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What Norfolk, VA looked like in the 1940s

World War II brought thousands of workers to Norfolk, where nearly 100 ships and landing craft were built. The population almost doubled between 1940 and 1944. Furniture manufacturing, fertilizer plants, and other industries also expanded during that time. Individual residences and apartment buildings rapidly developed during the war, and the city struggled to cope with overcrowding.

Norfolk began annexing neighboring counties after World War II. Public housing was constructed after the slums were cleared. The city also rebuilt hundreds of acres in the downtown. The SCOPE Convention and Cultural Center largely spurred this redevelopment. The Chrysler Museum and Chrysler Hall were named after automobile mogul Walter P. Chrysler, who donated his extensive art collection to the city.

#1 Trailer camp for construction workers. Ocean View, outskirts of Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#2 Untitled photo, possibly related to: Housing. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#3 Defense workers in front of rooming houses. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#4 House occupied by defense worker and family. They came from North Carolina farm. Rent ten dollars per month. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#7 House in a slum district of Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#8 Trailer camp for construction workers. Ocean View, outskirts of Norfolk, 1941

#14 Defense housing in Merrimack Park, Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#16 Trailer camp for defense workers. Ocean View, Virginia. Outskirts of Norfolk, 1941

#18 Large-scale rental housing project privately financed through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in Norfolk, 1941

#22 Boy from Maryland in charity ward, Saint Vincent’s Hospital, Norfolk, 1941

#23 Backed up sewer in Negro slum district. Norfolk, 1941

#25 Two-family unit in Merrimac Villiage. A defense housing project of the Norfolk housing authority, 1941

#26 FHA (Federal Housing Administration)-insured small home development in Norfolk, 1941

#27 Low-cost home near Norfolk air base being purchased through facilities of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), 1941

#28 Cars waiting for the nine o’clock ferry to Norfolk, at Cape Charles, Virginia, 1941

#29 Trucks waiting at Cape Charles, Virginia for ferry to Norfolk, Virginia, 1940

#31 Second Presbyterian Church Freemason Abbey Norfolk, 1943

#34 Ocean View Ocean View After Flood Sand on RoadAfter Flood, 1944

#38 Roxy / The Hub Abbott Costello Granby Street, 1944

#41 August ‘Cap Coleman’ Tattoo Parlor (exterior), 1944

#43 Shipbuilding (Norfolk Navy Yard). Sandwiches, smokes and soft drinks are available to workers at a number of canteens on the grounds. There are also several cafeterias serving hot meals, 1941

#44 Backed up sewer in Negro slum district. Norfolk, Virginia.1941

#45 Trailer camp for construction workers. Ocean View, outskirts of Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#46 Charity ward. Saint Vincent’s Hospital. Norfolk, 1941

#47 Untitled photo, possibly related to: Backed up sewer in Negro slum district. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#48 Houses in Negro slum district. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#49 Kitchen in house which rents for sixteen dollars per month. Slum district. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#50 Untitled photo, possibly related to: Houses occupied by defense workers. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#51 Schoolchildren getting ready to go home. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#52 First grade, public school. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#53 Cloakroom, public school. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#55 House in Negro slum district. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#56 Tatooing shop on West Main Street. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#60 Defense workers in front of rooming houses, Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#61 Charity ward, Saint Vincent’s Hospital, Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#63 Defense worker living in slum district. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#64 Kitchen in house which rents for sixteen dollars per month in a slum district, Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#65 Sons of defense contruction workers living in trailer camp. Ocean View, outskirts of Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#66 Cloak room, public school. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#67 Untitled photo, possibly related to: Backed up sewer in a slum district, Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#74 Defense housing. Merrimack Park, Norfolk, Virginia.

Defense housing. Merrimack Park, Norfolk, Virginia.

This project to house married enlisted personnel of the Norfolk naval base has 500 units which include single-story detached dwellings, two family houses, two-story group houses and apartments. Built at a cost of $1,980,000 by the USHA (U.S. Housing Authority), the project was opened for occupancy on July 1, 1941. Rentals are divided into four groups which run from a low 13-15 dollars to a high of 30-33 dollars

#75 Facilities at trailer camp for construction workers. Ocean View, outskirts of Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#76 Trailer camp for construction workers. Ocean View, outskirts of Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#80 Magazines at newsstand in Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#82 Houses occupied by defense workers in Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#83 Daughters of defense worker in aslum district. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#84 USHA (U.S. Housing Agency)-financed rental housing development in Norfolk to be used for families of workers in defense industries, 1941

