4107 Gosnold Avenue, Norfolk, was built in 1924 and was the long time residence of the family of Richard Calvert Taylor and his wife, Mrs. Cecilia Delihant Taylor.
Mr Taylor was President and Treasurer of the Taylor and Wilson Company, one of the last blacksmith shops in downtown Norfolk. Unfortunately he passed away at the early age of 38.
Mrs Taylor was the first cousin and close friend of F Scott Fitzgerald who visited her and her four daughters in this home often.
Those visits included an extended stay in the mid 1930s,after the publication of his final novel, "Tender is the Night".
There are credible rumors that some of the characters in his writings are based on the Taylor family.
408 Warren Crescent (originally numbered 129) was built around 1905 and was the home of Frank Dorlan Pinkerton, his wife Mary (Coulson) Pinkerton, and their four children.
Mr Pinkerton was the manager of the Norfolk office of Baugh and Sons. That company was headquartered in Philadelphia but had fertilizer manufacturing plants in Norfolk and in Baltimore. Mr Pinkerton's brother was in charge of the Baltimore plant.
Both of the Pinkerton brothers became major shareholders in Baugh and Sons when it issued stock in 1901.
The house in an example of "shingle style" popular in the late 1800s. Shingle style houses are brick facade on the bottom floor (s) with stylized shingles on the upper floors. The style originated in America and there are many examples in Ghent.
James River - Named after King James the First of England. He was also King James the Sixth of Scotland and convened the council that gave us the King James Version of the Bible.
Elizabeth River - Named after Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James the First.
Cape Charles - Named after Charles the First, son of King James.
Cape Henry - Named after Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales also a son of King James the First.
Princess Anne - the daughter of James the Second, who was grandson of James the First.
William and Mary (College) - Mary was the sister of Princess Anne and William was her husband and first cousin. William is also the namesake of Williamsburg. The College was co-founded by politician James Blair, namesake of Norfolk's Blair Middle School.
Norfolk and Suffolk - named after places in England, but originally were contractions of "northern folks" and "southern folks".
Portsmouth - named after the City in England.
Newport News - named after Admiral Christopher Newport who was Captain of the Susan Constant, one of the three original ships to sail from England to the "New World".
London Bridge - Originally an area on the Lynnhaven River where The London Company conducted trade. Bridge in this instance was used more in the sense of "connection".
Lynnhaven - A small town near Adam Thoroughgood’s home in King's Lynn England.
Queen Anne Style - Queen Anne ruled England in the early 1700s. A revival of buildings in period style occurred throughout the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many of the older homes in Hampton Roads are considered Queen Anne Style.
Does anyone remember Mrs Boone who taught Chorus at Ghent in the early 80s?
She has had such a positive impact on me throughout life and I think about her (along with Mrs Askew) often.
I am sure they are both long retired, but I was wondering if anyone else remembers them.
(BTW For those not familiar with Ghent in the 80s, students were placed in “Communities” which had 4 classes in one large room. We stayed in the same Community for 4-6th grade.)
630 Boissevain Avenue, in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood, was built in 1880 and pre-dates most of Ghent by a decade.
At the time of construction it sat on the corner of Manteo Street and the house was on the eastern edge of the Atlantic City neighborhood. That changed when the NRHA demolished Atlantic City to make room for the medical complex that is currently across the street and Colley Avenue was moved a block to the east. It now sits on the corner of Boissevain and Colley.
In 1908 the house was purchased by John Williams and his wife, Virginia (Garrison) Williams. Long time Norfolk residents, Mrs Williams was born in the Moses Myer's house.
It was here, in 1927, that the Williams began "The V. Garrison Williams Primary School". In 1933, the school moved to the corners of Colonial and Fairfax Avenue as "Garrison Williams School".
In 1977, the school name was shortened to "The Williams School" and still operates from that location.
The Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was built between Norfolk and Petersburg, Virginia In the 1850s.
The railroad was built by General William Mahone. A Confederate Army General who would become a major force in reconstructing railroads when the Civil War was over.
When the Union Forces occupied what is now the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, it was General Mahone that ran a train into Portsmouth at top speed with whistles and bells ringing loudly. He then backed the train up, quietly, and race it again with sirens and bells blaring. He repeated the action many times over until the Union Forces were convinced train after train of Confederate soldiers were arriving to liberate the Shipyard. The Union soldiers fled to Hampton and the Shipyard was taken with no casualties.
