East Ocean View in Norfolk, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

City Beach

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, August 31, 2022

1. City Beach Marker

Inscription. In the late 1920s, a group of Norfolk's African American citizens began to look for a strip of land on the Chesapeake Bay that could be turned into a public bathing beach for the black community, whose access to white facilities was prohibited by the segregation policies and practices of the day. An interracial committee formed to pursue the search and, in January 1930, Norfolk City Council passed an ordinance authorizing the purchase of eleven acres east of Ocean View from the Pennsylvania Railroad, in what was then Princess Anne County. Over the next five years, white opponents to the beach carried their protests to Norfolk Council, Circuit Court, the State Supreme Court and State Corporation Commission, seeking injunctions to prevent the beach from opening; while supporters from both races worked to eliminate obstacles, even raising money for the purchase price in case private funds were needed. Finally, aided by funds and workers from the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the public beach, which would be known as City Beach, opened on Sunday, June 16, 1935, with amenities that included a bathhouse, boardwalk and recreation

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hall. The beach was the scene of gatherings by families, church groups and other organizations for many years, with bathing and basking by day and barbecues in the sand after sunset. It was especially busy on the Fourth of July, when it seemed that all of Norfolk went to the shore for a day of bathing, crabbing and picnics on the beach. City Beach was operated by Norfolk Community Hospital from 1938 to 1948, before management was turned over to the Norfolk Recreation Bureau in 1949.

City Beach was annexed to the City of Norfolk in 1959.

(captions)
City of Norfolk, March 1974 aerial
A day at City Beach ca. 1950’s Courtesy, Harrison B. Wilson Archives, Norfolk State
Advertisement from the June 15, 1935 Norfolk, Virginia Journal and Guide

Erected 2018 by City of Norfolk.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical date for this entry is June 16, 1935.

Location. 36° 55.769′ N, 76° 11.108′ W. Marker is in Norfolk, Virginia. It is in East Ocean View. It is at the intersection of East Beach Drive and 27th Bay Street, on

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, August 31, 2022

2. City Beach Marker

the right when traveling west on East Beach Drive. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Norfolk VA 23518, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Hampton Roads,

specifically in Coastal Virginia,

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: U.S.N. Armed Guard of World War II Memorial (approx. 1.2 miles away); Norfolk Botanical Gardens (approx. 2.1 miles away); How do Planes Fly? (approx. 2.2 miles away); Norfolk International Airport (approx. 2.2 miles away); Air Traffic Control (approx. 2.2 miles away); Pearl Harbor Memorial (approx.

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2.2 miles away); Bataan Corregidor Memorial (approx. 2.2 miles away); Col. John Thorowgood Jr. (approx. 2.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Norfolk.

Also see . . . City Beach was once a place where the black community could go to play. Norfolk just honored it. The Virginia-Pilot (Submitted on August 31, 2022, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 31, 2022, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,144 times since then and 135 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 31, 2022, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.