Old Photographs of Virginia Beach That Will Delight You

Hundreds of old photos have been published depicting Virginia Beach in its early days, when it was Princess Anne County, part of Norfolk. Many are tucked away in libraries or private collections and are difficult to access. The purpose of this blog is to bring them to light, to public view to appreciate a bygone era.

Virginia Photo Art began as a small shop in Norfolk's Waterside and eventually became two large galleries, one inside Waterside and in 1997 a new location in Hilltop Shopping Center in Virginia Beach. Many readers will remember our photos from these galleries. As the internet grew and began to overwhelm small local owned businesses we transitioned into a production facility near Stihl Corporation in Virginia Beach.  In 2015 we made the decision to become an internet based business.

Since that time we have acquired many new photographs, both historic and contemporary imagery that showcase our beautiful city. One of my favorites is from the 1930's, featuring a rescue boat full of happy gals enjoying a summer afternoon.

BW-014 "Coast Guard Reserves" VirginiaPhotoArt.com

We've titled the picture "Coast Guard Reserves". The girls are standing in a rescue boat on the shoreline, saluting as they pose for the photographer. Several photographs were captured on this day. The expressions on the ladies faces as they prepare for the final take makes this particular one a bit more interesting!

Lower Norfolk County, now extinct, was incorporated into the city of Virginia Beach in 1963. A few years prior to becoming a City, construction began on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. This 17 mile long span of three bridges and two tunnels would connect Virginia Beach and Norfolk with Virginia's Eastern Shore and points father north. This bridge brought new development to the City because of the easy access it provided from cities in the Northeast.

BW-049 Grand Opening Ceremony of the CBBT

At the Virginia Beach Oceanfront once stood the Old Steel Pier at First Street. This photo was taken in 1967 and brings back fond memories for Virginia Beach surfers.  The pier was dismantled in 1978 and since then lots of structures have been built on this pristine stretch of sand at Rudee Inlet.

These photographs represent a fraction of the archived photographs available on our website. Take a few minutes to browse, you'll probably fins one you love, just like I do!

Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions or are looking for a particular photo you have seen displayed around Virginia Beach, give me call, I probably have it in stock.
Tim J. Rudziensky
VirginiaPhotoArt.com
Photo (757) 425-3110