The Circle was a historic

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

building located at

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

ed concrete block structure with a prominent half-circle building mass marking the façade. The half-circle was surmounted by a neon-lit sign with the restaurant's name. The bar had a mural attributed to

Al Hirschfeld Albert Hirschfeld (June 21, 1903 – January 20, 2003) was an American caricaturist best known for his black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars. Personal life Al Hirschfeld was born in 1903 in a two-story duplex at 1313 Carr ...

of mid-20th century celebrities. The Circle was an original curb-service restaurant, which later served as a dine-in restaurant. an
''Accompanying four photos''
/ref> The building was demolished on August 19, 2013."Photos , Portsmouth's Circle Restaurant torn down," By Brian Clark, The Virginian-Pilot, August 20, 2013
/ref> It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2006, and was removed from the National Register in 2017..

References

External links

"Portsmouth's Circle Restaurant to be sold or torn down," By Cherise M. Newsome, The Virginian-Pilot, March 5, 2013
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Commercial buildings completed in 1947 Moderne architecture in Virginia Buildings and structures in Portsmouth, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Portsmouth, Virginia Former National Register of Historic Places in Virginia {{PortsmouthVA-NRHP-stub