Ocean View, Virginia

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Ocean View, Virginia is a community in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States. It has several miles of shoreline on the Chesapeake Bay to the north, and is bordered by Willoughby Spit on the west and the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in the independent city of Virginia Beach on the east.

1 Shire to county to city
2 Ocean View City: trolleys, famous amusement park
3 Decline, reemergence
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Shire to county to city

The entire area of South Hampton Roads was part of Elizabeth River Shire when it was formed in 1634. From this original shire (or county), in 1636, New Norfolk County was formed, which was divided again into Upper and Lower Norfolk counties in 1637. Lower Norfolk County was split in 1691 to form Princess Anne County and Norfolk County.

The Ocean View area was to remain part of Norfolk County for over 225 years, until it and the adjacent Willoughby Spit area were annexed by the independent City of Norfolk in 1923. (Virginia has had an independent city political subdivisions since 1871). A small portion of East Ocean View adjacent to the Little Creek Amphibious Base was added in a land-swap with the city of Virginia Beach in 1988.

[edit] Ocean View City: trolleys, famous amusement park

The area which became known as Ocean View City was originally a 360 acre (1.5 km²) tract called the Magagnos Plantation which had extensive frontage on the Chesapeake Bay east of Willoughby Spit 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, a young civil engineer who was building the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad. Under the leadership of Walter H. Taylor, about 30 years later, a narrow gauge steam passenger railroad service was established between Norfolk and Ocean View, later replaced by electric-powered trolley cars, becoming both a popular resort and a streetcar suburb 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.

With the advent of additional electric streetcars in the late 19th century, an amusement park was developed at the end-of-the-line and a boardwalk was built along the adjacent beach area. These were a favorite of sailors on leave from the Norfolk Navy Base. Buses replaced the streetcars in the late 1940s. In the mid 20th century, for a number of years, AM radio station WGH broadcast live from a booth under the roller coaster.

Completion of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel in 1957 connected the Ocean View area to the Virginia Peninsula. However, it and other newer highways encouraged visitors to continue on to the Virginia Beach resort area on the Atlantic Ocean, a small city which boomed after merging with Princess Anne County in 1963. In particular, construction of nearby Interstate 64 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.

[edit] Decline, reemergence

After some years of decline after World War II, Ocean View Amusement Park was closed in the 1970s and was torn down for a 1979 movie called "The Death of Ocean View Park", which starred Mike Connors of "Mannix" fame and featured blowing up the landmark wooden roller coaster. While there had been popular concern as to the structural integrity of the famous wooden structure, early attempts to destroy with explosives it met with failure. Finally, the landmark relented, and became part of history.

In the late 20th century, substantial portions of Ocean View were plagued with vice activity and related problems.

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, and bay front property has regained and exceeded its past values.

Today, U.S. Highway 60 is the main roadway paralleling the bay along the resort strip on Ocean View Avenue. U.S. Highway 460 begins at its junction in front of the site of the former amusement park, where a city park is now located.

But not only has the Amusement Park been huge to the area, so was Harrison's Fishing Pier. Owned by Bill Harrison and ran by his sidearm Charlie Woodard, this pier was legendary. It was destroyed during Hurricane Isabel, with pieces of the pier landing as far as a mile away. A new pier has been built by Judy Boone and is operated by her son Ronnie Boone. It remains a legendary Ocean View landmark and attraction.