Factors contributing to change

Sears moved in and brought with it a great many jobs, unfortunately it moved off West Main around the same time Safeway (another large employer and a staple for the neighborhood) moved away. Republic Plaza now stands where Safeway was, but it did not provide what had left.

Barracks Road shopping center offered a one stop shop location outside of town, with cheaper prices and more availability.

Sources

Central Peidmont Urban Observatory. West Main Street: Present Conditions and Future Prospects. Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virginia, 1977.

The Daily Progress 13 April 1962.

Preservation Studio (Walker C. Johnson, AIA Instructor with students). Charlottesville 2020: A Thirty Year Vision Balancing Development and Preservation on West Main Street and the Mall. University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Spring 1988.