With most of us sheltering in place this spring, let’s look back at the Norfolk “Shelter.” Designed by architect Alfredo Taylor and still standing at the end of Golf Drive, the pavilion was built on the nine-hole Norfolk Downs as a gathering place for golfers. The large central room with cobblestone walls and a massive stone fireplace once had glazed windows on the north side, while the terrace on the south side reached out to welcome weary players. With its broad enveloping roof and rubblestone chimney, Taylor’s design embodies elemental ideas of warmth and protection. It is no wonder that, by the time it was in use in the summer of 1907, it was already referred to as The Shelter. 

—Ann Havemeyer
Photo Courtesy of The Norfolk Historical Society