Downtown Charlottesville used to be a fun place to shop. There was on-street parking, and you could always find a spot. There was a wonderful, upscale Miller & Rhodes store. I often went there to buy the ladies of my family Christmas presents, and across the street was a Leggett Store. Also, on Main Street was C.H. Williams and Tillman’s department stores, plus the Young Men’s Shop. There was Dixie News which sold magazines and papers and of course, Timberlake’s Drug store with a world class soda fountain. At the upper end of town there was a genuine Army Navy store which had many interesting and often Army surplus items. Across from that was Old Dominion Office Supply Store. It wasn’t as large as a Staple’s Store, but they had a broad selection of most anything an office would need. There were also a couple jewelry stores including Tuel’s and a handful of restaurants, including Miller’s and The Nook. The old Downtown Hardware was the citadel of all the downtown stores. If you went in and asked for a 5/8-inch hex nut, they would ask, “Nickel or brass?”
There was a McCrory’s Five and Dime, the Jefferson Theater, the Paramount Gleason’s Bakery and Standard Drug,
Today, every other business on the Downtown Mall is a restaurant. The retail businesses come and go like migrating flocks of geese. Parking is a quarter mile away in garages with multiple decks. Where there were once parking meters, there are now beggars and drug addicts. For me, it’s no longer a fun place to shop and visit. I go there now only if I must. I miss the old Downtown Charlottesville.
