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Provenance

From the estate of Doug Bowman, local collector of Harrisonburg memorabilia.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Harrisonburg City Parking Lot Photograph, 1939 March 15, SC 0359, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Purchased at Green Valley Auctions December 5th, 2023 sale of the Doug Bowman Estate.

Biographical / Historical

The site of the City Parking Lot, located along Liberty Street between W. Bruce Street and W. Water Street, was previously the location of the Houck Tanning Co. from about 1877 until it closed in 1926. Whitesel-Sinton Co., Inc. operated a farm equipment business on the property from 1929 to 1937. Many of the buildings on the site were torn down after the tannery closed. According to local memory, the site was also used for fairs and carnivals. The city of Harrisonburg purchased the site in 1939 to use as a parking lot. The Water Street Parking Deck opened in the same location in 1975.

Scope and Contents

The black-and-white mounted panoramic photograph features the City Parking Lot in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The photograph, dated March 15, 1939, documents a gravel surface parking lot at the location of what is now the Water Street Parking Deck located along Liberty Street between W. Water Street and W. Bruce Street. Businesses, churches, and personal residences both extant and not extant are featured. Water Street Livery/Hirsch Brothers; Whitesel-Sinton Co., Inc.; Merchants Grocery & Hardware Co., Inc.; Rockingham Milling Company, Inc.; Otterbein United Methodist Church; Harrisonburg First Church of the Brethren (now Community Mennonite Church); and others are shown in the photograph. Mole Hill and Blacks Run are visible in the photograph. Dozens of automobiles are parked in the parking lot.

The photograph is in three sections and mounted on board. It measures 28" x 10.25". A typed note is stapled to the second section with the description "City Parking Lot - 1939 Harrisonburg, Virginia." A faint stamp of "Harrisonburg Planning Commission" is located on the bottom center section. The Dean's Studio photographer's mark is located on the bottom right corner. The date - 3/15/39 - is penciled on the back of the photograph.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Bowman, Douglas, 1948-2023
• City and town life -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg
• City planning -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg
• Green Valley Auctions, Inc.
• Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History
• Historic buildings -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg
• Panoramic photographs
• Photographs