WHRO Public Media would like to announce the premiere of Time Machine Video, an online channel that features a blast from the past.
From the station that takes you back in time through music—now experience the shows, stories, and moments that shaped our community. Time Machine Video unlocks rare footage, forgotten favorites, and classic local broadcasts you haven’t seen in decades. Step inside and rediscover the past—because our region’s history deserves a rewind.
With the popularity of “throwback” features on social media and the retro designs of the ‘70s and ’80s, WHRO decided to open the vault and bring back some of the programs that aired years ago on WHRO TV 15.
Time Machine Video kicks things off with retro episodes of Our Place, Our Time, a half-hour program designed to highlight the people, places, and things that express and give shape to the culture and arts in the Hampton Road region. The program was hosted by Vice President of Radio Vianne Webb and aired 1988-1992.
Time Machine Video currently features 20 episodes of the program, including the very first episode that introduced viewers to Maestro Dan Vogel who was serving as the conductor of the Virginia Symphony, and painter Charles Sibley who came to Hampton Roads in 1955 to establish an Art Department at ODU, which was then the College of William and Mary.
In other episodes, viewers meet Jackie Torrence, a North Carolina author and speaker known as “the matriarch of American storytelling;” dancer Glenn White who trained in Hampton Roads, made a name for himself in New York, and then returned to Hampton Roads to teach dance; and sailboat racing champion William Shelhorse. Shelhorse was a native of Tappahannock, Virginia, and was a member of the inaugural graduating class of Virginia Wesleyan (Class of 1970). Viewers also learn the story of the 1988 demolition of the First American Bank building - a building that had stood in downtown Norfolk since 1905. Along the way, viewers also enjoy performances from local musicians.
You’ll find Time Machine Video on WHRO Public Media’s YouTube channel. Check it out at whro.org/tmv.