Pembroke Manor

Pembroke Manor (also known as Pembroke) is an area in the independent city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States located around the intersections of Virginia Beach Boulevard (U.S. Route 58) and Independence Boulevard (State Route 225). The community's name comes from Pembroke Manor, a plantation built in 1764. The house was donated by the Aragona family to the Princess Anne Historical Society, but currently is under private ownership and serves as Ivy League Academy, a private Christian school for children K4 through 5th grades. The structure itself was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 as #70000887 and is one of the oldest and most significant structures in the City of Virginia Beach. One of the first developments of the area was Princess Anne High School, which opened in 1954. The neighborhood was characterized by Pembroke Mall, originally its only regionally recognizable landmark, after its opening in 1966. Anchor Pembroke Mall department stores included Miller & Rhoads and Sears, with regional retailers like Willner's and Hofheimer's joining national chains like Radio Shack and F. W. Woolworth. The mall was eventually overshadowed by the Lynnhaven Mall, in the Lynnhaven section of the city after its opening in 1981. Through the late 1980s and early 1990s, the intersection at Pembroke Manor was criticized by urban planner and architect Andres Duany for its pedestrian unfriendliness. Now, however, Pembroke Manor is home to many new high-end shops and restaurants due to the public-private Virginia Beach Town Center project, which has the feel of new urbanism. The Town Center Project's goal is to revitalize the Pembroke Manor area and create a modern 'downtown' area in what has become one of the city's core business districts. In moving the traditional focus of the city away from the Oceanfront, Virginia Beach's resort area, the city hopes to revitalize itself. Town Center currently has two high rise towers, the Armada Hoffler Tower (named for the developer) and The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center tower, with more in the works. A luxury apartment building, the Cosmopolitan, has been built as part of the project, as well as several restaurants and a performing arts center. The land that Pembroke Manor was built upon was given to Captain Adam Thoroughgood in a land grant in 1635. The land was subsequently divided among heirs and sold over the generations. Elizabeth Thoroughgood, descendant of the original owner, married Jonathan Saunders who built Pembroke Manor in 1764. He died the following year, and his grave can still be seen today in the cemetery at Old Donation Church nearby off of Witchduck Road. Jonathan Saunders willed his new home to his son Captain John Saunders who was the ward of Rose Hall owner Mr. Jacob Ellegood. In Fall 1775 under the direction of Royal Governor Dunmore, Mr. Ellegood raised the Queen's Own Loyal Virginia Regiment to aid in the number of Crown Forces in Tidewater Virginia. Other forces included the so-called Ethiopian Regiment and regular Crown Forces. The then Colonel Ellegood recruited his ward to join the QOLVR. Captain Saunders was a Loyalist who was so open about his support for the cause of the crown that in 1779 he was called before the Princess Anne Committee of Safety and declared a British Subject, and was evicted from Pembroke Manor and the colonies. After their defeat at the Battle of Great Bridge in December 1775, the members of the Regiment remained on-board ships in the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads until the next summer of 1776 whereby they moved northward and were assimilated into the Queen's Rangers. Saunders would go on to minor successes throughout the rest of the War and after settle in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada never to see his Pembroke Manor again.

Pembroke Mall was an enclosed shopping mall located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. It was opened in March 1966 as the first shopping mall in the Hampton Roads metro area. It comprised more than 48 stores, including anchor stores Target and Kohl's.

Princess Anne High School (PAHS) is one of 11 high schools in the Virginia Beach City Public School System. Opened in 1954, it is the oldest remaining high school in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school is named after the now extinct Princess Anne County, Virginia (itself named after the British Royal, Queen Anne, titled at the time and prior to ascension, Princess of Denmark) which was annexed with the founding of Virginia Beach. Princess Anne High School is slated to be demolished following the construction of a replacement building. The construction is anticipated to begin in 2024 with the new building being open in 2028. The demolishing of the building will end its 74 year history.

Virginia Beach Town Center is a group of offices, hotels, stores, and restaurants located in the central business district of Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The Armada Hoffler Tower is a high rise multi-office building in Town Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia. [1] Opened in 2003, it is known as the first building built in the new Virginia Beach Town Center. The 23 story tower is 396 feet (121 meters) tall. It is also the home of the local news station WTKR's secondary studio.

The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center is a 38 story high rise hotel and living residence in Virginia Beach Town Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia. The 4 star, 236-room hotel occupies the first 15 floors of the building, while the upper stories are residential. The 119 condominiums in the top floors range from 900 to 4,000 square feet (370 m2). Construction began in 2006. Upon completion in 2008, it became the tallest building in Virginia, surpassing the James Monroe Building in Richmond. In 2018, the hotel portion of the building was renovated.

