If you’ve spent any time in downtown Fredericksburg, chances are you know of Goolrick’s. This locally famous store with an equally famous soda fountain dates back more than a century. For generations, it was the kind of place where you could stop in for a sandwich or a milk shake and run into someone you knew.
Today the newly restored space has reopened after 3 years of renovations - and the reopening brings back many of the details people around here remember, while giving the building a fresh start for the next chapter of its life.
That's what I love about downtown Fredericksburg. Every building used to be something else.
And Goolrick’s is one of those places.
You can walk down Caroline Street and see layers of the city all in one block. A building that's been here for generations sits next to a new shop. A restaurant moves into a space where a completely different business once stood. Old signs, brick walls, storefronts and architectural details quietly tell you where you've been.
In fact, its familiar corner was one of the Fredericksburg scenes I wanted to capture in my own artwork. My Caroline Street Corner print features Goolrick’s and the surrounding Caroline Street architecture - the kind of everyday downtown view that can become a favorite simply because you've walked past it so many times.
The print is part of my Fredericksburg Collection at County View Studio, and it's available on the website for anyone who wants to bring a little piece of Caroline Street home.
View Caroline Street Corner: Goolrick’s
And now that Goolrick’s is reopening, that familiar view has a little more meaning.
Its reopening gives us a reason to stop and look a little closer.
Look at the old details. Notice what's been restored. Think about all the people who have stood in that same spot over the years.
And, of course, go inside.
Order the milkshake.
Sit at the counter.
Make a new Goolrick's memory of your own.
Because that's how a historic place stays part of a living city. It isn't preserved behind glass. People keep showing up.
Welcome back, Goolrick's.
Fredericksburg missed you.