Granby Street was named in 1769 to honor Englishman John Manners (1721 - 1770), Marquess of Granby. The orig?i?nal street ran three blocks from Bute Street south to Town Back Creek, a semi-navigable stretch of marshland run?ning the length of today's City Hall Avenue. Town Back Creek was a bar?rier to devel?op?ment in the north?ern por?tion of the Borough until a bridge was built in 1818 to span the creek at Granby. As it became more accesi?ble, Granby Street was trans?formed into a res?i?den?tial area of stately homes.
The elec?tric street?car debuted in Norfolk in 1894, and neigh?bor?hoods were estab?lished along the route. Many Granby Street res?i?dents moved to the new sub?urb of Ghent, and busi?nesses of every kind replaced their former homes. By 1910, Granby Street sur?passed Main Street as Norfolk's busiest shop?ping dis?trict. From 1976 to 1986 part of Granby was closed to vehic?u?lar traf?fic and renamed Granby Mall. Granby Street declined through the 1990s, but with the open?ing of Tidewater Community College and MacArthur Center it has been revi?tal?ized with res?i?dences, the?aters, and restaurants.
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