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Downtown through the years:

1760s: Granby Street is named for John Manners, Marquis of Granby, then-hero of the Seven Years’ War. At the time, it was a narrow lane less than two blocks long. By the 1910s, it was the busiest street in Norfolk.

1961: As residents move away from downtown and offices begin to arrive, department stores begin to populate Granby Street. Stores listed in a 1961-62 Norfolk Chamber of Commerce directory include Ames & Brownley at 415 Granby St., W.T. Grant at 256 Granby St., Nelco at 501 Granby St., Rice’s Fashion Corner at 400 Granby St., and Smith & Welton at 300 Granby St.

1976: Granby Street is closed to car traffic and is redubbed Granby Mall in an effort to revitalize downtown and bring business back from the suburbs. The move is ultimately deemed a failure, and the street reopens to cars in 1986.

1997: Tidewater Community College opens its downtown Norfolk campus at 315 Granby St. McPhillips said the move was one of the first steps toward modern downtown redevelopment, bringing an influx of young students to the area.

Read more about downtown Norfolk's timeline in the Sunday Main News section

Mary Wheat spun her red walker around, aiming toward a row of tour buses.

“Mom!” her daughter, Myra Wheat, called from the sidewalk.

“There she goes,” Myra Wheat said. “Mom!”

Barely 5 feet tall, Mary Wheat, a 97-year-old from Newport News, rolled toward the bus with “The Oak Ridge Boys” plastered on its side that was parked behind the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach shortly after 5 p.m. on a a recent Friday evening. The sun was beginning to set, and the band was scheduled to go on at 8.

“The boys always want to see me!” she hollered over her shoulder, in a melodious, oh-so-Tennessee accent, warm with years.

The country band, Oak Ridge Boys, has accumulated 12 gold and three platinum albums, one double platinum album, and multiple No. 1 hits, including the 1981 country-pop crossover “Elvira” and in the process collected a legion fans, but probably none more devoted than Mary Wheat, who is more than a fan.

Read more in the Sunday Break section

Several shipbuilders from Newport News Shipbuilding met at Coastal Fermentory in mid-December, but they weren’t there for the cold brews.

The noise and vibration test engineering team went to the downtown Newport News-based brewery to try out a new video vibration analysis tool.

Coastal Fermentory’s four co-owners were eager to provide an unclassified testing venue a mile and half from the shipyard. Co-owner Seth Cadell said it’s important to them to support the community.

“Two of our owners worked at the shipyard, one currently works there and a lot of our regulars are shipyard guys,” Cadell said.

The team arrived at the brewery in the morning before the 2-year-old business opened for the day.

“We brewed the beer so that they had a bunch of stuff whirring and moving,” he said. “And they were able to take their video and utilize this new technology with their trainer right there on site.”

The team of six shipbuilders used the new Iris M system — created with motion amplification software by RDI Technologies based in Knoxville, Tennessee — to collect data on brew pumps and piping systems.

Read more in the Sunday Work & Money section

Note To Readers: A reminder that Parade magazine is now only found along with your e-edition of either The Virginian-Pilot or Daily Press each Sunday morning. Print copies of Parade magazine ceased after the November 13th issue.

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