Markers of History

Cannonball Trail
Flood Protection for Downtown Norfolk

Location: City Hall Ave & Boush St, Norfolk, VA 23510

Visited: July 3, 2009, 2:15pm

Transcription of marker: Tidal flood­ing from hur­ri­canes and north­east­ers has always been a part of Norfolk’s rela­tion­ship with the sea. In 1693, the Royal Society of London reported that “there hap­pened a most vio­lent storm in Virginia, which stopped the course of ancient chan­nels and made some where there were never any.” Hurricanes in 1749 and 1806 formed the Willoughby Spit sec­tion of Ocean View, and a hur­ri­cane in August 1933 killed 18 peo­ple. In March 1962, the City was struck by the “Ash Wednesday Storm,” a mas­sive, slow-moving north­easter which caused wide­spread destruc­tion along the entire east coast. By the early 1970’s, per­ma­nent flood pro­tec­tion for down­town was constructed.

This storm water pump sta­tion and the adja­cent flood­walls pro­tect the low-lying areas of down­town from tidal flood­ing. Large steel doors at var­i­ous points allow pas­sage through the wall, but are peri­od­i­cally closed when tidal flood­ing is antic­i­pated. Beneath City Hall Avenue, which was once a canal, is a large box cul­vert that col­lects storm water runoff from the down­town area. The box cul­vert car­ries storm water to a “sump” or pit beneath the pump sta­tion, where trash and debris are removed before pump­ing the water into the river.

My impres­sions: Having grown up in a town along a river, but with a great deal of ele­va­tion change beside the river, it is unusual for me to con­sider flood­ing, and given where I lived, hur­ri­canes are also phe­nom­ena only expe­ri­enced via the crazy news reporters who ride out the storms and broad­cast on the news chan­nels. I also remem­ber the flood­ing from one of my early vis­its to Norfolk, where a walk­ing path along the river was under a cou­ple of feet of water from “run-of-the-mill” flooding.

It’s also unusual to think of the weather “cre­at­ing land,” like Willoughby Spit. But these are things that the peo­ple here have lived with.

Markeroni sta­tus: Direct-logged.

Cannonball Trail
Monticello Hotel, 1898

Location: Corner of City Hall Ave & Granby St, Norfolk, VA 23510

Visited: July 3, 2009, 2:10pm

Transcription of marker: The Monticello Hotel, which opened at the cor­ner of City Hall Avenue and Granby Street on September 27, 1898, was the largest and finest hotel in Norfolk for over 60 years. By 1885 Town Back Creek had been filled to Granby Street. Construction of the hotel spurred addi­tional devel­op­ment along the new City Hall Avenue. The hotel suf­fered a dev­as­tat­ing fire on January 1, 1918. In addi­tion to the flames, fire fight­ers had to deal with bit­ter cold and ice. When it reopened in 1919, two addi­tional floors had been added, includ­ing a large din­ing room and horseshoe-shaped ball­room known in later years as the Starlight Room. This became a favored loca­tion for balls, dances, and com­mu­nity events. The grandly appointed mahogany bar dou­bled as a bil­liards par­lor dur­ing Prohibition. During the 1933 hur­ri­cane, the hotel and a broad area of down­town suf­fered con­sid­er­able flood dam­age. The Monticello Hotel was the first build­ing in Norfolk to be imploded in January 1976 to make way for the Norfolk Federal Building now on this site.

My impres­sions: Well, we have quite the ele­men­tal story here: fire, ice, wind, flood­ing, and implo­sion! I love some ways of gloss­ing past some­thing. When they say the “bar dou­bled as a bil­liards par­lor dur­ing Prohibition,” that seems to me to be a sly way of say­ing tha the bar had a bil­liards par­lor cover, but you could still get your drinks. I could be wrong, but that’s how it reads to me. This is also one of those times I’m glad I’m young, because no event described on this marker took place after my birth (although I’m not sure when the con­struc­tion of the fed­eral build­ing was completed).

Markeroni sta­tus: Direct-logged.