The Sandler Center for the Performing Arts is a $47.5 million performing arts theater with 1,308 seats located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States in Town Center. Commonly known as the Sandler Center, the building opened on November 3, 2007. It has been operated by Spectra Venue Management since its opening. Named after Hampton Roads businessmen, philanthropists, and brothers Steve and Art Sandler. In addition to hosting concerts, comedians, forums, military events and other events, local resident companies call the Sandler Center home: Ballet Virginia, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Musical Theatre, Virginia Arts Festival, Virginia Beach Forum, Virginia Beach Chorale, Tidewater Winds, and Symphonicity. In addition to the 1,308 seat performance hall, the Sandler Center has various rooms throughout the building. The Miller Studio Theatre is a 2,200-square-foot room that can fit 200 (standing room only) to 125 people (seated). This theatre is equipped with ballet bars, sprung floor, and its own lighting. The Bill and Anne Wood Founders Room is a 900-square-foot room that has a private terrace overlooking Virginia Beach Town Center. This room can fit 60 (standing room only) to 50 people (seated). The Sandler Center also has two carpeted classrooms on the second floor equipped with movable tables, chairs, and podiums. Each floor has its own lobby looking out on to the Sandler Center plaza. The grand lobby is 5,200-square-feet. The Sandler Center is also home to the Sandler Center Foundation. The Foundation is involved in education, community outreach programs and performance underwriting. The Sandler Center Foundation partners with Virginia Arts Festival to underwrite performers such as Renee Fleming, Bernstein on Broadway, and Tony Bennett. Proceeds from Ynot Wednesdays, an outdoor summer concert series, benefits the Sandler Center Foundation. From 2008-2018, $289,000 was donated to the Sandler Center Foundation.

Miller-Motte College, formerly Miller-Motte Technical College, is a system of private for-profit technical colleges throughout the southeastern United States. Its parent company is Ancora Education.

Old Donation Church is the third Lynnhaven Parish Church and is the oldest church in Virginia Beach. Records show that the parish's first church services were held in 1637 in the home of Adam Thoroughgood. The first church building was constructed on Mr. Thoroughgood's land in 1639 on the location later known as "Church Point." The vestry, or governing body of the church, was established in 1640. By 1691 the church building had begun to deteriorate and the land around the church was slowly being eroded by the Lynnhaven River. The vestry approved the building of a new church on two acres of land purchased from Ebenezer Taylor. The second Lynnhaven Parish Church was completed in 1692. As the parish grew the second church was no longer able to meet the needs of the larger congregation. In 1733 the vestry ordered the building of a new church that could accommodate the parish's needs. The third church was accepted by the vestry on June 25, 1736. The last colonial rector of Lynnhaven Parish was the Reverend Robert Dickson. He served as rector of the parish for 25 years. Upon his death in 1776, he left his home, slaves and property to the church. This property, which was to be used as a free school for orphan boys, became known as "Donation Farm." It is from this reference that the church became known as Old Donation Church. The Reverend Dickson was buried under the altar in the 1736 church. Although records show that Old Donation Church underwent repairs in 1822, it was enjoying regular services and had a healthy congregation. In the years that followed, however, many families moved to the area that we know today as "Kempsville." In 1842, the parish was reorganized to accommodate these new outlying communities and a new church, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, was built in Kempsville. Soon after Emmanuel Church was completed, Old Donation was abandoned for services. In 1882, a forest fire gutted the abandoned church leaving only the exterior walls standing. Through the interest of Thurmer Hoggard and his family, yearly services were held in the roofless ruins to keep the memory of the old church alive. In 1911 an organization was founded to raise funds to rebuild Old Donation. Through the enthusiastic and tireless efforts of the Rev. Richard Alfriend and Judge B. D. White, construction was begun in 1912. The church's restoration was finished in 1916 and Old Donation was once again open for services. The church's bell tower was erected in 1923. The church underwent major repairs in the 1960s to ensure the building's structural integrity. It was during this time that the slate floors were installed. These renovations were completed in 1966. Old Donation is included on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the stops on the Bayside History Trail. The parish's third church, built in 1736, and its congregation, dating to 1637, are both among the oldest churches and congregations in the United States. The current Rector of the church is the Rev. Robert J. Randall, Jr.

Thalia is a residential neighborhood in the northeastern area of the independent city of Virginia Beach in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia.

Camp Ashby in the Thalia community of Princess Anne County, Virginia was the largest Prisoner of War camp in South Hampton Roads during World War II. It housed 6,000 German troops, many of Adolf Hitler's Afrika Corps who had been captured in North Africa during the closing years of World War II.Camp Ashby was erected quickly in 1942 on land leased from the state. At the time, the property's dominant feature was the Tidewater Victory Memorial Hospital, a tuberculosis sanitarium at Virginia Beach Boulevard and Thalia Road. That building became the camp's headquarters. The camp's low-slung barracks were scattered across 22 acres (89,000 m2) of woods and field north of the present main branch of the Virginia Beach Central Library and Loehman's Plaza shopping center. In modern times, the original hospital building is part of the Willis Wayside Furniture complex. Although several barracks buildings were converted and are extant as private residences, little else remains of the original camp.

Ferry Plantation House, or Old Donation Farm, Ferry Farm, Walke Manor House, is a brick house in the neighborhood of Old Donation Farm in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The site dates back to 1642 when Savill Gaskin started the second ferry service in Hampton Roads to carry passengers on the Lynnhaven River to the nearby county courthouse and to visit plantations along the waterway. A cannon was used to signal the ferry, which had 11 total stops along the river. The first ferry service was started nearby by Adam Thoroughgood.The house, which is reputedly haunted by 11 spirits, has been used as a plantation, courthouse, school, and post office. It is currently a museum and educational center. A Summer History Camp, which educates youths about life in the 18th and 19th centuries, is also held on the site.