Ocean View is a coastal region in the

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It has several miles of shoreline on the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

to the north, starting with

Willoughby Spit Willoughby Spit is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States. It is bordered by water on three sides: the Chesapeake Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and Willoughby Bay to the south. Hist ...

to the west and the Joint Expeditionary Base -- Little Creek in the independent city of

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

on the east.

Shire to County to City

The entire area of

South Hampton Roads South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia's Tidewater region in the United States with a total population of 1,191,937. It is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA (Metropolitan St ...

was part of Elizabeth River Shire when it was formed in 1634. From this original

shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

(or county), in 1636,

New Norfolk County New Norfolk County is a long-extinct county which was located in colonial Virginia from 1636 until 1637. It was formed in 1636 from Elizabeth City Shire, one of the eight original shires (or counties) formed in 1634 in the colony of Virginia by di ...

was formed, which was divided again into Upper and Lower Norfolk counties in 1637.

Lower Norfolk County Lower Norfolk County is a long-extinct county which was organized in colonial Virginia, operating from 1637 until 1691. New Norfolk County was formed in 1636 from Elizabeth City Shire, one of the eight original shires (or counties) formed in 1634 i ...

was split in 1691 to form

Princess Anne County County of Princess Anne is a former county in the British Colony of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, first incorporated in 1691. The county was merged into the city of Virginia Beach on January 1, 1963, ceasing t ...

and Norfolk County. The Ocean View area was to remain part of Norfolk County for over 225 years, until it and the adjacent

area were annexed by the independent City of Norfolk in 1923. (Virginia has had

political subdivisions since 1871). A small portion of East Ocean View adjacent to the

Little Creek Amphibious Base Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

was added in a land-swap with the city of

in 1988.

Ocean View City: Trolleys, Famous Amusement Park

The area which became known as Ocean View City was originally a 360-acre (1.5 km) tract called the Magagnos Plantation which had extensive frontage on the Chesapeake Bay east of

and west of Little Creek. The Ocean View area was surveyed and laid out with streets and lots as Ocean View City in 1854 by

William Mahone William Mahone (December 1, 1826October 8, 1895) was an American civil engineer, railroad executive, Confederate States Army general, and Virginia politician. As a young man, Mahone was prominent in the building of Virginia's roads and railroa ...

, a young civil engineer who was building the

Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad The Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was built between Norfolk and Petersburg, Virginia and was completed by 1858. The line was of track gauge. It played a role on the American Civil War (1861–1865), and became part of the Atlantic, Mississip ...

. Under the leadership of

Walter H. Taylor Walter Herron Taylor (June 13, 1838 – March 1, 1916) was an American banker, lawyer, soldier, politician, author, and railroad executive from Norfolk, Virginia. During the American Civil War, he fought with the Confederate States Army, became ...

, about 30 years later, a narrow gauge steam passenger railroad service was established between Norfolk and Ocean View, a 9-mile long line crossing what was then known as Tanner's Creek (later renamed Lafayette River). Originally named the Ocean View Railroad, it was later known as the Norfolk and Ocean View Railroad. A small steam locomotive named the ''General William B. Mahone'' hauled ever increasing volumes of passengers, primarily on the weekends. The steam service was later replaced by electric-powered trolley cars, becoming both a popular resort and a

streetcar suburb A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...

of the City of Norfolk. Initially, the improvements consisted of the swimming beach and cottages. The location was quite popular for Sunday outings from Norfolk. The popular Nansemond Hotel was built about 1928; it was destroyed in a fire in 1980. With the advent of additional electric

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s in the late 19th century, an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

was developed at the end-of-the-line and a boardwalk was built along the adjacent

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

area. These were a favorite of sailors on leave from the

Norfolk Navy Base Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ha ...

. Buses replaced the streetcars in the late 1940s. In the mid 20th century, for a number of years,

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transm ...

station WGH broadcast live from a booth under the

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

. Completion of the

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales * Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Ham ...

in 1957 connected the Ocean View area to the

Virginia Peninsula The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the ...

