50 Fun Facts About Virginia Beach

Roughly how many people lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia's biggest city, at the 2020 census?

That put it ahead of Norfolk, Chesapeake and Richmond, and it is also the state's largest city by total area.

What Guinness record does the city hold?

The city's nickname is 'The Resort City', and the oceanfront resort strip alone runs three miles.

In 1963 Virginia Beach merged with which neighbouring jurisdiction to form the present-day city?

Voters in both approved a referendum, and the new city kept the better-known resort name.

How many days had the Jamestown colonists been at sea when they reached Cape Henry in 1607?

They named the cape after Henry, Prince of Wales; Cape Charles across the bay honours his brother.

On what date in 1607 did Christopher Newport's colonists land at Cape Henry?

They moved on to found Jamestown on May 14; the park was Seashore State Park until 1997.

First Landing State Park was known until 1997 by what name?

Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, it was one of Virginia's original state parks and is now its most visited.

The 1792 Cape Henry Lighthouse holds what distinction in US history?

John McComb Jr. built it of sandstone for $15,200; a cast-iron replacement went up 350 feet away in 1881 after cracks appeared.

How tall is the 1881 cast-iron Cape Henry Lighthouse that replaced the original?

Both towers became National Historic Landmarks in 1970, and the newer one still shines from Fort Story.

The 1781 Battle of Cape Henry, which doomed Cornwallis, pitted the British against whom?

Comte de Grasse's 24 ships of the line held off Thomas Graves's 19 on September 5, 1781; Cornwallis surrendered six weeks later.

How long is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel that links Virginia Beach to the Eastern Shore?

It opened on April 15, 1964, with two mile-long tunnels and four man-made islands, and saves 95 miles of driving to Philadelphia.

Which crossing overtook the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel as the world's longest bridge-tunnel complex in 2018?

It is officially named for Lucius J. Kellam Jr., and a second Thimble Shoal tunnel is due around 2028.

Which installation is Virginia Beach's biggest employer and the East Coast's only master jet base?

Commissioned in 1943, it is home to every East Coast strike-fighter squadron and their F/A-18 Super Hornets.

How long is the concrete Virginia Beach boardwalk that runs north from Rudee Inlet?

It is 27 feet wide with a separate bike path; the first wooden version in 1888 ran just five blocks.

How tall is the bronze King Neptune statue that overlooks the boardwalk at 31st Street?

The 12.5-ton figure was dedicated on September 30, 2005, and gives Neptune Park its name.

The Neptune Festival, the city's biggest, has been held every September since which year?

Chamber president Richard Kline dreamed it up; its International Sandsculpting Championship is the centrepiece.

Roughly how many people does the Neptune Festival draw to the oceanfront each year?

Another 350,000 attend the NAS Oceana air show that shares the weekend.

Mount Trashmore Park, opened in 1974, was built on top of what?

Its hills rise over 60 feet and it draws more than a million visitors a year; Tony Hawk has skated its 24,000-square-foot skate park.

Which Virginia Beach-born producer launched the Something in the Water festival in 2019?

He met Chad Hugo at a seventh-grade band camp and formed The Neptunes; both went to Princess Anne High School.

Where did Pharrell and Chad Hugo, the future Neptunes, first meet?

They were in seventh grade; both later played in the Princess Anne High School band, and fifteen Neptunes productions reached the top ten of the Hot 100.

The Norwegian Lady statue commemorates the 1891 wreck of which Norwegian barque?

Nine of the seventeen aboard died, including the captain's pregnant wife and son; the ship's figurehead washed ashore and stood as a memorial for decades.

An identical twin of Virginia Beach's Norwegian Lady stands in which Norwegian sister city?

Sculptor Ørnulf Bast made both bronzes, unveiled on September 22, 1962; the towns became official sister cities in 1974.

The historic Cavalier Hotel opened on the oceanfront in which year?

The Navy commandeered it in 1942 as a training centre; it reopened in 2018 after an $81 million restoration.

Which 'Sleeping Prophet' founded the Association for Research and Enlightenment in 1931?

His Cayce Hospital had opened in the city in 1928 with 60 beds; the A.R.E. is still headquartered there.

The Virginia Aquarium opened in 1986 as the 'Virginia' what?

