Titustown History

September 15, 2022

Attached below in PDF format is a pamphlet titled “Titustown A Community of Negro Homes”. It was written by William Anthony Aery and printed in 1915 by “The Press of The Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute” in Hampton, Virginia. The article was likely written earlier than 1915 as it is a reprint from “The Southern Workman”. This pamphlet is currently housed in the Lincoln Collection of the Kansas City Library.

An excerpt from the pamphlet: “Midway between the sandy beach at Ocean View, on the Southern side of Hampton Roads, and Norfolk, a rapidly growing Southern metropolis, there has been developed, in the heart of a rich, farm-trucking region, an attractive Negro community, called Titustown, in which all the people own their own homes and not a single renter is found.”

Some of the homes and buildings pictured in the pamphlet are still standing in Titustown today!

TitustownDownload

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Posted by Martin Thomas Jr.

Traffic calming project planned for North Shore Road

June 25, 2015

An example of a speed hump. Speed humps are being proposed for North Shore Road.

An example of a speed hump. Speed humps are being proposed for North Shore Road.

A number of civic league presidents met with City officials last night to discuss a traffic calming plan for North Shore Road.  Residents in Meadowbrook, Riverfront, Titustown, and Algonquin Park have been suffering from an excess of cut-through traffic on North Shore Road between Hampton Blvd and Titustown.  Speeding has also been a problem on that same stretch of road.

Preliminarily, the City’s engineers have suggested up to 10 “speed humps” along North Shore Road between Shirland Ave and Diven Street.  Additionally they are considering mini traffic circles and the removal of stop signs to promote bicycle traffic.

No decisions have been made.  There will be a community meeting in mid-August, likely to be held at the Church of the Good Shepherd, at which time residents of Lochhaven, Meadowbrook, Riverfront, Algonquin, and Titustown will be able to weigh in on the recommendations and make additional traffic calming requests for their neighborhoods.

One issue that the City and residents cannot agree on is the appropriate speed limit for North Shore Road. Residents have requested that the speed limit be reduced from 25mph to 15mph.  City staff has agreed to further study that request.

A funding source will need to be identified, but construction is expected to begin in late Fall, 2015.  If successful, similiar traffic calming, and bicycle encouraging, measures may be extended to the “other” North Shore Road that runs into Granby Street.

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Posted by Martin Thomas Jr.

Application to build on a nonstandard lot on Hughart St in Titustown

December 5, 2012

Rendering of the proposed house at 7409 Hughart Street

Rendering of the proposed house at 7409 Hughart Street

7409 Hughart Street is a vacant lot towards the end of Hughart Street in Titustown.  The owner has filed for a special exception to develop a single family dwelling on the nonstandard width lot.

The lot is currently zoned R-8 which requires the lot to be 50ft in width.  The subject lot is only 33ft in width.

The planning department staff has recommended denial stating that the proposed home is not in keeping with the character of the surrounding neighborhood (Titustown).

The staff report and application can be found here.

The Planning Commission will be voting on this application at its meeting on December 13, 2012.  If you have comments regarding this application, feel free to leave comments below or contact me directly on the Contact Us page.

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Posted by Martin Thomas Jr.

Former Alexis Apartment site recommended for public hearing on rezoning

June 25, 2011

The now cleared site at 1227 W. Little Creek Road where the troubled Alexis Apartment once stood will be recommended to City Council at their Tuesday, June 28th meeting to advertise for a public hearing to rezone from R-14 (High Density Multiple-Family) district to C-2 (Corridor Commercial). The proposed use for the site will be additional parking for the Titustown Recreation Center.

Click here to view MAP

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Posted by Wards Corner

Great Wards Corner Improvements

November 14, 2007

The October 2007 Civic Connection lists the following improvement updates:

Over the past few months, the City has been working on various road and sidewalk improvements in the Greater Wards Corner community, including implementing Titustown business corridor improvements.

On Granby Street, sidewalk repairs and concrete road repairs have been ongoing. Over 250 sidewalk panels were replaced from Willow Wood Drive to Kingsley Lane to improve pedestrian safety. Currently, a contractor is completing concrete road repairs on Granby Street at Filbert Street, Severn Street, Blake Road and Afton Road to improve driving conditions.

Also on Granby Street, work should be complete in the next two months to upgrade the School Zone-Reduce Speed 25 MPH flashing beacons at Granby High School. The foundations have been installed and once the radio control equipment arrives the signals will be operational shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, the signals are operating as they have in the past.

In Monticello Village, a contractor has completed a $389,000 project to improve the curb and gutters throughout the neighborhood.

As part of the Titustown Business Corridor Improvement Program, sidewalk repairs, ADA ramp installation, straightening of street light poles and improvements to street signage have been completed on Little Creek Road from Tapley Ave to Grantham Road. Resurfacing of the street and new pedestrian crosswalks will be installed this fall.

Terminal Boulevard was also recently repaired. After observing a potential safety hazard, crews from the Division of Streets and Bridges corrected a sunken area of roadway on Terminal Boulevard from Ruthven Road to Diven Street. An asphalt overlay was put in place in the northbound lane. Heavy truck traffic has caused that portion of the road to crack and sink. An engineering study is underway to determine what solutions should be considered as it pertains to replacing or repairing Terminal Boulevard.

Other projects in the process include ADA ramps in the Titustown neighborhood; improvements to the pedestrian crosswalks; upgrades to the existing span wire, and the addition of a signalized intersection to a mast arm configuration at Little Creek Road and Granby Street.

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Posted by Wards Corner