What’sinaCone? Carl’s By

Delicious soft serve ice cream. Smiling kids of all ages. These are "a few of my favorite things" that make Fredericksburg so special. Carl's Frozen Custard first opened for business in 1947 in a re-purposed filling station and restaurant at 2200 Princess Anne Street. It was one of five frozen custard stores that opened that year in our region. Today, Carl's is the only one left.

Built by local contractor Ashton Skinner in 1953, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Carl's is a great example of Art Moderne architecture that speaks of the bygone era when automobile-centered commercial development first defined the old US Route 1 corridor.

It's much more than just a cool building (no pun intended). Carl's is an iconic treasure of Fredericksburg history and culture. Important not only to the local economy, it has profound social significance. For generations, families have come here, lining up for their turn at the window, enjoying ice cream and visiting with one another. It's a place that brings people together.

Carl's was named by Southern Living and USA Today as one of the best places to get ice cream in America, and was featured by PBS in "An Ice Cream Show". The Electro-Freeze machines at Carl's are original, and both date from the 1940s. Electro-Freeze pioneered soft serve ice cream in 1946, and they are still in business today under the name of H.C. Duke.

What makes Carl's ice cream so good? Well, it just is. The original recipe for frozen custard was changed in the

jon gerlach

early 1960s when four percent egg yolk (by volume) became the norm. Undeterred, and to keep its original recipe, Carl's changed its name from "Carl's Frozen Custard" to just "Carl's". Later, the recipe was altered by a switch to Pet Milk that kept the ice cream pasteurized with the correct viscosity. That's just a scientific way of saying "Yummy & Smooth".

What's in store for Carl's in the future? Good things, we hope. The Princess Anne Street corridor still has many commercial buildings that evoke the old US Route 1 heyday. The Architectural Review Board has identified 30 structures here, including Carl's, that contribute to its unique character. The Creative Maker District is a new urban plan for this part of Fredericksburg, spearheaded by Assistant City Planner Mike Craig with grass-roots support from many local residents and business owners, including the Fredericksburg Canal Quarter The goal of the plan is to encourage adaptive re-use of historically significant buildings in a way that supports local business, creates walkable areas with green spaces, while nurturing and complimenting the neighborhood character in a modern, sustainable fashion. We look forward to what's coming next … like the anticipation of standing in line for Carl's ice cream!

So … what's in a Cone? Here, a shining architectural gem and a favorite gathering place for generations of smiling families.

An attorney & retired archaeologist, Jon Gerlach servesd on Fredericksburg’s City Council, Ward Two

The Renwick Courthouse , the most architecturally significant building in town, has been at the epicenter of local government for more than 150 years.

James Renwick, Jr.'s contributions to American art and architecture in the mid-nineteenth century reflect a seismic shift in the way our nation's cultural heritage was interpreted and conveyed by the built environment. What is generally called the Gothic Revival style today emerged from a philosophical and artistic movement that looked to monuments of Medieval Europe over those of ancient Rome or Greece for inspiration, and James Renwick, Jr. mastered its architectural expression, most notably in churches.

Fredericksburg's courthouse is one of Renwick's early experiments with medieval eclecticism, mixing Norman, Early English-LLancet Gothic, and Romanesque Revival architectural features. A 2006 publication from the Society of Architectural Historians, Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont, briefly describes its stylish design, along with its eye-catching price tag: "Unique in Virginia and significant nationally is this pre-Civil War Gothic Revival Courthouse…. The building was controversial with the citizenry because of a tax levy, and Renwick responded with