Carl’s, a well-known landmark to residents of the city of Fredericksburg, is a retail frozen custard stand that has served cones, shakes, and sundaes to satisfied customers since 1953, the year Carl Sponseller opened the business on Princess Anne Street. Art Moderne in style, the concrete-block, flat-roofed building with large plate-glass windows and a colorful neon sign on top was originally known as Carl’s Frozen Custard. Carl’s is a well-preserved example of commercial roadside architecture of the 1950s, a time when the American love of the automobile led to the establishment of eateries that catered to the fast-moving public along major roadways.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia