Norfolk Pictures

[ORF flyer]

On 5/22/2020 at 12:48 PM, urbanvb said:

Ok, a bit off topic..I think I’ve mentioned this before .. My Mom was raised in Norfolk back in the day when everything was downtown and bustling. She took the bus to her job at a department store then later to her new job at the telephone company as an operator, now AT&T on Bute/Bousch. Everything was much different back then.  Sometimes I wish I could peek into the past. 

Pass this photo onto your mother if possible.  One of the old switch boards in the AT&T building downtown Norfolk.

[urbanvb]

My mom was very surprised to see the switchboard.  Thanks for sharing that!

Edited May 28, 2020 by urbanvb

[EJ_LEWIS]

Beautiful Drone video of Downtown Norfolk at night. The city looks big at night.  

 

[urbanlife]

The new Hilton looks like a really great addition to the city. It is also strange to me to see company names on most of the towers since none of the buildings in Portland do that.

[BFG]

I wish I could take credit for this picture, but I saw this on Reddit. That's MacArthur Square. It's an angle you don't see very often in downtown pictures. The only thing it needs IMO, are a few more shops.

[BFG]

Also...here's a shot of downtown that I took from the rooftop of Novel.

[Norfolk757Kid]

14 hours ago, BFG said:

I wish I could take credit for this picture, but I saw this on Reddit. That's MacArthur Square. It's an angle you don't see very often in downtown pictures. The only thing it needs IMO, are a few more shops.

Yeah the main thing taking away from Macarthur Square's activity is the massive parking garages on City Hall Avenue. If some of McCarthur's space on City Hall could be converted to street facing retail or whatever that would definitely help. Also, the Tide Station is just a glorified bus stop. Why not give it some more architectural presence in the center of the city?

[urbanlife]

15 hours ago, Norfolk757Kid said:

Yeah the main thing taking away from Macarthur Square's activity is the massive parking garages on City Hall Avenue. If some of McCarthur's space on City Hall could be converted to street facing retail or whatever that would definitely help. Also, the Tide Station is just a glorified bus stop. Why not give it some more architectural presence in the center of the city?

I always hated that about the mall, it was a massive development for the city at the time, but it was a very inward development that encouraged people to come into the downtown but stay inside the building, thus making the mall a bad neighbor to its surroundings. If the design would have included shops to be along the sidewalk with various entry points into the mall, it would have made for a better building active inside and outside. Also with the MacArthur Square, it would have been interesting if there was more programming done for the square rather than just semi open space. Here in Milwaukie, Oregon, when we got our new light rail stop put in downtown, we put in a food cart station that created a gathering spot with several local food options and outdoor seating right next to the light rail.

[Norfolk757Kid]

 If you look at old pictures of downtown, even some that have probably been posted here, City Hall Ave and Main St are lined with retail, shops, bars and probably tattoo parlors and brothels maybe lol. There's virtually no street level retail on both streets nowadays and hasn't been for decades. I don't think it's because of a lack of interested business owners. If there was available space, like in Selden Market, I think you would see people want to open a business on these streets in such a prime location downtown, but either the zoning or design of the area does not encourage it, actively discourages you could say. So what you get is a downtown that doesn't have much robust activity to it besides Granby Street. No other substantial continuous commercial  arteries. Yes, there is activity, but not mixed use throughout. 

[urbanlife]

On 8/7/2020 at 9:33 AM, Norfolk757Kid said:

 If you look at old pictures of downtown, even some that have probably been posted here, City Hall Ave and Main St are lined with retail, shops, bars and probably tattoo parlors and brothels maybe lol. There's virtually no street level retail on both streets nowadays and hasn't been for decades. I don't think it's because of a lack of interested business owners. If there was available space, like in Selden Market, I think you would see people want to open a business on these streets in such a prime location downtown, but either the zoning or design of the area does not encourage it, actively discourages you could say. So what you get is a downtown that doesn't have much robust activity to it besides Granby Street. No other substantial continuous commercial  arteries. Yes, there is activity, but not mixed use throughout. 

I was trying to find a good photo of old City Hall Ave, but instead I just came across these old photos. Just imagine how much different Norfolk would look today if it had preserved much of this history and built new towers and other modern buildings in what is the Neon District, Young Terrace, and Calvert Square. The city would have had a modern highrise corridor while preserving much of its historical downtown.

https://www.bygonely.com/norfolk-virginia-historic-photos/

Edited August 9, 2020 by urbanlife

[brikkman]

First time home all 2020, kind of flew past with covid. Sorry I wasn't a little more organized, but here are some vids to give you  guys another perspective.

Feel free to download or do whatever with it you like...

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/232j4d44gxvy3fv/AAAyOGPXznuNhlEj2jidWGMVa?dl=0

[Norf Native]

Great video. Thanks for sharing. 

[EJ_LEWIS]

Found this picture of Downtown Norfolk on Yahoo images. 

[BFG]

Saw this on the wall of a house I serviced. It's from the mid-70s, and I've now made it my mission to find a copy.

[urbanvb]

That’s a great find. I recall seeing one many years ago.

[BFG]

12 minutes ago, urbanvb said:

That’s a great find. I recall seeing one many years ago.

I swear I've seen one in a local restaurant. I just ordered a canvas print of the pic taken with my phone. It'll do until if/when I find the real thing!

[EJ_LEWIS]

Drone footage of Downtown Norfolk on the Festevents Youtube Channel.

 

[urbanlife]

On 10/30/2020 at 8:59 AM, BFG said:

Saw this on the wall of a house I serviced. It's from the mid-70s, and I've now made it my mission to find a copy.

 

I feel like this is something I have seen before in my childhood growing up there. I could be wrong, but this definitely looks familiar.

[BeagleAccountant]

Good clip to show how much has changed since Waterside’s construction started.

 

Edited November 19, 2020 by BeagleAccountant

[Norfolkborn]

14 hours ago, BeagleAccountant said:

Good clip to show how much has changed since Waterside’s construction started.

 

Seeing this make me realize the missied opportunities....downtown could have been completely different now, even better. 

[urbanlife]

On 11/19/2020 at 8:21 AM, Norfolkborn said:

Seeing this make me realize the missied opportunities....downtown could have been completely different now, even better. 

Could you imagine if the new downtown was built along Brambleton and the old downtown was renovated rather than torn down. Much of that open land would be full of historic buildings rather than vacant land and a handful of office towers.

[BFG]

I cropped this from Reddit. Fort Norfolk is really coming into its own. I like the mini-skyline developing over there. Can't wait for the mixed-use developments to start popping up in the next decade.

[carolinaboy]

Can anyone snap a picture of Downtown Christmas lights and post?

[BFG]

This was along City Hall Ave. Didn’t get a chance to get out the car. 

[757Duke]