VB Now

Since 1883, when the Virginia Beach Railroad and Improvement Company built a rail line to the oceanfront and created the tiny resort town of Virginia Beach, the Oceanfront has grown into a year-round resort and one of the top resort destinations on the Eastern Seaboard. Its landscaped, pedestrian-friendly three-mile, twenty-six-foot-wide boardwalk and bike path was named one of the ten best American boardwalks by Forbes.com, and its three-hundred-foot-wide white sandy beach has helped create a tourism industry that contributes $1.28 billion to the VB economy each year. The Oceanfront includes dining, entertainment venues, museums, sporting events, shopping, and numerous statues and sculptures tied to the legacy of the coastal community. Surf riding on a surfboard began on the East Coast in Virginia Beach in 1912, remained rare at first, became a localized fad during the hollow paddle-board era of the 1930's, and grew into a sport in the early 1960's with shorter, lightweight fiberglass Malibu-style boards, eventually developing into a broader watersports industry and lifestyle. Neptune Park at 31st Street is home to the iconic thirty-four-foot-tall cast-bronze statue Neptune, King of the Sea, created by sculptor Paul DiPasquale through private contributions and donated to the City of Virginia Beach and its citizens in 2005 as a centerpiece for outdoor activities. The Blue Angels, the United States Navy and Marine Corps flight demonstration squadron, have performed over the Oceanfront for more than five decades, and kite surfing is a popular year-round water sport. The Norwegian Lady Memorial grew from the figurehead of the sunken Norwegian bark Dictator, which washed ashore in 1891 and stood for more than sixty years as a memorial to those lost in the shipwreck; in 1962, a nine-foot bronze replica was presented by the citizens of Moss, Norway, and an exact duplicate was unveiled there as well, helping lead to the two cities becoming sister cities in 1974. The first Seatack Lifesaving Station was built at 24th Street in 1878, replaced by a larger structure in 1903, reorganized as part of the United States Coast Guard in 1915, and decommissioned in 1969 after ninety-one years of service; the building now houses The Old Coast Guard Station Museum. The deWitt Cottage, built in 1895 at 12th Street by Bernard P. Holland, later the first mayor of Virginia Beach, is the oldest structure still standing along the Oceanfront and now serves as the home of the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum.

Virginia Beach, Virginia · United States