Discover books enjoyed for many years by Hampton Road’s residents and visitors. Take a stroll, once again, on a sunny day at the beach, across a favorite sandy beach we all remember all too well; then get a glass of lemonade from the neighborhood kid with a corner stand. Dodge a snowball or two, too. Relive the memories. Here, in my own backyard, you can find books that explore serious local history, from the cities and counties that make up Hampton Roads to the Elizabeth River, local politics, many of these using one-of-a-kind and rare photographs. Clicking on the images will take you to that book’s page.
by Amy Waters Yarsinske
The Oceanfront’s Cottage Line, the music halls of Seaside park and dunes so large they dwarfed the old Cape Henry Lighthouse are a memory. Gone too are many of the city’s iconic landmarks and open spaces, lost to storm, fire and the relentless onslaught of post-World War II development. With a deft hand and rare vintage images, author and historian Amy Waters Yarsinske recalls a time when the likes of Chuck Berry and Ray Charles played beneath the sizzling lights of The Dome and locals shagged the night away at the Peppermint Beach Club.
With over three centuries of rich history, Norfolk is truly an Old Dominion original. With a bustling port and the world’s largest navy base, Norfolk has served as a center for agriculture, transportation, manufacturing, and defense. Wars, epidemics, fires, economic depression, and suburbanization greatly reduced the development of the city over the centuries, and sadly, many of the relics and vestiges from Norfolk’s past have been lost to time, but they are forever preserved in this book including a remarkable collection of photographs.
This volume, The Elizabeth River, traces more than four centuries of the Elizabeth River’s history, rich in biodiversity, she is a living body of water.
Those who named her opened a tablet in human history, one this enduring, beautiful princess has enriched each day since. There is today much to be gleaned from the river’s strength. Since man came to live on her shores, she has been a river with a story
Ghent is more that just a pretty place,” wrote Norfolk Compass writer Mary Adams-lackey in April of 1990, as Ghent turned a century old. “Shaped by her creators, her abusers and those who finally rescued her, Ghent is a gritty Southern belle.” Ghent, perhaps more than any other Norfolk suburb, has a story to tell that transcends its historic port city lineage, reaching national importance in its planning and execution.
Few would guess from looking at the resplendent Virginia Beach shoreline – its stretches of fine sand, sloping dunes, and rolling waves – that the city has experienced anything but peace and tranquility since the history of its native Chesapeake tribe collided with the ambition and vision of new European settlers on the colonial coastline. But turmoil and conflict, as well as progress and achievement, are all a part of the area’s unique story.
In 1999, Roy B. Martin Jr., former Norfolk mayor and one of the city’s greatest boosters in the post-World War II years, decided it was time to document his years of civic leadership in what he figured would be a small tribute piece relegated to an inconspicuous library shelf. He was wrong. Martin’s recollections were destined to come to life on the pages of this book so that the memories and historic record as Roy Martin saw it would become as well read as they were documented in his many scrapbooks, newspaper clippings and , perhaps most importantly- his recollections.
The history of Norfolk Collegiate School: …”It is hard to believe that today’s Norfolk Collegiate had its beginnings in a small frame house,” writes Amy Waters Yarsinske in this touching tale of an endeavor that grew from a preschool and kindergarten founded by two teachers in a little schoolhouse at Ward’s Corner to one of the most prestigious college preparatory institutions in the country.
Church Street, one of Norfolk’s original streets laid in 1680, served for many years as the gateway to the city. Originally called “The Road That Leadeth Out Of Town,” its name was changed to Church Street in 1739. Eastern European immigrants who settled the area between 1890 and 1914 established successful, small businesses along this main street, but by the late 1920’s many of the business owners had moved to outlying suburbs. African Americans soon began to settle the area, and as the black population increased, Church Street became the local center for African-American family life, religion, entertainment, education and the manifestation of political power that would later give birth to several leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement.
Amy Waters Yarsinske takes us back in time to the days when the sparkling resort strip of Virginia Beach drew crowds by the train-full. This book takes readers back to the days when there were only summer cottages and inns at Virginia Beach. In days gone by, sea breezes and incomparable landscapes created the backdrop for excursionists, and the wild country of Back Bay, Croatan, Sandbridge, and Fort Story was untouched. We follow the development of the resort as it changed to include grand hotels, clubs, nightlife, and water sports. Readers are invited to take a walk on the boardwalk of yesteryear and follow Virginia Beach through World War II and the big band era, to the fabulous fifties and the 1960’s, when Virginia Beach formally incorporated as a city.
Ocean View, a rich historical beachfront hamlet on the northern-most reaches of the city of Norfolk, was at one time a major resort destination for beach goers and amusement park lovers, form Florida to Maine and west to the Mississippi.
Ocean View presents a comprehensive pictorial history of this resort, its development and an important residential and recreational section of Norfolk, and the people who made it happen from 1862 to 1965.
Summer on the Southside, the fourth pictorial history of southeastern Virginia compiled by acclaimed author and historian Amy Waters Yarsinske, brings back to life the warm and sunny memories of yesteryear with unsurpassed detail. Including never-before-published images spanning the years from 1870 to 1965, this collection is a nostalgic view of those lazy summer days in the southeast region of Hampton Roads. Scenes from the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Suffolk and the counties of Isle of Wight and Southampton, chronicle the familiar and well-loved activities of summer, from fishing trips, beach outings, and picnics to ice cream cones, fireworks, and baseball.
Winter Comes to Norfolk is a retrospective of a vibrant city and its former neighboring counties and resorts during the time period from 1880 to 1965. The book is a wonderful look at the winter months in a city which, today, rarely sees snow anymore. Taking readers from October to April, the volume explores the cultural and historical happenings of a city as its crisp fall months freeze into icy winters and frigid January days blossom into glorious springs.
As a photographer and historian, Carroll Walker dedicated his life to immortalizing, in vivid images, the quaint homes, quiet churches, and bustling businesses of Walker’s seaside home. With over 300 photographs, including shots from other early Norfolk photographers Harry C. Mann, Charles S. Borjes, and H. D. Vollmer, Norfolk, Virginia: The Sunrise City by the Sea provides an intimate glimpse into Norfolk’s history from the 1630’s to present day.
Get to know the people and the places of historic Norfolk – Carroll Walker’s Norfolk – the sunrise city by the sea, in this wonderful volume by Amy Waters Yarsinske.