#86 Ford Truck Unloading Cargo at Docks Ship Lake Ormoc, 1944

#91 Norva & Loew’s Theaters Granby St. at Night, 1941

#92 Norva ‘Moon Over Miami’ & Loew’s Theaters Norfolk, 1941

#94 Granby Street between College Place & Freemason Street, 1945

#95 US Housing Authority, last week after inspecting An apartment-hotel building in the 800 block of Whites Avenue, in the heart of the Norfolk Slum Area, 1940s

#96 Commonwealth Apartments, Looking Northwest down 23rd Street.Administration and Social Hall Building, 1945

#97 Looking East, Corner of Chenault and Arnold Drives.Utility Trailer on corner, 1945

#98 Lewis Park. Northeast side of Arnold Drive showing Utility Trailer, 1945

#106 Aerial view of Ghent looking Southwest toward The Hague, 1940s

#109 Norfolk City Hall .looking from across Granby Street, 1940s

#110 Aerial view looking Northeast from Freemason Harbor, 1940s

#112 View looking North at Downtown Norfolk Waterfront, 1940s

#113 View looking Northwest at Downtown Norfolk, 1940s

#114 Looking North on Granby Street from Market Street during Air Raid Warning, 1940s

#115 View looking Northwest at Downtown Norfolk, 1940s

#116 Early view looking West of Downtown Norfolk, 1940s

#120 Sailors sleeping in lobby of Navy YMCA.Future Union Mission building.Dunford’s Studio, 1940s

#126 Downtown West. 405 Bute Street.Glisson House, 1940s

#127 Downtown West. Wells Theatre.Corner of Tazewell Street and Monticello Avenue, 1940s

#128 Downtown West. Granby Street Pedestrian Mall, 1940s

#136 Redevelopment.E Ghent South. View looking South.Downtown & Norfolk Scope in distance, 1940s

#137 Royster House.Colonial Avenue.Front Porch Removed, 1940s

#139 Union Mission. View showing corner of Olney Road West and Mowbray Arch, 1940s

#142 Christ & St. Lukes Church view from the Hague, 1940s

#148 Royster House. Colonial Avenue before porch removal, 1940s

#153 Merrimack Park. Defense Housing Project VA-6-1.Looking West along roadway between, 1941

#154 Merrimack Landing. Merrimack Park.Project VA-6-1 Looking North, service drive between Bldgs, 1941

#155 A view of a section of seats occupied by children during the Dedication Ceremony, 1941

#159 Vertical Strut left foreground & Smith Street.Young Park, 1949

#161 Houses occupied by defense workers. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#162 Backed up sewer in Negro slum district. Norfolk, Virginia,1941

#163 Houses in Negro slum district. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#164 Ocean View, outskirts of Norfolk, Virginia, 1940s

#165 Houses occupied by defense workers. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#174 Defense workers in front of rooming houses. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#176 Backed up sewer in Negro slum district. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#183 Defense housing. Ben Morrell Project, Norfolk, Virginia, 1940s

#185 Defense housing. Hale Homes, Portsmouth, Virginia, 1940s

#186 War housing. Hale Homes, Portsmouth, Virginia, 1940s

#187 Defense housing. Hale Homes, Portsmouth, Virginia, 1940s

#188 Trailer camp for defense workers. Ocean View, Virginia, 1940s

#189 Trailer camp for construction workers. Ocean View, outskirts of Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

#190 The dock at Little Creek, Virginia, the “Gateway to the South”, 1940s

#191 The Norfolk end of the Norfolk-Cape Charles ferry, 1940

#192 Trucks waiting at Cape Charles, Virginia for ferry to Norfolk, Virginia, 1940

#193 Cars waiting for the nine o’clock ferry to Norfolk, at Cape Charles, Virginia, 1940

#194 Defense worker from North Carolina who was hurt on the job. Saint Vincent’s Hospital charity ward. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

Defense worker from North Carolina who was hurt on the job. Saint Vincent's Hospital charity ward. Norfolk, Virginia, 1941

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8 Comments

      • In recent decades, we have taken for granted the huge advances in quality of life that took place between 1945 and 1970. Growth and innovation in the postwar industrial base led to even more growth. Norfolk’s 4 o’clock traffic probably consists of the wealthiest residents, and many other cities looked similar. However, the backed-up sewers and power lines show that some things never change.

        • It’s true – and Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Hampton experienced two world wars of military build up and decline. There were thousands of people hungry for shelter -any kind – to chase the shipyard and war buildup dollars. Additionally, we had a large influx of military personnel.

          Many homes near Portsmouth’s yard were converted into boarding houses … and many of them were destroyed after WWII.

          The photos also show the stark differences in segregated housing … little to no zoning and rental laws … slum lords making a lot of money from poor residents.