 apartments in the Union Mission building. It seems likely to me this must be referring to something else.
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I was in Norfolk also, and saw that cruise ship docked next to the BEAUTIFUL new cruise terminal. You can get onto that balcony facing the water at all times of the day and they have nice chairs out there. If you haven't been, it's a very nice place to sit for a few minutes.
Portsmouth development
in Hampton Roads
Posted
I agree, vdogg, it's too vague to make a judgment. If this were done right, it could be an excellent design. However, I have my doubts. With Portsmouth's financial situation it would seem extravagant if they built their new courthouse in brick and stone. They'll probably go with the least expensive materials, and they're perfectly justified in doing so. There are good arguments for building a courthouse as a public monument, and there are good arguments to be made on the side of fiscal responsibility in hard times as well. As a person who is happy to call Portsmouth home no matter where I live, I sorta hope they'll build a great courthouse. But if not, I'd understand.