JANAF Shopping Center
Encyclopedia
JANAF Shopping Center in Norfolk, Virginia
was one of the first large shopping centers in the United States.
The Hampton Roads
area experienced tremendous growth during and after World War II. In the 1950s, a trend in retail was the shopping center, a group of stores along a common sidewalk adjacent to off-street parking, usually in a suburban location. It also had higher aspirations than most shopping centers; JANAF included a Norfolk Public Library branch and medical office building. The JANAF Cinema was affiliated with General Cinemas; that theater was torn down in 2000, after 34 years of service. JANAF also has a center garden courtyard.
JANAF was built at the northeast corner of Military Highway
and Virginia Beach Boulevard
on property which had formerly been used as an airfield. The new shopping center which opened in 1959 featured acres of free parking and dozens of stores. Backed by retired military personnel, the name JANAF was an acronym for Joint Army Navy Air Force.
It sits across Virginia Beach Boulevard from the Gallery at Military Circle, an indoor mall built in the 1970s.
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
was one of the first large shopping centers in the United States.
The Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
area experienced tremendous growth during and after World War II. In the 1950s, a trend in retail was the shopping center, a group of stores along a common sidewalk adjacent to off-street parking, usually in a suburban location. It also had higher aspirations than most shopping centers; JANAF included a Norfolk Public Library branch and medical office building. The JANAF Cinema was affiliated with General Cinemas; that theater was torn down in 2000, after 34 years of service. JANAF also has a center garden courtyard.
JANAF was built at the northeast corner of Military Highway
Military Highway
Military Highway is a four-lane roadway built in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, USA during World War II.- Original construction :...
and Virginia Beach Boulevard
Virginia Beach Boulevard
Virginia Beach Boulevard is a major connector highway which carries U.S. Route 58 most of its length and extends from the downtown area of Norfolk to the Oceanfront area of Virginia Beach, passing through the newly-developed New Urbanist Town Center development of the latter as it links the two...
on property which had formerly been used as an airfield. The new shopping center which opened in 1959 featured acres of free parking and dozens of stores. Backed by retired military personnel, the name JANAF was an acronym for Joint Army Navy Air Force.
It sits across Virginia Beach Boulevard from the Gallery at Military Circle, an indoor mall built in the 1970s.