The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Norfolk, Virginia, United States.
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Norfolk is an independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Norfolk had a population of 238,005, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, and the 94th-largest city in the nation. Norfolk holds a strategic position as the historical, urban, financial, and cultural center of the Hampton Roads region, which has more than 1.8 million inhabitants and is the 37th-largest metropolitan area in the US, with ten cities.
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of Virginia, United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city in Virginia, fifth-most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, ninth-most populous city in the Southeast and the 42nd-most populous city in the U.S. Located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Beach is the largest city in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area which includes 6 other cities. This area, sometimes referred to as "America's First Region", also includes the independent cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk, as well as other smaller cities, counties, and towns of Hampton Roads.
Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is the 9th-most populous city in Virginia and is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
Hampton Roads Transit (HRT), incorporated on October 1, 1999, began through the voluntary merger of PENTRAN on the Virginia Peninsula and TRT in South Hampton Roads and currently serves over 22 million annual passengers within its 369-square-mile (960 km2) service area around Hampton Roads. The purpose of the HRT is to provide reliable and efficient transportation service and facilities to the Hampton Roads community. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 6,750,200, or about per weekday as of the first quarter of 2023.
Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) is a public medical school in Norfolk, Virginia. Founded by grassroots efforts in the Southeastern part of Virginia known as Hampton Roads, EVMS is not affiliated with an undergraduate institution and coordinates training through multiple medical centers in the Hampton Roads region. EVMS campus includes the 555-bed Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the region's only tertiary level 1 trauma medical care facility, and the 212-bed Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, a regional pediatric referral care facility and only stand-alone children's hospital in the state. EVMS is the first institution in the US to have produced a viable fetus through in vitro fertilization. EVMS is most known for its reproductive medicine and simulation/standardized-patient education as well as research in pediatrics, geriatrics, diabetes, and cancer. In addition, EVMS is well known for its leadership in community service and medical missions as evidenced by faculty and alumni responsible for the founding of Operation Smile, Physicians for Peace, Global Brigades, and CONRAD.
State Route 337 is a primary state highway in the South Hampton Roads area of the U.S. state of Virginia. It runs east from Suffolk to Portsmouth, where it crosses Jordan Bridge. It continues on the east side of the Southern Branch Elizabeth River in the South Norfolk neighborhood of Chesapeake. There it turns north, through Norfolk, crossing the Berkley Bridge into downtown, and ending at the Naval Station Norfolk at Sewell's Point. Most of its length was formed when other highways were rerouted: U.S. Route 460 from Suffolk to South Norfolk, SR 170 from South Norfolk to downtown Norfolk, and US 17 from downtown Norfolk to Sewell's Point. SR 337 is the only numbered highway to cross all three Branches of the Elizabeth River. It crosses the Western Branch as Portsmouth Boulevard at the Hodges Ferry Bridge, the Southern Branch on the Jordan Bridge, and the Eastern Branch on the Berkley Bridge. The Berkley Bridge is a drawbridge. SR 337 also crosses the Lafayette River in the city of Norfolk.
The JANAF Shopping Yard, commonly known as JANAF, is a suburban shopping center located in Norfolk, Virginia. Opening in 1959, it was one of the first large suburban shopping centers in the United States. The name is an acronym for Joint Army Navy Air Force, which refers to the original investment group that was composed of retired and active duty military personnel.
The Ghent District is a historic neighborhood in Norfolk, Virginia. It comprises Ghent, West Ghent, and Ghent Square. Other portions of surrounding neighborhoods are often attributed to Ghent as an extension of its commerce including Chelsea, North Colley Avenue, and active gentrification into portions of Park Place to the north, labelled 'The Railroad District'.
The history of Norfolk, Virginia as a modern settlement begins in 1636. The city formally was incorporated in 1736. The city was burned by orders of the outgoing Virginia governor Lord Dunmore in 1776 during the second year of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), although it was soon rebuilt.
Downtown Norfolk serves as the traditional center of commerce, government, and culture in the Hampton Roads region. Norfolk, Virginia's downtown waterfront shipping and port activities historically played host to numerous and often noxious port and shipping-related uses. With the advent of containerized shipping in the mid-19th century, the shipping uses located on Norfolk's downtown waterfront became obsolete as larger and more modern port facilities opened elsewhere in the region. The vacant piers and cargo warehouses eventually became a blight on downtown and Norfolk's fortunes as a whole. But in the second half of the century, Norfolk had a vibrant retail community in its suburbs; companies like Smith & Welton, High's, Colonial Stores, Goldman's Shoes, Lerner Shops, Hofheimer's, Giant Open Air, Dollar Tree and K & K Toys were regional leaders in their respective fields. Norfolk was also the birthplace of Econo-Travel, now Econo Lodge, one of the nation's first discount motel chains.
Since Norfolk serves as the commercial and cultural center for the geographical region of Hampton Roads, it can be difficult to separate the economic characteristics of Norfolk, from that of the region as a whole. The waterways which almost completely surround the Hampton Roads region also play an important part in the local economy. As a strategic location at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, its protected deep water channels serve as major arteries for the import and export of goods from across the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, and international destinations, as well as being the location of the world's largest naval base.
Located in the southeastern corner of the state, Norfolk is economically and culturally important to Virginia. A variety of transportation modes have developed around the city's importance and somewhat unusual geography.
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital (SNGH) is a large academic hospital, which serves as the primary teaching institution for the adjacent Eastern Virginia Medical School. Located in Norfolk, Virginia, in the Ghent neighborhood and adjacent to Downtown, the hospital serves as the Hampton Roads region's only Level I trauma center. The hospital is interconnected to the Sentara Heart Hospital, however, it is considered a separate institution. Together with the adjacent Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, Eastern Virginia Medical School and the Norfolk Department of Health, the Eastern Virginia Medical Center is the largest conglomerate center for health in Hampton Roads. For a time, the U.S. News & World Report rated it the best in Virginia. In 2016, SNGH is tied with VCU Medical Center ranked as #2 while University of Virginia Health System ranked first.
Mason Cooke Andrews was a Virginia politician and physician, known for delivering America's first in vitro baby. A president of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society, Andrews also served on the Norfolk City Council for 26 years and was mayor from 1992-1994.
Sentara Health, an integrated, not-for-profit health care delivery system, celebrates more than 130 years in pursuit of its mission - "we improve health every day." Sentara is one of the largest health systems in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, and among the top 20 largest not-for-profit integrated health systems in the country, with 30,000 employees, 12 hospitals in Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina, and the Sentara Health Plans division which serves more than 1.2 million members in Virginia and Florida. Sentara is recognized nationally for clinical quality and safety, and is strategically focused on innovation and creating an extraordinary health care experience for our patients and members. Sentara was named to IBM Watson Health's "Top 15 Health Systems", and was recognized by Forbes as a "Best Employer for New Grads" (2022), "Best Employer for Veterans" (2022), and "Best Employer for Women" (2020).
MacArthur Square is a Tide Light Rail station in Norfolk, Virginia. Opened in August 2011, it is situated in downtown Norfolk in a small block bounded by Plume Street, City Hall Avenue, Bank Street and Atlantic Street.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Hampton, Virginia, United States.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Newport News, Virginia, United States.
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