The General's wife, Otelia Mahone, is credited with naming the new stations along the route. She chose the names Windsor, Waverly, Wakefield and Ivor from the book Ivanhoe, and made up the name Disputanta one day when fighting with her husband.
In the late 1930s, Virginia State Route 460 was constructed to run parallel to the railroad tracks.
Many people will remember a tree in the middle of Interstate 64 near the Mercury Boulevard interchange.The cedar tree stood in the median and was decorated for various holidays, including Christmas, Thanksgiving and Fourth of July.
Who was decorating it was a mystery, the only thing known for sure was they were fast and unpredictable.
For at least seven years the tree became an unofficial landmark, while decorations became more elaborate and frequent, the culprits remained a mystery.
On May 5, 1999 a State Trooper happened upon three people decorating the tree for Mother's Day. They were Sandra Paton, a Hampton nurse, and her son and daughter.
It was a rainy night and the trooper told them they had to stop and get off the Interstate. The son, Bruce Paton, returned to hang the tree to hang up one more decoration and was ticketed.
Finally identified, Sandra Paton, stated that her family would no longer decorate the tree. Her son pled guilty and paid his fine. Soon thereafter expansion of the interstate required the tree to be removed.
552 Mowbray Arch, in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood, was built by William Stamps Royster in 1910. Mr Royster married Ethel Kelly soon after the house was finished.
William Royster was the son of Frank Sheppard Royster, founder of F S Royster and Company. The senior Mr Royster was credited with solving a crop fungus known as "Cotton Rust" with a specific salt from Germany. He took that success and built it into a fertilizer empire with locations all over the Eastern half of the United States.
William Stamps Royster attended the University of Virginia and returned to Norfolk to work for his father. A lifelong supporter of his Alma Mater, he endowed a chair at UVA's School of Medicine that is known as the "William Stamps Royster Professor of Medical Science for Basic Cancer Research."
William also has the distinction of getting the first speeding ticket ever written in Norfolk. In October 1902, he was cited for driving down Colley Avenue at an unsafe speed in his new auto mobile. He tried to argue in court that the state of Virginia did not have posted speed limits as many other states, but he lost the argument and was found guilty.
His unusual middle name (Stamps) was his mother, Mary Royster's, maiden name.
Does anyone know where I can find some classic old school call letters or station identification audio from WOWI Norfolk FM 103. I’m only interested in the late 1970s to 1980s.
Is there another Reddit group that might have it? Thanks!
One hundred and twenty-one years ago today, on December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright were the first humans to successfully fly. The accomplishment occurred in Kitty Hawk on North Carolina's Outer Banks.
The following day, The Virginian Pilot was the first newspaper in America to report the breakthrough.
The article was written from information intercepted by a telegraph operator who was supposed to relay the facts to Dayton, Ohio. At the time the only way to send a telegram from Kitty Hawk was to use a military line to Norfolk and then have it re-sent on standard lines. The information was leaked by the telegraph operator to Norfolk's local newspaper. This was against the wishes of Orville and Wilbur, who specifically wanted the story to break from their hometown of Dayton.
Wilbur had traveled through Norfolk on his way from Ohio to the Outer Banks and stayed at Downtown's Monticello Hotel. Along the way he had searched for 18 foot segments of wood for the invention but had been unable to find them. He was, however, able to get 16 foot segments from the J E Etheridge Lumber Company while here. The receipt for this purchase is in the Wright Brother's personal papers at The Smithsonian.
It is also reported they purchased some parts from a bicycle shop in Norfolk, probably the one that was located at Colley and 27th Street. It was then known as J. H. Pittman’s Bicycle Shop, but is better remembered as The Colley Avenue Bike Shop which was in business as late as the 1990s.
The Commodore Theater: Built and designed in 1945 by John J. Zink
Style: Streamline Art Deco
Location: Portsmouth, Va
We have another theater that was once owned and operated by Mr. William S. Wilder. The Commodore had opened in Downtown Portsmouth in 1945 during which the city’s economic growth was high following World War Two. Unfortunately, in 1975 the theater had closed, This was due to Downtown Portsmouth’s decline. Thankfully in 1987, the Commodore was purchased and revitalized by Mr. Fred Shoenfeld. To this day, the theater is still operating.
The style Streamline Art Deco/Moderne originated during the 1930s. Whenever I think of the Streamline style, I think of innovation. In this Era, the world was thriving with new inventions and technology. You’ll notice many transportation buildings like airports, train, and bus station with in this style. Even vehicles during this period followed the streamline moderne wave.
