The PHR Center Shops at Wards Corner – Norfolk 1952

The following was taken from the Virginian-Pilot Archives Facebook page.

Back on January 9, 1952, Virginian-Pilot Photographer Charles Borjes stepped into the new PHR Center Shops at Norfolk Wards Corner.  Borjes was invited to the store to take a few shots of the new facility that would open on Monday the 14th.  On Sunday the 13th PHR Center Shops placed several pages of advertisements in the Pilot to announce their opening – a few which we feature along with the photos.

A few details about the store at Wards Corner –
The new store opened just a little more than 10 years after the Paul H. Rose Corp. founded the first Center Shops on 21st in the Fall of 1941.  The entire store is illuminated with florescent lighting called “slimline” which is the newest type of store lighting meant to bring out the truest colors of merchandise.  The store features an escalator to carry customers between the first and second floors.  The store has 150 employees.  Adjoining the store with both an outside and inside entrance is a Rose’s 5-10-25c Store.

Photos courtesy of the Sargeant Memorial Collection.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 10th, 2014 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Wards Corner Business District. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Response to The PHR Center Shops at Wards Corner – Norfolk 1952

  1. Dawnc says:
    January 10, 2014 at 10:11 pm

    Enjoyed the pics,thanks!