Historic Strasburg

Historic Strasburg. Stop #2. , The Fire Department building was erected in 1951 in honor of local veterans of all wars. The first firehouse and Town Office stood here from the 1890's in a modest wooden structure known as "the sheep shed." It was the home of Massanutten Hose Company No. 1. In 1908, seventeen members of Co. 1 became the World Champion Reel Racers. Teams contended to win the speed record for connecting hose to hydrant, and water to fire. The hose was mounted on a reel (now in the Strasburg Museum) and pulled by hand. Their record time was 27 1/12 seconds!, The Strand Theatre, at 177 E. King Street (next door to your left) was the first theater in Strasburg. An evening's fare included a new chapter of an adventure series, a cartoon, a newsreel and the exciting feature film. The cost was 25cents for adults and 15cents for children. For several weeks in 1917 all "moving picture shows" were closed. An outbreak of polio in other areas of Virginia caused nearly all social events to be canceled. Shenandoah County was quarantined. Even the popular Civil War Veterans' Reunion Picnic at Fisher's Hill was not held that year., Notice the elaborately carved brackets and cornices of the buildings at 133 and 148 E. King Street. They are outstanding examples of early Valley storefronts with second story porches., In the 1930's, downtown Strasburg bustled with activity. Merchants stayed open as late as midnight on Saturdays to serve area farmers. The streets were filled with people, horses, and automobiles. This busy main street had four groceries, two car dealerships, two theaters, four service stations, two banks, the new Post Office (1936), three jewelry stores, a millinery shop (all women wore hats), a bowling alley, two drug stores, a bus depot, a large department store, a silk manufacturing mill, barber shops and many other retail and manufacturing businesses and some very fine restaurants., The Virginia Restaurant moved to the corner of King and Holliday Streets in 1930. Jointly owned by Alvin (Buggy) and Obed Brill, it was the gathering place for young and old until it was closed in 1975. The food was good, the portions were hearty, the prices were modest and the ketchup was homemade. Young men stood outside "on the corner" to see and be seen. Hundreds of initials carved into the wooden booths testified to this being the social center for Strasburg's teenagers for over forty years., To reach Stop #3 (VA Civil War Trails Sign: go right to the corner of King and Holliday Streets, turn right and continue one block.)