Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2019.

Fire Station and Jail from East Main Street, August 4, 1962

Artist Carroll H. Walker (American, 1904 - 1990)

CultureAmerican

Date1962

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 7 × 9 5/8 in. (17.8 × 24.4 cm)
Overall, Support: 8 × 9 7/8 in. (20.3 × 25.1 cm)

Credit LineGift of Carroll H. Walker

Object number67.40.101

Not on view

DescriptionPhotograph depicting a scene from Norfolk, VA.

Label TextDodson’s Livery Stable, 65 67 Church Street, January 31, 1961, 1961 Gift of Carroll H. Walker 67.40.71 Fire Station and Jail from East Main Street, August 4, 1962, 1962 Gift of Carroll H. Walker 67.40.101 Main Street East, Onyx Hotel and Saloon, June 1960, 1960 Gift of Carroll H. Walker 67.40.87 Talbot and Main Streets, Looking toward Plume Street, November 23, 1961, 1961 Gift of Carroll H. Walker 67.40.132 After WWII, there were at least 50 bars in lower downtown Norfolk, and the area was known for its concert halls, burlesque theaters, shooting galleries, penny arcades, and tattoo parlors (before the city outlawed them in 1950). Patrons described the area as shabby but entertaining, while others saw the neighborhood as a seedy center of violence and vice—according to one report, there were as many at 30 known brothels in the area before WWII. City officials were critical of the look of the area as much as the character. When Norfolk Mayor Fred Duckworth unveiled plans to clear the neighborhood and replace the taverns and other businesses with a landscaped pedestrian mall, office buildings, and parking garages, he proudly said there would be “no more honky-tonk tavern signs, no more neon jungle.”