This photograph from the mid 1970s shows the early construction of the Downtown Mall. The controversial idea to replace the drivable Main Street with a brick-paved pedestrian mall was not well-received by everyone, especially many of the business owners who benefited from the drive-up traffic and being convenient to their customers. This image shows the area around First and Main.  Many of the stores seen here would move or go out of business. It took many years for the downtown area to become the commercially viable DTM we know today. “Vintage DTM” is produced by Steve Trumbull. To see more of vintage images of C’ville, visit www.cvilleimages.com

Architecture Development History Photos