Monticello Ave, East 21st Street / Monticello

Monticello Avenue has a little bit of everything. If you are the cruise around the mall type, you will find MacArthur Center. It is the nicest, cleanest mall in Hampton Roads. The mall has a great mix of stores and if you have a little one, they have a great play area in the food court. Now if you are the type that likes to just walk down a street to take in the views- this will not be your street. Of course you can't talk about Monticello Ave. without mentioning The Norva. They have an amazing mix of local and national bands that come through all year long. There is plenty of room to dance, grab a beer and have a bite to eat. The shows sell out fast, so get your tickets early. Finally, I am a thrift shopper and Monticello has some great shops. These shops are further north of the mall area around 18th street. Go check out the Hope House Foundation if you want the true thrift store feel and check out Savvy Seconds if you want used designer labels.

The most interesting thing on Monticello is the mall. MacArthur Mall is one of the nicest malls in the entire area, there is something there for everyone. Resturaunts range from very nice (and tasty!) Max & Erma's to the ever-popular Burger King. Its also one of the easiest streets to park on when visiting Norfolk.

If you like thrift and consignment shops, this is the place for you. We found some great stuff at Savvy Seconds and Map of Hope Thrift Shop. We really had some fun poking around and then found Doumar’s Diner and Drive-In. They have amazing BBQ and still make ice cream cones on an original cone baker. We have since seen Doumar’s on the Food Network. The street can get really congested though, so don't go during rush hours.

The street is definately narrow and I think it adds to the traffic problems in Downtown Norfolk. Being there during rush hour is the worse because people are either leaving work or trying to go the MacAuthur mall, causing an insane amout of traffic. Traffic is the only real problem, it is a relatively safe street to travel on.

Monticello Avenue is not one of Norfolk's best streets. It's not well paved (well most of the streets in Norfolk aren't), but it does serve as the front entrance of the MacArthur mall. There's only one lane in each direction Downtown which makes it worse...especially when the NorVA theater on the other side of the street is having a performance. It gives great views of the city skyline though.