Atlantic City

Atlantic City. . The Chesapeake Bay and Elizabeth River's waters and rich abundance or natural resources were instrumental in the economic development of the region. When the village of Atlantic City, which once comprised this general area, was annexed by the City of Norfolk in 1890, it was a thriving community of nearly two square miles. The area was reached by a toll bridge at York Street and a footbridge at Botetourt Street. In the 1870s, there was a race track at the foot of Fort Norfolk Road, later renamed Colley Avenue after John G. Colley, whose property it bisected. Water related industries in Atlantic City included lumber mills, oyster and ice houses, and a knitting factory. A substantial neighborhood developed for the families of workers employed there., During the early 20th century, the area continued to prosper from seafood processing and other water dependent industries as well as cotton warehousing. In the 1920's a spur of the Norfolk and Western Railway was built in Atlantic City to better transport goods to the port. Most of this track was out of service by 1990 due to land use changes in the area. The Norfolk Southern Railway Company donated this railroad right-of-way to the City of Norfolk in 2000 for this portion of the Elizabeth River Trail., Much of the old Atlantic City is gone, supplanted by a major medical complex. Residents relocated. Warehouses and industries dominated the waterfront until 1986, when a former tobacco warehouse, converted into condominiums, brought peòple back to Atlantic City, to live near the waterfront where Norfolk began., (captions) , A residence on Southampton Avenue, c.1900. (Courtesy of Norfolk Public Library.) , J. H. Miles Oyster Processing Plant, Southampton Avenue, 1949. (Courtesy of Nortolk Public Library.) , A view of Front Street, c.1920. (Courtesy of The Library of Virginia.)