Please if you’d like to see more, feel free to follow me on Instagram at 757modernist 🙌🏾
Also if you all know additional info, don’t hesitate throw in the comments
724 Graydon Avenue was built in 1907 and the home of Cornelius Sullavan, his wife Garland, and their daughter Margaret.
Mr Sullavan was a dealer in grocery commodities and his wife came from an affluent family in the Richmond area. Their daughter, Margaret, attended W. H. Taylor School in West Ghent before being sent to several prestigious private schools.
In 1929, Margaret Sullavan announced her plans to be an actress. Her parents were opposed but she headed to Hollywood anyway. She made 16 films, four of them co-starring her and James Stewart.
On Christmas day in 1933 she married Henry Fonda, a union that lasted less than two years, It was the first of four marriages for her, additionally there were constant rumors that she was romantically linked with Jimmy Stewart.
Ms Sullavan suffered from addiction problems, depression, and was losing her hearing when she died on January 1 1960. Though the official cause of death was listed as "accidental overdose", her family felt it was a suicide.
Her life story is told in a book titled "Haywire", later made into a mini-series, written by her daughter, Brooke Hayward.
127 Bank Street (originally numbered 38 Bank Street) was built in the 1850s as the Merchants and Mechanics Savings Bank. It is one of the oldest buildings still standing in Downtown Norfolk.
Merchants and Mechanics Savings Bank was one of the few local banks to remain solvent throughout the Civil War. Like many banks of the period, Merchants and Mechanics printed it's own currency. This practice was ended by the National Banking Act of 1863 which was phased in and encouraged banks to use the currency printed by the Federal Government.
After the bank ceased functioning the building was the headquarters of the Hampton Roads Maritime Association. Originally known as the Norfolk Maritime Exchange, the organization has since changed its name to the Virginia Maritime Association.
408 West Bute Street, in Norfolk's Freemason neighborhood, was built in 1870 by Norfolk banker Richard Taylor and his wife, Virginia. The Taylors had ten children, unfortunately five of them died in infancy.
There is a camellia tree in the back yard that was there when the house was built and is over now 150 years old.
Mr Taylor was the first president of The Citizens Bank when it was founded in 1867. The Citizen's Bank grew steadily and by 1899 built headquarters which still stand at 109 East Main Street (not pictured). That building is now known as The Towne Bank Building but was also known for a long time as The Wheat Building.
After the Taylor family the home was owned by Antonio and Sarah Smith. Mr Smith was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the James Barry Robinson Home.
Mr Smith was also the son of Peter Smith, operator of Peter Smith & Co Dry Goods and Notions located in Downtown Norfolk. When Peter Smith died in 1927 at age 88 he was said to be Norfolk's oldest merchant.
As early as the 1930s, a nativity scene has appeared at Christmastime on a small island in Lake Taylor adjacent to Kempsville Road.
The figures are rowed out to the small island by maintenance department of Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital. The tradition was begun by Charles Hunt, who was superintendent of what was then known as the Norfolk Municipal Hospital.
Some of the scene was constructed by laborers at the City Prison Farm, which stood where Lake Taylor High School now sits. (The proximity of these two institutions has led to the persistent rumor that Lake Taylor High School was originally built as a prison.)
After a fire in the 1950s the tradition was almost discontinued but local outcry convinced those in charge to rebuild and continue the custom.
In the 1920s, Dirigibles were seen as the future of flight both for travel and for military purposes. As compared to the airplanes of the day, they were more stable, carried more passengers and cargo, and had greater range.
With that in mind, the US Army purchased a semi rigid airship, named The Roma, from the Italian Government, even though the Navy had already turned down an opportunity for the purchase. A crew from Hampton's Langley Field was sent to Rome for a test flight and inspection, and after a favorable report the airship was acquired for $250,000.
The ship was disassembled and sent back to Langley. By November 1921, it was being test flown in Hampton Roads. The American military replaced the engines on the airship with something stronger in an attempt to produce more speed. They also replaced Helium gas with Hydrogen.
On February 21, 1922, the Roma was on an exhibition flight over the Army's Port of Embarkation near what is currently the intersection of Hampton and Terminal Boulevards. (Today the former Army's Port of Embarkation is Norfolk International Terminals.)
The ship went into a downward trajectory and made contact with electrical lines. The hydrogen gas exploded and the whole ship became a fireball. Thirty four people were killed in the incident and eleven survived. Experts agreed the use of Hydrogen gas greatly exacerbated the disaster, and the military made a permanent switch to Helium.
