Get a Taste of Gourmandizing Norfolk
The latest mural, titled Gourmandizing Norfolk, in Norfolk’s NEON District celebrates lunchtime in downtown Norfolk from 1785 to 2022 in a stylish palette of mouth-watering details. This tribute to regional culinary mainstays like Chesapeake Bay Oysters, Doumar’s Ice Cream Cones, Duke of Norfolk Punch, H. E. Williams Candy Company and Smithfield Ham grew out of a partnership between noted London-based artist Matthew McGuiness, the Downtown Norfolk Council under the direction of Vice President Rachel McCall, and the Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA).
With a curriculum designed and taught by Liana Courts, GSA visual arts department chair, the course invited McGuiness and his partner Addiel Dzinoreva “Dzino” to Zoom in from England in spring 2022 for 18 sessions. Both library and field research conducted by the students amongst the aisles of Slover Library and the streets of Norfolk resulted in a collection of quotes, anecdotes, recipes and imagery that infuse the mural, painted by the participants in fall 2022, with history, homespun wisdom and human connection. The Gourmandizing mural is located at Virginia Furniture at 745 Granby Street facing Olney Road.
—Betsy DiJulio
The Pembroke Manor House will soon be an animal vision center.
Historic Vision for Pets at Pembroke Manor
As dog and cat moms, horse lovers and more, we take the health of our pets seriously. That includes “looking out” for an incredibly important aspect of overall pet health, their vision.
The owners of Animal Vision Center of Virginia will soon invite people and pets to do just that in a rather unique and historic venue.
Dr. Heather Brookshire and her team will soon expand her veterinary ophthalmic care business to occupy the Pembroke Manor House in Virginia Beach, a Georgian-style home that sits on property given by the King of England to Adam Thoroughgood in 1635. To reimagine the property’s interior as a veterinary clinic without taking away from the historic nature of the home, Brookshire and her team have been working with several firms specializing in preservation and adaptive use and will also modify the grounds to include a low-vision park for dogs with vision impairment. An opened is scheduled for early 2023.
Cape Henry Light Standing Strong at 230
Late last year, the first federally funded public works project of the newly formed United States, authorized by George Washington himself and overseen by Alexander Hamilton, marked its 230th anniversary by doing what it has done for more than two centuries, standing watch where the Atlantic Ocean meets Chesapeake Bay. The original Cape Henry Lighthouse was completed in 1792 and is featured on the official seal of Virginia Beach and situated near the “First Landing” site where English settlers first set foot on their way to settle in Jamestown.
Built with the same Aquia sandstone as much of Washington, D.C., the lighthouse guided sea travelers to safety for almost 100 years. Nearby, the distinctive black and white striped “New” Cape Henry Lighthouse was built in 1881 but is still active and remains closed to the public. In 1930, an act of Congress deeded Old Cape Henry Lighthouse and surrounding land to the care of Preservation Virginia, a privately funded, statewide historic preservation leader working to ensure the relevancy of the Commonwealth’s historic places.
The original Cape Henry Lighthouse was completed in 1792.
