DOWNTOWN TIMELINE
1910: Granby becomes the busiest street in Norfolk. In the 1760s, the narrow lane less than two blocks long was named for John Manners, Marquis of Granby, then-hero of the Seven Years’ War.
1961: Department stores populate Granby Street. Stores listed in a 196162 Norfolk Chamber of Commerce directory include Ames & Brownley at 415 Granby St., W.T. Grant at
256 Granby St., Nelco at 501 Granby St., Rice’s Fashion Corner at 400 Granby St., and Smith & Welton at 300 Granby St.
1976: Granby Street closes to car traffic and is redubbed Granby Mall in an effort to revitalize downtown and bring business back from the suburbs. The move is ultimately deemed a failure, and the street reopens to cars in 1986.
1997: Tidewater Community College opens its downtown Norfolk campus at 315 Granby St.
1983: Waterside festival marketplace opens on the Elizabeth River with 120 vendors.
1999: MacArthur Center mall opens on March 12. The three-story, 1 million-squarefoot shopping center opened with around 100 stores, including Nordstrom, Dillard’s and a Rainforest Cafe.
2007: Norfolk opens the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, a $36 million terminal located next to Nauticus and the Battleship Wisconsin.
2012: Frank“Buddy” Gadams begins redeveloping the historic Wainwright building downtown into 126 luxury apartments. He then redeveloped 25 properties with 1,500 apartments, 22 retailers and 100,000 square feet of office space by the end of 2017. Projects include Metro on Granby,
The James, The Law Building, The Rockefeller and Icon, a 24-story former Bank of America building converted into 269 units.
2015: The 138,000-squarefoot, $65 million Slover Library opens on East Plume Street.
2017: The Main, a 23-story, $175 million hotel and conference center, opens downtown. The space features three restaurants, including a rooftop beer garden. Waterside District, a $40 million overhaul of the waterfront marketplace by The Cordish Cos., opens.
2020: To get people back to restaurants after the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Norfolk allows restaurants along Granby Street to erect outdoor dining patios in parking spaces.
2022: After a string of downtown shootings, Norfolk officials beef up security along Granby Street by installing several mobile surveillance cameras. They also close several downtown nightclubs, including Legacy Restaurant and Lounge, Culture Lounge & Restaurant, California Burrito, Caior Bistro & Social and Scotty Quixx.
2023: The owners of MacArthur Center put the mall up for sale.for an undisclosed amount. The mall has been bleeding retailers for years: Nordstrom left in 2019, the Apple store exited in 2021 and the Barnes & Noble serving as TCC’s bookstore began a move closer to campus in late 2022.
Sources: The Virginian-Pilot archives, Norfolk historian Peggy McPhillips, the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and the city of Norfolk
hopes the city would continue to prioritize affordable housing and better walking and biking access.
“Granby Street should be the crown jewel of local pride, teeming with high-quality local businesses across retail, restaurants, neighborhood goods, services and experiences,” he said.