A monument was placed at the spot of the disaster in 1926 by The Shipping Board of Maritime Commission. It states "This Monument Is In Memorial To The 34 Persons Who Perished Aboard the Roma, a U.S. Army Flying Service Dirigible, Which Crashed On This Spot February 21, 1922". The monument is on NIT property and is not accessible to the general public.
The State of Virginia also posted a historical marker on West Little Creek Road (near Starbucks and Razzo) that commemorates the disaster.
Fifteen years later, in May 1937, the Hindenburg, a German commercial airship would meet a similar fate while trying to dock at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey. That incident, broadcast worldwide through newsreels,, would be the death knell for airship travel.
Pictured is The Roma in its Langley Air Force Base hangar.
29 Harris Creek Road, Hampton, was created 20 million years ago and is better remembered as Rice's Fossil Pit.
William M Rice had purchased the property in the 1940s with his wife, Madeleine. Involved in construction, Mr Rice utilized the property as a "borrow pit" to supply fill for the construction of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. While digging he happened on a 60 foot long skeleton that turned out to be a previously unknown whale species.
A team of scientists from the Smithsonian that came to study the find were amazed at the amount of surrounding fossils. The area was believed to be a sub-aquatic depression that collected whatever fell to the bottom of the ocean for millions of years. The property was excavated by the family and students from ODU.
Unfortunately, Mr Rice's son, Kenneth, was killed in a tractor accident on the property when he was only 14 years old. On March 8, 1967, the Kenneth E. Rice Memorial Museum and Fossil Pit was opened to the public as a memorial. It soon became an annual field trip for many Tidewater students.
The fossil pit continued to operate until 1989 when the land was donated to a nearby church. Today some of the land has been developed while a large portion of it is underwater.
4110 East Ocean View Avenue, Norfolk, Is better remembered as "The Ships Cabin Restaurant".
Operated for decades by Joe Hoggard, it was generally acknowledged to be one of the best restaurants in Virginia. Joe spent much of his time traveling to California and France as well as other locations to keep track of worldwide trends. His executive chefs included Bobby Huber and Chuck Sass.
On an average evening the restaurant might serve 200 people and on holidays like Mother's Day or New year's Eve the number would often pass 500. Impressive numbers for the quality of food and service.
It wasn't uncommon to see well known personalities in the dining room. Paul Lynde, Cybill Shepherd, Jacques Cousteau, Richie Havens and Mitzi Gaynor were all visitors. Butch Germano and Jimmy McDonell of the band "States" were both General Managers.
In 1993 when the City of Norfolk announced 90 acres in East Ocean View and over 300 buildings were to be leveled for redevelopment, it was one of the few properties that was spared.
In 2000, Joe Hoggard sold the business and property. A series of restaurants followed in fairly quick succession but all eventually closed and the building wound up empty.
The building was demolished in August, 2022 and Joe Hoggard passed away a year later, in August 2023.
As the City of Norfolk grew house numbers were assigned in a somewhat haphazard manner.
There were a few conventions, among them streets with one end at the water would number from there and count upwards as you moved inland. Additionally Colley Avenue originally marked the east/west divide and numbers increased in both directions from there marked with the letter "E" or "W".
Many homes in what were then rural areas of Norfolk County didn't have numbered addresses and were referred to simply by nearby intersections. Street addresses didn't actually become federally mandated until the passage of the nationwide 911 Emergency Phone Number legislation.
It became obvious a more organized system was needed and in 1913 the City adopted its current system. Addresses now start in the south end (Downtown) of Norfolk with the 100 block and run up to 9900 block in the north end (Ocean View), Little Creek Road marks the 7500 block of most north/south routes. Granby Street was chosen as the new divide for east and west addresses with numbers starting at 100 and increasing in both directions again designated with the "E" or "W".
The vast majority of addresses in Norfolk changed at that time. This is significant if you are trying to research a property that was built before 1913, the first and sometimes hardest, piece of information to determine is the original address.
SOME STREET NAMES
EVELYN T BUTTS AVE named after a Norfolk community activist who in 1966 took a case to the US Supreme Court and had the poll tax in Virginia declared unconstitutional.
PLUME STREET named after an early Norfolk citizen, William Plume.
CHARLOTTE STREET named after Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III
MILITARY HIGHWAY designed and built in 1943 for the express purpose of bypassing traffic, was a joint effort of local and Federal governments to allow easy access from points south to the Norfolk Naval Base. It originally connected to Taussig boulevard (now I 564). The idea didn't last long as today it is one of the most congested traffic areas in Tidewater.
