How do you review the Virginia Beach Oceanfront without a pages long dissertation? It is so very much. There's history, beauty, storms, events, hotels, restaurants, night clubs, a boardwalk, biking, cycling, boating, offshore fishing & tours, fireworks displays, holiday light shows, theater, sidewalk entertainment, and so much more.
The Virginia Beach Oceanfront was once all that comprised the City of Virginia Beach. In the 60's, as the City of Norfolk started to annex parts of Princess Anne County, Virginia Beach annexed the remainder of Princess Anne County. This made for a huge area in acreage stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to a north boundary of the Chesapeake Bay, a south boundary of the State of North Carolina & a west boundary of the City of Norfolk. What was once the entirety of Virginia Beach has now become what's known to locals as the Oceanfront.
In my almost 40 years living in this beautiful town, the Oceanfront has changed drastically. Older hotels have been razed and replaced by new, many of which feature fine dining with oceanside views. Live music can be heard while sitting on a bench on the long boardwalk while bikers ride past amid those strolling on foot.
The City has created a tax zone which provides funds dedicated to beautification, increased parking and financial support for major projects.
The adjacent streets have evolved with a big reduction in touristy spots which were replaced by great restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, and shopping.
The City provides entertainment. Plays & musicals are regulars at the different stages overlooking the water where viewers can bring chairs or blankets and enjoy free entertainment during Tourist Season.
Entertainment extends beyond Tourist Season. Major weekend festivals are held annually, including the Neptune Festival & the Boardwalk Arts Show. Weekend Music Festivals are held at large stages on the beach offering different genres of music. Lucky closely located hotel guests can sit on their balconies and enjoy the happenings below. One of the most popular was Pharrell's "Sonething in the Water", which we hope will return soon.
Rudee Inlet is the base for boats that can be hired for offshore fishing. Larger boats offer whale, dolphin or shark tours. One can reserve a spot on boats that offer a chance to watch holiday fireworks from offshore.
Each holiday season there is a beautiful light show. One enters the Boardwalk via auto at the southern end of the Boardwalk & drives through a fairyland of beach themed holiday lighting.
Who can leave out the power of hurricanes & nor'easters? The city's location has allowed us to have lesser effects from storms that hug the coastline because we are protected in part due to the Outer Banks of North Carolina which extend further outward into the Atlantic Ocean.
The latest addition is Atlantic Park, a major multi use project by an investment group headed by Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams. It's located on the site of the long demolished Dome arena. Two parts of it have opened. The first is a new entertainment venue called the Dome. It has already hosted numerous concerts, the first being 3 Dog Night, who performed the last show at the old Dome before it was razed. I love this touch of past history becoming a part of the present. I was disappointed, driving around the blocked construction site, that the new Dome isn't really a Dome. The naming itself provides the continuity.
The second opening, only a few weeks ago, is the centerpiece of the development. The 2.67 acre Surf Park creates waves at different levels, tailored to the surfers currently using the facility. It's the only one in the United States & the only one in the world located at an Oceanfront. I suspect the timing, just before the East Coast Surfing Championship, was to showcase the facility to the best surfers in the world.
Cottages have given way to hotels on the Oceanfront. They look out on an Atlantic Ocean teaming in history. The Norwegian Lady statue commemorates a long ago shipwreck with a story that has legends passed to the present. The shore has watched the bombing of merchant ships trying to navigate from the Port of Norfolk through enemy submarines off our coast during WWII.
Look to the north & see where the ocean meets the Chesapeake Bay. Picture the Revolutionary War Naval Battle of the Capes. French forces prevented evacuation or reinforcement of Cornwallis's troops at Yorktown, which turned the tide of the war.
So many past steps have walked the sandy beaches now lined with hotels as far as the eye can see. Play in the sand. Frolic in the ocean. But also remember those who have come before. read more