Wards Corner, Norfolk: From "Times Square of the South" to a Neighborhood Reborn (Part 1 of 5)

Wards Corner is a historic commercial and residential district in Norfolk, Virginia, centered on the intersection of Granby Street and Little Creek Road, about five miles north of downtown and less than four miles from Naval Station Norfolk. Once a rural crossroads, it grew into one of the first suburban shopping centers in the United States, earned the nickname "Times Square of the South," weathered decades of decline, and is now the focus of a long-running community and city-led revival. This is the first post in a five-part series exploring Wards Corner and the smaller neighborhoods that surround it. 

Where Is Wards Corner?

Wards Corner sits at the meeting point of Granby Street and Little Creek Road (historically Sewell's Point Road) in north-central Norfolk. It functions as a kind of gateway to the northern half of the city: from this single intersection you can reach Ocean View, downtown Norfolk, Hampton Boulevard, Shore Drive, and the area's military installations with ease. The corridor remains one of Norfolk's busiest, carrying tens of thousands of vehicles a day.

The name "Wards Corner" refers both to the commercial hub at that intersection and to the cluster of residential neighborhoods that grew up around it through the twentieth century — places like Suburban Acres, Titustown, Denby Park, Monticello Village, Talbot Park, and others that we'll cover in detail later in this series.

How Wards Corner Got Its Name

A little over a century ago, this was farmland. In 1910, a grocer named Alfred C. Ward opened a general store at the corner of Little Creek Road and Granby Street. The store did well, and Ward expanded into selling Michelin tires. As the story goes, a tire salesman servicing the account hung banners outside the store reading "Meet Mr. Ward at Ward's Corner." The phrase caught on, and the name stuck — a tribute to Ward's entrepreneurial streak that has outlived the original store by more than a hundred years.

The Golden Age: "Times Square of the South"

The neighborhood's defining era began after World War II. In 1947, the Midtown Shopping Center opened at Wards Corner — one of the first strip-style shopping centers on the East Coast. Its debut was a genuine civic event: a crowd of roughly 10,000 people turned out, and the lieutenant governor was among the speakers.

What followed was a retail boom. Through the 1950s and into the 1960s, Wards Corner became a true commercial destination, drawing shoppers from across the region and especially from the growing Ocean View area to the north. It filled with stores that became local institutions:

• Hofheimer's Shoe Store, remembered for keeping a live monkey in its display window in the 1950s

• Rice's department store

• Peoples Drug

• Ben Franklin five-and-dime

• Entertainment spots including the Suburban Theater and the Mercury Roller Rink

Promotional materials of the day dubbed the district the "Times Square of the South." For families across Norfolk in this era — and even for those who grew up in the city in the 1980s — Wards Corner was, in many people's memory, the center of Norfolk. As the shopping district thrived, residential neighborhoods filled in the surrounding land, many of them built between roughly 1940 and 1969.

The Decline

The same forces that built Wards Corner eventually worked against it. The arrival of Interstate 64 reshaped how people moved through the region, reinforcing car-oriented development and shifting traffic patterns. More importantly, the rise of large enclosed shopping malls in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake pulled shoppers — and then retailers — away from older open-air centers like Wards Corner.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, the district experienced a long slide. Anchor businesses moved out, storefronts emptied, and the area struggled with vacancy. By the mid-1990s, the once-glamorous retail strip was anchored by far more modest tenants. The decline carried real consequences for the surrounding community, and recapturing the corridor's old vitality became a shared goal for residents, businesses, and the city alike.

The Turnaround: A Community-Led Revival

The story of Wards Corner over the past two decades is one of organized effort to bring it back.

In 2003, the City of Norfolk commissioned the Greater Wards Corner Comprehensive Plan, developed through public meetings and input from local civic groups. The City Council adopted the plan in 2004. Its emphasis was on the kind of development that had been missing for decades: pedestrian-friendly streets, mixed-use retail and housing, and the reduction of blight along the corridor.

That planning work has been backed by an unusually engaged civic infrastructure. The area is represented by a consortium of neighborhood organizations — the Wards Corner Civic League, Suburban Acres Civic League, Talbot Park Civic League, Monticello Village Civic League, the Concerned Citizens of Titustown, and many more — that coordinate with the city and local businesses on improvements. A long-running community publication, Wards Corner Now, has documented the area's history and progress for years.

