JANAF Shopping Center
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JANAF Shopping Center in Norfolk, Virginia was one of the first large shopping centers in the United States.
The Hampton Roads area experienced tremendous growth during and after World War II. In the 1950s, a trend in retail was the shopping center, a group of stores along a common sidewalk adjacent to off-street parking, usually in a suburban location. It also had higher aspirations than most shopping centers; JANAF included a Norfolk Public Library branch and medical office building. The JANAF Cinema was affiliated with General Cinemas; that theater was torn down in 2000, after 34 years of service. JANAF also had a center garden courtyard.
JANAF was built at the northeast corner of Military Highway and Virginia Beach Boulevard on property which had formerly been used as an airfield. The new shopping center which opened in 1959 featured acres of free parking and dozens of stores. Backed by retired military personnel, the name JANAF was an acronym for Joint Army Navy Air Force.
It sits across Virginia Beach Boulevard from The Gallery at Military Circle, an indoor mall built in the 1970's.
