Current Release: September 11th, 2007 | Vol. XXIV Iss. 10

Photos from the Patricia W. and J. Douglas Library,
special collections department

Ocean View Amusement Park remembered

By Thomas martin

tjmartin@vwc.edu

During its hayday, it was called the Coney Island of the South and the Atlantic City of the Southland. When Ocean View Amusement Park opened in 1928, it was the leading entertainment and leisure spot in the Hampton Roads area.

During the 1930s, the park encountered one of the biggest storms to hit the area and the Great Depression caused the park to close by the end of the decade. It didn’t open again until 1943.

In 1942, Mr. Dudley Cooper purchased the 25-acre, Beachfront Park. At the urging of the Navy, Ocean View Amusement Park reopened as the recreation venue for thousands of World War II servicemen who were either training or stationed in the area.

After 1960, the park began to see a decline in attendance. By the 70s, the park’s decline was evident. Competition from theme parks left the archaic amusement park in financial shambles. In 1978, Ocean View Amusement Park sold the park to the city of Norfolk.

Before the park was destroyed, it left in style. The park was featured in two films: “Rollercoaster” in 1977 and “The Death of Ocean View Park” in 1979.

Amusement park relics can be seen at the Ocean View Station Museum in Norfolk, located inside Pretlow Branch Library at 111 West Ocean View Avenue. They have a number of old photos and memorabilia from the park. Often, long time residents of Ocean View stop by and share their stories about the park.