Tanner's Storage Warehouse, Church and Union Streets, November 4, 1961
Artist
Carroll H. Walker
(American, 1904 - 1990)
CultureAmerican
DateNovember 4, 1961
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 7 1/4 × 9 11/16 in. (18.4 × 24.6 cm)
Overall, Support: 8 × 9 7/8 in. (20.3 × 25.1 cm)
Overall, Support: 8 × 9 7/8 in. (20.3 × 25.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Carroll H. Walker
Object number67.40.201
On View
Not on viewLabel TextUnion Street and Commercial Place, January 27, 1965, 1965 Gift of Carroll H. Walker 67.40.171 Three Tallest Buildings, Left to Right: Naval Hospital, Seaboard Citizens, and Virginia National Bank, Looking toward Main Street, Municipal Buildings on Right, February 24, 1965, 1965 Gift of Carroll H. Walker 67.40.81 Tanner’s Storage Warehouse, Church and Union Streets, November 4, 1961, 1961 Gift of Carroll H. Walker 67.40.201 Demolishing Old City Jail, Plume Street, May 15, 1963, 1963 Gift of Carroll H. Walker 67.40.52 Norfolk’s jail was infamous for its rundown condition. An inspection in 1954 highlighted the “desperate need” for better facilities, citing wide cracks in exterior walls, jammed doors, a sinking foundation, and plumbing so old that replacement parts couldn’t be found. Some believed the building itself was in danger of caving in. The jail had also become overcrowded. In just three months in 1954, the population increased by 51%. Between escorting prisoners to court appointments and tending to the inmates, the jail’s staff could not keep up with basic maintenance issues. As the director of the Division of Corrections reported, “The time of one jailor is almost completely taken up with attempts to repair breakdowns of jail plumbing.” The jail was torn down in 1963, a few years after a new jail had been opened as part of a modern Civic Center (find out more in the next room).