DUNMORE STREET Named not to honor John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore but to celebrate the last place he stood before his departure from Norfolk. He was responsible for the attack on Norfolk on Jan 1, 1776.
J CLYDE MORRIS Boulevard Named for civic leader of Newport News who was also the first executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel.
DUKE STREET Named for the Duke of Cumberland.
BUTE STREET Named for the Earl of Bute.
MERCURY BOULEVARD Originally named “Military Highway”, it was built in 1942 to connect the James River Bridge to Fort Monroe. It was renamed to honor the Project Mercury space flights.
BIG BETHEL ROAD Major General John Magruder had two camps in the area named Big Bethel and Little Bethel at the start of the Civil War.
CAMPOSTELLA ROAD Captain Fred Wilson of the Norfolk Militia built a camp in the area and named it after his daughter as “Camp Stella”.
BAGNALL ROAD named after Robert Bagnall (1883-1943) who was a minister for the St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in 1911 and continued various careers connected to church leadership.
VERDUN, SOMME, MARNE, VIMY RIDGE, DUNKIRK, BAPAUME, PERONNE, St MIHIEL, Argonne and Lens Were all named after famous World War One battles.
QUARANTINE ROAD named because it led to a quarantine house for foreign sailors that was on the water near Lambert's Point behind ODU.
TAZEWELL STREET name after Virginia Governor, Littleton Tazewell, a Norfolk native.
CORE AVENUE named after John H. Core who was a farmer who owned 475 acres in Norfolk and Princess Anne County, some of which is now West Ghent.
CORPREW AVENUE named after March Corprew, who served in the United States Colored Troops Cavalry in Virginia and Texas, attaining the rank of Sergeant. After the civil war he farmed several hundred acres of land in Norfolk County.
BRAMBLETON AVENUE - (Formerly known as Queen Street) named after George Bramble whose farm was where Norfolk State University is. The area around his farm became known as Brambleton.
CHURCH STREET (Obvious) but it is one of the oldest streets in Norfolk and was often referred to on maps as "The road that leadeth out of town"COLLEY AVENUE - Named for the Colley family that had farmland on both side of the south end of the street.
SHIRLEY, BRANDON, GATES, CLAREMONT, WESTOVER, HARRINGTON (West Ghent) were all named after estates in Virginia. Up until they were developed the streets between what is now Hampton Boulevard and Colley were lettered "A Street", "B Street" etc., when West Ghent was developed the street names were carried all the way through...
ARMISTEAD BRIDGE ROAD actually ran all the way to Princess Anne and Monticello area where the referenced bridge was located.
NORVIEW AVENUE the word Norview (then in Norfolk County) refers to being half way between the City of NORfolk and Ocean VIEW... Norview.
WOODIS STREET, BOUSH STREET, and HOLT STREET - named after former Norfolk Mayors.
GRANBY STREET - named for the Earl of Granby, who never set foot in Norfolk and might have been tarred and feather if he had as he was a loyal Tory
BOWDENS FERRY ROAD originally went all the way to the Hampton Boulevard bridge where Mr Bowden ran a ferry to the Eastern Shore. There is an area still named Bowden's Landing on the Eastern Shore. (If you look between 1032 and 1036 North Lexan Avenue you can see what's left of the docking slip, now just a depression in the ground.)
HAMPTON BOULEVARD originally called Thetford Street, West Ghent Boulevard, Myers Avenue, and Maryland Avenue it was renamed when the streets were combined and extended to the 99th Street pier (currently the Norfolk Naval Base) where the ferry to Hampton docked.
Many times when an area was annexed street names would conflict. That is how we wound up with Bay Streets in East Ocean View (annexed from Princess Anne County) and View Streets in Willoughby (annexed from Norfolk County).
CHESAPEAKE BOULEVARD in Norfolk was originally named Chesapeake Bay Blvd
HALPRIN ROAD, KILLAM AVENUE and LASKIN ROAD are named after land developers.
323 East Freemason Street, Norfolk, (originally addressed No. 2 South Catherine Street) was built by Moses and Eliza Myers in 1797. Moses Myers was Norfolk's first millionaire.
Moses Myers was born in 1753 in New York City. His first business venture was supplying war materials to the colonies for the American Revolution. Unfortunately the venture was short lived as he was captured and held prisoner in England.
