Category: History
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Vintage DTM: history of Hamilton’s Restaurant building
This building, at the northwest corner of First and Main Streets, started out as Jefferson National Bank in the 1910s. It was carved out of the east end of the Leterman Building which was a prominent downtown department store at the time. Much of the Leterman Building still exists with various shops occupying the original…
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Vintage DTM: Main Street in the 1930s
This view of Main Street is from the base of Vinegar Hill, looking east on Main Street, in the 1930s. This is the west end of today’s Downtown Mall. If you go downtown and look closely at the second and third stories of many of the buildings on this part of the DTM you will…
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Vintage DTM: the old A & N building
A&N sat on the corner of 5th and E. Main for many decades, both before and after the construction of the downtown pedestrian mall. Once a two-story building, it fell victim to a 1968 fire at the M.C. Thomas Furniture store next door. The business would carry on for many more years and is seen…
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Vintage DTM: Christmas on Main Street, circa 1959
In December of 1959, local photographer Ed Roseberry captured this nighttime view of Main Street, today’s Downtown Mall. Many changes have occurred in this section of town in the last 5 decades. The Paramount went dark for 30 years. The buildings to the west of the theater were destroyed by fire (1973) and have become…
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Vintage DTM: evolution of the DTM was gradual
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…
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More than a Mall: A Guide to Historic Downtown Charlottesville
If you haven’t had a chance to read this research project by the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society and the UVA School of Architecture, under the guidance of Prof. Daniel Bluestone, well, you’ve been missing out on one of the most comprehensive studies of the DTM. Check it out! READ THE BOOKLET BY CLICKING HERE
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More Vintage DTM: as seen from above, and long ago
This aerial photograph from legendary Charlottesville photographer Ed Roseberry shows downtown Charlottesville as it looked in the early 1970s. The street on the left is Main Street, today’s downtown mall. The ramps came off the Belmont Bridge and 9th Street on to Main Street about where the nTelos Wireless Pavilion stands today. You can see…
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Vintage DTM: along First and Main
This photograph, taken in the last years before the downtown pedestrian mall was constructed, shows the signage of stores along Main Street. The shops seen here are at First and Main and the first two blocks of West Main Street. While none of these businesses remain today, most of the buildings still stand along the…
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Blasts from the past: “Vintage DTM” photo series
The DTM is pleased to welcome a new feature to the site called “Vintage DTM.” Photographer Steve Trumbull‘s website C’ville Images features vintage images of Charlottesville and tells the stories behind the pictures. We will be showing some of these photos here on a regular basis with a focus on Downtown and Main Street, today’s DTM. You…
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Way-back machine, courtesy The Times of Charlottesville
Clearing out the offices of the Hook, we found another deceased newspaper, The Times of Charlottesville, published on the DTM by Sandy McAdams and Phil Stafford out of Daedalus Books. Here are some snapshots from 1975 & 1976.
charlottesvilledtm.com 