. However, it and other newer highways encouraged visitors to continue on to the

resort area on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, a small city which boomed after merging with

in 1963. In particular, construction of nearby

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange w ...

and the Virginia Beach Expressway (now part of Interstate 264) made it easier for tourists from afar to bypass Ocean View en route to the Oceanfront area of Virginia Beach.

Decline, Reemergence

After several years of decline in the 1970s, during which Busch Gardens in Williamsburg opened less than an hour's drive away, Ocean View Amusement Park was closed after Labor Day, 1978 and was torn down soon after the filming of a 1979 made-for-TV movie called ''The Death of Ocean View Park'', which starred

Mike Connors Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series ''Mannix'' from 1967 to 1975, a role which earned ...

of ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private inves ...

'' fame, Barry Newman, and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winner

Martin Landau Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...

. A key scene featured blowing up the landmark wooden

"The Rocket". While there had been popular concern as to the structural integrity of the famous but aged wooden structure, early attempts to film its destruction with explosives met with failure. Finally, on the third attempt, and with a bulldozer off camera helping to pull the structure down, the landmark appeared to explode in a large fireball. Also, the 1977 movie ''

Rollercoaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

'' (with

Timothy Bottoms Timothy James Bottoms (born August 30, 1951) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead in ''Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971); Sonny Crawford in ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), where he and his fellow co-stars, Cy ...

George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and rai ...

, and

Richard Widmark Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, '' Kiss of Death'' (1947) ...

, features "The Rocket", as well as other shots of the park in the opening sequences. In the early 21st century, as the entire coastal property market surged with new growth, redevelopment in the Ocean View community has resulted in new upscale residential properties replacing old beach cottages and small motels along the resort strip. Property values, especially bay front property, particularly in the East Beach neighborhood, have increased significantly in value. Today, U.S. Route 60 is the main roadway paralleling the bay along the resort strip on Ocean View Avenue.

U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 (US 460) is a spur route of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles (1,054 km) from Norfolk, Virginia, at its parent route U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky, intersecting its parent route once ...

begins at its junction in front of the site of the former amusement park, where a city park and a high rise condominium is now located.

East Beach

In a large-scale urban renewal project begun in the 1990s, the city of Norfolk invested over $50 million to develop, as part of a public-private partnership, an upscale

new urbanist New Urbanism is an urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually inf ...

waterfront neighborhood named "East Beach" in East Ocean View. As part of the project, the city acquired and tore down more than 1,600 buildings across 100 acres, and relocated hundreds of low-income residents. The master plan for the neighborhood was designed by

Andrés Duany Andrés Duany (born September 7, 1949) is an American architect, an urban planner, and a founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Early life and education Duany was born in New York City but grew up in Cuba until 1960. He attended The Choa ...

with Duany Plater-Zyberk. The neighborhood is fashioned after classic Southeastern seaboard coastal villages, and includes 700 residences, neighborhood restaurants, boutique shops, a Bay Front Club, offices, parks and public places. In 2003, a massive beach restoration project was completed by the city, the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

, and the

Virginia Port Authority The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) is an autonomous agency ( political subdivision) of the Commonwealth of Virginia that owns The Port of Virginia, a group of facilities with their activity centered on the harbor of Hampton Roads, Virginia. The pri ...

, which involved a large-scale rebuilding of sand dunes, planting of vegetation, and the placement of 10 offshore breakwaters to slow erosion and protect the neighborhood from coastal storms. In 2007, the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association named East Beach one of the nation's top seven restored beaches.

Ocean View Fishing Pier

Not only was the Amusement Park well known to the region, so was Harrison's Fishing Pier. Owned by Bill Harrison and managed by Charlie Woodard. It was heavily damaged during

Hurricane Isabel Hurricane Isabel was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Mitch, and the deadliest, costliest, and most intense hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Isabel was also the strongest hurricane in the open waters of the Atlanti ...

in September, 2003. A new pier was built, called the Ocean View Fishing Pier. Now owned by Ronnie Boone Jr., it continues to be an Ocean View landmark and attraction. This fishing pier is 1,690 feet long.

External links

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Virginia Ocean View

Beaches of Virginia Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commo ...