Monthly Archive for November, 2011

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What’s the Oldest Business in Charlottesville?

Today I got my hair cut at Staples’, picked up some carpentry supplies at Martin, and had lunch at Riverside, and that set me to wondering about which local business is the oldest.

Martin Hardware seemed like a good place to start. They were founded in 1893. But Timberlake’s, as their sign informs all who pass by, was established in 1890. Keller & George promotes their 1875 founding in radio ads. My insurance agent, Hanckel-Citizens, was founded a few years earlier, in 1872. After half an hour of thinking about this and googling around, I can’t come up with any older local business that’s still running, without interruption, and hasn’t been bought up by a larger business.

Now, of course, my curiosity is piqued, and I have to imagine that I’m overlooking something. Do you know of a business that’s older than Hanckel-Citizens?

Local Hotspots for Parking Tickets

From Derick Waller at NBC-29, the ten places where the Charlottesville Police give out the most parking tickets:

  1. Water St. Parking lot (2,756)
  2. University Ave (1,626)
  3. E. Jefferson St. (1,321)
  4. E. Market St. (894)
  5. 4th St. NE (877)
  6. W. Main St. (868)
  7. 13th St. NW (789)
  8. Garrett St. (779)
  9. Jefferson Park Ave. (737)
  10. 4th St. SE (710)

Charlottesville, a Millionaire Capital

Forbes ranks Charlottsville as #14 on their list of “America’s Millionaire Capitals” based on calculating the average net worth of people reporting at least $200k in annual income. We’re right behind Beverly Hills.  #

$75k for City Schools from DMB Violinist

Boyd Tinsley is giving $75k to city schools to fund tennis, tutoring, and music education for low-income students.  #

Rotunda Magnolias to be Felled

UVA is planning to take down the big magnolias on either side of the Rotunda, Ted Strong writes in the Daily Progress, and some people aren’t thrilled about it. The enormous trees are slated for removal in order to allow scaffolding to be put up around the building, so that the leaky roof can be replaced. (The scaffolding, interestingly, will support a tent to cover the roofless Rotunda.) The trees are thought to have been planted about a century ago, but it’s not clear if they’re really the same trees or replacements. Ironically, the trees could be contributing to the building’s troubles; as evergreens, they leave the building in shade year-round, preventing evaporation of rainwater. A student petition opposing the removal of the trees has garnered over 2,000 signatures.