Its tanks hold more than 800,000 gallons and 12,000 animals, including sea turtles, sharks and Komodo dragons.

Which surf contest, held in Virginia Beach every August since 1963, is the longest-running in the world?

It began at Gilgo Beach on Long Island in 1962 and moved south a year later; over 100,000 people attend.

Virginia's Adam Thoroughgood House is now dated to about which year?

It was long thought to date from 1636 and was actually built by Thoroughgood's great-grandson; it became a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

What had Adam Thoroughgood, who named the Lynnhaven River after King's Lynn, been when he arrived in Virginia in 1622?

He rose to sit in the House of Burgesses at Jamestown, and Norfolk takes its name from his home county.

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in southern Virginia Beach was established in which year?

Its 9,000-plus acres of dunes, marsh and beach are a stop on the Atlantic Flyway for snow geese; False Cape State Park lies just south.

Which state park adjoins Back Bay refuge to the south, reaching down to the North Carolina line?

It is one of the last undeveloped stretches of Atlantic coast, reachable only by foot, bike, boat or the refuge tram.

Which area code do locals use as a nickname for Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads?

948 was added as an overlay; 804 is Richmond and 703 is Northern Virginia.

What is Virginia Beach's official nickname?

Tourism took off after the railroad arrived in 1883 and the first boardwalk went in five years later.

Which larger city lies about 19 miles west of Virginia Beach, sharing its metro area?

Together with Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Newport News and Hampton they make up Hampton Roads.

By total area, how does Virginia Beach rank among Virginia's cities?

Much of that is water; by land area alone it is third, but still nearly 250 square miles.

What climate classification does Virginia Beach have?

Hot, sticky summers and mild winters, with the Gulf Stream offshore keeping snow rare.

In what year was Virginia Beach first incorporated as a town, before becoming a city in 1952?

The 1963 merger with Princess Anne County then multiplied its size overnight.

The Cape Henry Lighthouse and the site of the first landing sit inside which military base?

Now part of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, the old tower has been cared for by Preservation Virginia since 1930.

The only fishing pier reachable directly from the boardwalk is at which street?

The 14th Street Fishing Pier is the only pier accessible from the boardwalk itself.

How many acres does Mount Trashmore Park cover?

Two lakes, walking trails, volleyball courts and the skate park fill the rest of the former dump.

How many acres of trails, dunes and cypress swamp does First Landing State Park cover?

Over 19 miles of trails wind through it, and part is a National Natural Landmark for its forested dunes.

In which year did the Navy commission its Oceana air station, having begun construction in 1941?

About 20,000 people including families are tied to the base, whose annual air show is one of the region's biggest events.

The 1891 wreck whose figurehead became the Norwegian Lady had sailed from which port?

Bound for England, she was driven onto a sandbar in a storm; local life-saving station crews pulled eight survivors ashore.

Which Algonquian-speaking people lived in the Virginia Beach area at the time of European contact?

Little is known about them; archaeology suggests they may have been related to the Carolina Algonquian or Pamlico people.

Roughly what share of Virginia Beach's 497 square miles is water?

With 248 square miles of water and 249 of land, it is by far Virginia's largest city by water area and averages just 12 feet above sea level.

Which road, completed in 1922, first opened the city's oceanfront to cars arriving from Norfolk?

Before that, the resort depended on railroad and electric trolley service, which was eventually discontinued as car traffic grew.

How many people were killed in the May 31, 2019 shooting at a Virginia Beach municipal building?

A former employee also injured four others before being shot by responding officers.

How high is Mount Trashmore, the highest point in Virginia Beach?

The landfill-turned-hill is clearly visible from I-264 on the way to the oceanfront.

The Japanese garden in Red Wing Park honours Virginia Beach's sister-city link with which city?

Other sister cities include Moss in Norway, Bangor in Northern Ireland and Olongapo in the Philippines.

Which broadcaster, maker of The 700 Club, has its headquarters in the city beside Regent University?

The city also became home to the Reel Dreams Film Festival in 2008.

From which reservoir on the Virginia–North Carolina border is the Tidewater area's water pumped?

The Blackwater and Nottoway rivers supplement the supply.

What was the highest temperature ever recorded for Virginia Beach, set in July 2010?

The record low of −3 °F came in January 1985; both were measured at Norfolk International Airport.