{"nrhp_refnum":"09000922","name":"Virginia Ice & Freezing Corporation Cold Storage Warehouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"835 Southampton Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Norfolk","county":"Norfolk","state":"VA","lat":36.85665222400007,"lon":-76.30624206399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-11-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Other","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story concrete block cold storage warehouse at 835 Southampton Avenue in Norfolk, Virginia, built in 1920 in three sections beside the Elizabeth River for the Virginia Ice & Freezing Corporation.","why_significant":"The warehouse is tied to the early twentieth century seafood industry in Norfolk, which relied on ice production and cold storage. It is described as the most intact and best preserved cold storage warehouse in the city and one of only two historic warehouses retaining integrity in the Atlantic City section. The text also recommends it under Criterion C for architecture.","narrative":"Built in 1920 on the Elizabeth River waterfront in Norfolk's Atlantic City section, this three-story concrete block warehouse was erected in three sections for the Virginia Ice & Freezing Corporation. Architect B.F. Mitchell likely designed it, and John Y. Gooch & Co. built it. Pilasters divide the bays, and the interior has concrete beams and cork-lined walls for insulation. The plant was planned to make large amounts of ice and to store fish, and it stood next to major oyster and fish processing companies. In the early twentieth century Norfolk was among the country's largest producers and distributors of oysters and fish, and cold storage supported that trade. The company closed in 1955, and the building later reopened under other operators, including Krisp-Pak from 1976. Postwar redevelopment cleared most of the surrounding industrial district. Today the warehouse is the most intact cold storage building in Norfolk and still serves its original purpose, retaining its original loading dock, structural beams and many industrial windows.","period_of_significance":"1920-1955","architect_builder":"Benjamin Franklin Mitchell, Architect and John Y. Gooch & Co., Builder","architectural_style":"Early 20th-century Commercial Movement","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Still operating as a cold storage facility; original materials are in fair condition, with some deterioration in neglected spaces and several modern one-story additions.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.236864-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/3/6822/41682203/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/09000922.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000922/365974ba1c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000922/365974ba1c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Rwilk85311","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Virginia_Ice_and_Freezing_Corporation_Cold_Storage.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Rwilk85311</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Virginia_Ice_and_Freezing_Corporation_Cold_Storage.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682203","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Ice_%26_Freezing_Corporation_Cold_Storage_Warehouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16902759"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/norfolk/virginia-ice-and-freezing-corporation-cold-storage-warehouse-09000922/"}