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The original item was published from 6/4/2018 10:24:53 AM to 6/19/2018 12:00:03 AM.
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Posted on: June 4, 2018[ARCHIVED] City Beach Historical Marker Unveiling
Marker location near original entrance to 11 acre beach
NORFOLK, VA – A first kiss or just a day in the sun, residents will share these memories when the city unveils the City Beach historical marker at the original 11-acre site.
Date & Time: June 7, 2018 at 4:00 p.m.
Location: 27th Bay Street & East Beach Drive
Dignitaries include: Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander, City Councilman Paul Riddick, former City Beach lifeguard Mervin Pitchford, East Ocean View Civic League representative Juanita Smith and local historian Kathleen Edward.
City Beach is the result of a group of Norfolk African-American residents in the 1920s who began to look for a strip of land on the Chesapeake Bay that could be used as a public beach for the black community since segregation prohibited the use of white facilities. An interracial committee was formed and in January 1930, Norfolk City Council authorized the purchase of 11 acres east of Ocean View from the Pennsylvania Railroad. On June 16, 1935, with amenities that included a bathhouse, boardwalk and recreation hall, City Beach opened to the public.