Barracks Road Shopping Center
The Barracks Road Shopping Center is one of the oldest in the country, dating to 1959. To view the rest of this great old photograph of Barracks Road, see Cville Dave’s Posting on the Barracks Road Shopping Center in the 1960s. 
In the photo you can see the newly built shopping center, mostly surrounded by woods, with large expanses of asphalt for the “acres of free parking” that was touted in the original advertisement. Built by an area developer, Rinehart, it displaced a famous tavern called Carroll’s Tea Room. Moore’s history of Charlottesville reports that although it often possessed neither tea nor room, it was “an oasis for thousands of thirsty university students.” 
If you look closely at the Barracks Road logo, found on signs along the edges of the retail center, you will notice a rider on a horse. This logo references the cavalry soldiers who manned the “Barracks.” The military barracks were constructed west of town near Ivy Farms during the Revolutionary War to house British and German prisoners-of-war.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:51 am
Great post - I’m really enjoying the entire blog!
May 18th, 2007 at 9:02 am
For a great aerial view of the future site of the Barracks Road Shopping Center site in 1934 go to U.Va.’s Special Collections Online Visual History (http://mcgregor.lib.virginia.edu/prints/FMPro?-db=UVAPRINTS&-lay=main&-format=search2.html&-view) and enter “prints07164″ in the Image Filename search field. This picture shows the farmland lying along Rt 29 north of the recently completed Memorial Gymnasium (and reflecting pond)and Lambeth Field. Note also the Sanford White power plant where New Cabell Hall now stands and the area known as Canada on the opposite side of Jefferson Park Avenue.