
DATE: Sunday, September 7, 1997             TAG: 9709070107

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:  113 lines

IN SUFFOLK, RESIDENTS SEEK TO TURN BACK TIME THEY WANT TO RESTORE OLDE TOWNE'S GLORIES.

In its heyday, it was where Suffolk's peanut moguls built their mansions, where city professionals entertained guests and where local aristocrats reared their children.

People drove from miles away to glimpse the two- and three-story architectural creations of Olde Towne streets. The owners wrote a lot of Suffolk's paychecks.

Olde Towne dates to the late 1800s, when peanut tycoon John B. Pinner built his first house on Pinner Street. Homes for his family followed, and the area flourished.

But as owners died or moved away, many of the immense homes became rental property. The neighborhood declined.

Now residents want their neighborhood restored to what it was. Suffolk officials say they share the sentiment. Redeveloping downtown is a priority, and a $14 million courthouse is taking shape near Olde Towne.

``The neighborhood is getting worse,'' said Brenda Wallace, a 13-year resident. ``On Bank Street, they put their trash out days before it's picked up.''

When the courthouse building started, the city replaced a traffic light with a stop sign at Bank and Pinner, saying it would decrease traffic. ``But now it's worse,'' Wallace said.

``To have that view on Bank and see those houses on the fringes of this historic district and next to the city's new courthouse is a shame.''

Olde Towne is now made up of blacks and whites, singles, young families and grandparents. There are blue-collar workers, interior decorators, business owners.

Suffolk's oldest community still has its castle-like homes, but some are vacant and boarded up, and others have been cut into duplexes or apartments.

Some, police confirm, have been drug havens. The neighborhood also has battled drug sellers on bicycles and theft, said Junius Jackson, one of Olde Towne's community police officers.

However, crime has gone down since police officers began spending at least 10 minutes each hour in the area, he said.

Residents say they'll need the city to help with code enforcements - especially now that visitors will be driving on the community's streets heading for the courthouse.

The community has a volunteer community watch program, and residents regularly call police and the city's inspection departments about problems. They also attend City Council meetings.

Two weeks ago, Wallace spoke to the council about huge ``wolf rats'' seen on Bank Street. She also asked for adequate street lighting.

Suffolk officials say they are considering Olde Towne as a part of a plan for greater downtown.

``Downtown has always meant Main Street and East Washington and a small area around it,'' said Steve Herbert, assistant city manager for development.

He is in the final stages of selecting community leaders and city officials to work on a blueprint to expand boundaries of the city's core. A consultant also will be hired.

The document will be part of Suffolk's Comprehensive Land Plan, which is being revised.

Olde Towne and other downtown neighborhoods eventually will have revitalization plans, Herbert said.

Olde Towne is right off Main Street, downtown. Turn on Bank Street, and there it is: a red brick mansion that looks big enough to house an army. And right beside it: run-down, two-story houses, some boarded up. The street is crowded with people.

Turn onto Pinner, and you spot more mansions scattered among shabby houses. Other neighborhood streets are Finney Avenue, Pearl, Oakdale Terrace, Franklin and Grace.

Many Olde Towne residents love the area because it reminds them of the past.

They could have chosen any of the many subdivisions that are popping up all over Suffolk, they said, but none has Olde Towne's flair.

In the 1980s, its civic league won a $4,500 grant to hire a historian to help get Olde Towne recognized as a historic district.

``We'd like to completely restore our home room by room,'' said Stacy Weissner, a two-year resident with a degree in history. ``We think it will be an adventure. I was raised in a suburban subdivision where all you see is houses. But here, we have history.

``We like being able to sit on the porch and listen to the church bell toll on the hour. We're able to walk around to different shops on Main Street and take in the other beautifully restored houses.''

Residents help each other with renovations.

``Instead of borrowing sugar, we borrow tar paper, ladders and nails,'' Wallace said. ``Since we're all working on our homes, somebody has the tools. It's sometimes a wonder how things get back to their original owner.''

The Wallaces live in a three-story home built in 1882. An American flag flies from the porch, and an oval plaque on the left side of the entrance informs visitors that they're about to enter history.

The family has been restoring the home room by room. They plunked down $20,000 in the kitchen alone. They're two floors away from being done.

``We probably could've built a mansion'' with what they've spent on their house, Wallace said.

Residents say each bit of work and splash of paint puts them closer to living in a thriving area once again. Their goal: an area like Norfolk's Ghent, in Suffolk.

``We refuse to let our neighborhood be lost to drug dealers or apathy,'' Wallace said. ``If we work hard, and with the city's help, we can do it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

NHAT MEYER/The Virginian-Pilot

Brenda Wallace: ``We refuse to let our neighborhood be lost to drug

dealers or apathy.''

Photo

JOHN H. SHEALLY II/The Virginian-Pilot

Among the things Olde Towne residents would like to see is better

enforcement of code laws. They say that is particularly important

since traffic will increase when the new courthouse opens.

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