Huntington Court Apartments

Carol,

The new page looks great!

Although it looks as if it is a nice area and North End does too beyond 55th Street or so, my daughter Martha, who recently moved away from Newport News is of the opinion that it is not a nice area anymore. She does admit that though that since she lived much further out, that there might be a "good pocket" of residential area there. And of course neither you or I live there and so who knows. I can tell you one thing though; Stuart Gardens used to be a very nice area back in the 50s but when I rode thru there a couple of years ago, I told my wife to make sure her door was locked, that we were going to exit that neighborhood as quickly as possible! Things do change over the years. Same but not the same........

- Al Simms ('60) of VA - 02/25/07
Thanks, Al!

Hi, Carol:

Thanks for sharing the new page with me from the materials furnished by Al Simms ('60 - of VA). That is a nice addition
to the website. I used to walk by these apartments on Wednesday Evenings to and from weekly drills at the 97th Rifle
Company, USMCR when I was a TYPHOON. They were always so well kept and maintained.

When you send this out in your newsletter, maybe your subscribers will be able to identify the children in these photos.

- Joe Madagan ('57) of FL - 02/25/07
Thanks, Joe!

THEN - 1946:		NOW - 2007:

In 1946 we lived in the internal corner apartment on the first floor entered from the door nearest the center of the photo. The car is on the wrong side of the street and is my Dad's 1937 Plymouth Coupe.	Only photo that I have inside; me napping on the sofa.		Our apartment was in the L section to the left.
Courtesy of Al Simms ('60) of VA - 02/24/07 Thanks, Al!

Working on a bookcase for me in back of the apartment. My Dad on the left, me painting and 4 sidewalk superintendents.	Riding my tricycle at Huntington Court; Don't know who the girl is.	Same living room today - sofa was on the left wall
Courtesy of Al Simms ('60) of VA - 02/24/07 Thanks, Al!

Me on Sunday morning. Our entrance out of the photo to the left.	Me on the playground in back of the apartment; photo looking approximately north.	Obviously there have been some upgrades to the complex over the years.
Courtesy of Al Simms ('60) of VA - 02/24/07 Thanks, Al!

THEN:
	As I remembered, home plate and the grandstand behind it was located just about 73rd Street and Warwick Boulevard. The 'vacant' lot across the road is really the navy reserve center's ball field. The gym is partly in view at the extreme left of this photo. The area to the right of the stadium (which I believe was also called Builders' Stadium, back then - and also The Home of the Baby Dodgers) was used for parking, and also is where some circus and carnivals set up, in the late 40s/early 50s. During WWII, it was steel plate unloading and interim storage area for the shipyard. The fairly large building to the left of the stadium is where Rulane Gas Co. was located, back then. Or maybe it was called Suburban - I forget. Across the tracks, the then-largely undeveloped area around Jefferson Avenue can be seen. The white building on the far side of Jefferson is the Dr. Pepper plant (you can even make out its distinctive tower). In the upper left-hand corner you can just barely see a part of the Military Highway traffic circle. And near that, what looks like a barracks-type building is the area where POW's were located, during the war (I think - but its just a guess on my part - that these were the ones that worked in the port area). Lastly, part of the then-brand new Huntington Courts apartments dominates the lower right hand quadrant of this image.
Bill Lee (WHS - '54 - of NC) sent this to me yesterday, as a follow-on to our prior discussions about the NN Dodgers and their old stadium on Virginia Avenue at 73rd Street It's an 8x10 aerial view of the Huntington Courts apartments (and surroundings) from a position over the river and looking towards the railroad tracks. I can pretty much date it based on what appears (and what doesn't!), and also by comparing it with the picture that was in the 1946 book about Newport News.
- Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 08/13/07 WOWZERS!!! Thanks, Dave - and Bill!

	Huntington Court Apartments (NOW - Huntington On The James) 312 - A 73rd Street Newport News, VA 23607 Leasing Office Call: (866) 398-4669 Fax: (757) 245-0107
Courtesy of Al Simms ('60) of VA - 02/24/07 Thanks, Al!		Courtesy of Al Simms ('60) of VA - 02/24/07 Thanks, Al!