The physical work has continued in stages. The City of Norfolk has pursued acquisition and demolition of blighted properties to support the comprehensive plan. A 2019 long-term "urban area development plan" laid out a vision that included a new street, new construction on existing parking areas, additional upper floors on key buildings, and even conceptual future transit stations. Infrastructure has been upgraded along the way, including a resurfacing of West Little Creek Road from Granby Street to Hampton Boulevard completed in 2023.

Progress has not been linear. Like many older commercial districts, Wards Corner has had to contend with shifting commercial real estate conditions, financing pressures, and the changing economics of retail. Major parcels have changed hands and plans have evolved. But the through-line is clear: this is a neighborhood with deep roots, a strong sense of its own history, and a community that has refused to let that history be the end of the story.

What Wards Corner Is Today

Today, Wards Corner is a working, lived-in part of Norfolk — a mix of commercial corridor and established residential neighborhoods, valued for a location that puts downtown, the waterfront, the naval installations, and Ocean View all within a short drive. It carries a layered identity: a place older residents remember as the region's premier shopping destination, and one that newer arrivals are discovering as an affordable, centrally located foothold in the city.

The surrounding residential pockets each have their own character. Suburban Acres is known for its mid-century Cape Cod homes. Titustown is a historic riverside community. Talbot Park sits as a waterfront enclave off the Granby Street gateway. Denby Park, Monticello Village, Cromwell Farms, Bolling Brook, and others each add to the texture of the greater Wards Corner area. We'll explore these neighborhoods one at a time in the posts ahead.

Key Facts: Wards Corner at a Glance

• Location: Intersection of Granby Street and Little Creek Road, north-central Norfolk, Virginia

• Distance from downtown Norfolk: About 5 miles

• Distance from Naval Station Norfolk: Less than 4 miles

• Named for: Grocer Alfred C. Ward, who opened a general store there in 1910

• Nickname: "Times Square of the South"

• Key historic milestone: Midtown Shopping Center opened in 1947, one of the first strip shopping centers on the East Coast

• Revival framework: Greater Wards Corner Comprehensive Plan, adopted by Norfolk City Council in 2004

• Surrounding neighborhoods: Suburban Acres, Titustown, Denby Park, Monticello Village, Talbot Park, Cromwell Farms, Bolling Brook, and more

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Wards Corner in Norfolk? Wards Corner is in north-central Norfolk, Virginia, centered on the intersection of Granby Street and Little Creek Road. It's about five miles north of downtown Norfolk and a short drive from Naval Station Norfolk, Ocean View, and the city's waterfront.

How did Wards Corner get its name? It's named after Alfred C. Ward, a grocer who opened a general store at the intersection in 1910. A tire salesman's banner reading "Meet Mr. Ward at Ward's Corner" popularized the name, and it endured.

Why was Wards Corner called the "Times Square of the South"? In the 1950s and 1960s, Wards Corner was one of the first and most popular suburban shopping centers in the region, packed with major retailers and entertainment venues. Promotional materials gave it the nickname to capture its status as a bustling commercial destination.

What happened to Wards Corner? Beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, the rise of enclosed shopping malls in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake drew shoppers and retailers away, leading to vacancies and decline along the corridor.

Is Wards Corner being redeveloped? Yes. The Greater Wards Corner Comprehensive Plan, adopted by Norfolk City Council in 2004, guides an ongoing revival focused on mixed-use development, walkability, and blight reduction. The city has pursued property acquisition, demolition of blighted parcels, and infrastructure improvements, supported by an active network of neighborhood civic leagues.

What neighborhoods are part of the greater Wards Corner area? The area includes residential neighborhoods such as Suburban Acres, Titustown, Denby Park, Monticello Village, Talbot Park, Cromwell Farms, and Bolling Brook, among others.

About the Author John King is a Navy veteran and licensed real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway RW Towne Realty, serving Hampton Roads including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Chesapeake. Known for his straightforward approach and market expertise. 📞 757-270-3994 📧 [email protected] 🌐 www.757King.com

Curious what your home is worth in today's market? Get a free home valuation and find out where you stand.