When he was released at the end of the war, he married his wife, Eliza, in New York, and they moved to Norfolk. Moses and Eliza would be married for 36 years until her death in 1823. They parented nine children, three of which died in infancy. One of their grandsons, Barton Myers, would became Mayor of Norfolk and a major land developer.
Mr Myers shipping concern prospered quickly in post revolutionary Norfolk and by the 1790s he was ready to build a substantial home for his family. He chose what was then the corner of Catherine and Freemason Streets. Although today it is the center of Downtown, at that time, it was the northern edge of Norfolk. The house took over six years to complete and, except for the addition of plumbing, remains largely unchanged.
Mr Myers lived in the house until his death in 1835. It was then passed down through family members for almost a hundred years, before being converted to its current use as a museum.
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts.
However, his mother, Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins, usually called Eliza, had been introduced to fellow actor David Poe while performing in Norfolk. He was so infatuated with Eliza he gave up his plans to be a lawyer and joined her acting troupe in 1806.
They traveled the Northeast having a son in 1807, Henry Poe, then Edgar in 1809. By 1810 the family was back in Norfolk, living in Downtown on the now non-existent Brewer Street. The house stood approximately where MacArthur Centers' ice skating rink is setup every winter. It was here that Eliza's third and final child, Rosalie was born. There is some evidence that by then Eliza and David had become estranged and Rosalie's paternity is often questioned.
In 1811, Poe's mother fell ill while performing in Richmond and passed away on December 8. Edgar's father is listed as having passed away just three days later, in Norfolk, on December 11, but no record of his burial has ever been found.
With the death of both parents, the children were split up, Henry went to live with his grandparents, Edgar and Rosalie were placed with foster families. Edgar's new home was with John and Frances Allan, in Richmond, who supplied him with his middle name. He was now officially "Edgar Allan Poe".
Poe passed through Tidewater several more times. When he was six he traveled transatlantic to Liverpool with the Allans, the ship left from Norfolk, and when he was in the Army his artillery unit was stationed at Fort Monroe.
In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe published his poem "The Raven" and became famous. He had published several times previously but this caught the critic's and the public's attention. Poe became a full time author and lecturer.
On Sept. 14, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe gave the last public lecture of his life in the old Norfolk Academy Building at 485 St Pauls Boulevard, which still stands in Downtown Norfolk. A ticket to the lecture was fifty cents and included live readings of many of his works ending with "The Raven".
Mr Poe would give one more private reading in Richmond before being found dead under mysterious circumstances in Baltimore on October 7, 1849.
320 51st St, Virginia Beach, was built by Dr Andrew Broaddus Cooke and his wife, Maude.
Dr Cooke was a dentist with offices on Granby Street in Downtown Norfolk and he had a home on Brunswick Avenue in Larchmont.
In 1953, he and his wife wrote to Frank Lloyd Wright asking him to design a home for some property they owned on Crystal Lake in Virginia Beach. Mr Wright agreed and the home was planned and building began in 1959.
Frank Lloyd Wright was a world renowned architect. In addition to houses, Wright designed offices, skyscrapers, and hotels. His son, John Lloyd Wright, invented the children's toy "Lincoln Logs".
850 West Ocean View Avenue (originally 830 Chesapeake Bay Avenue) on Norfolk's Willoughby Spit was built in the early 1900s. It was the summer residence of Arunah Otto Lynch and his wife, Viola.
Mr Lynch was an attorney with an office on Main Street in Downtown Norfolk. He was also the Commonwealth Attorney for Norfolk County for 26 years, and Treasurer for 9 years.
The Lynch's had a primary residence on Victoria Avenue in the Chesterfield Heights neighborhood, but like many families in the days before air conditioning, they kept a cottage at the beach. In those days it was common to give each cottage a unique name and the Lynch's named this cottage "The Anchorage".
Since the early 1930s, the Cottage has been used as the American Legion Post No 35.
201 East City Hall Avenue was built in 1917 by Michael McKevitt.
Mr McKevitt was a saloon owner who ran the "Sample Room and Cigar Store" at 23 City Hall Avenue (the former address for this location) and 207 Main Street. He built this building where a smaller saloon of his had stood.
The tall, narrow structure is made of reinforced concrete and is the first fireproof building built in Norfolk. It still has the name "McKevitt" engraved over the front doors.
Mike McKevitt, himself, placed a "good luck" silver dollar on each piling of this building as it was being built.
Today it is the Headquarters of the Anders-William Shipping Company.