Of course Virginia Beach is a wonderful destination for your next vacation but it has a lot more to offer than just the beach and the ocean. Conveniently enough, many Virginia Beach points of interest and monuments are located right along the boardwalk. This article features 4 of the landmarks to see oceanfront north which is from approximately 25th Street until the end of the boardwalk at 40th Street. When traveling to a new city or revisiting one of your favorites like Virginia Beach, it is great to take advantage of all of the landmarks and monuments. Plus the best part is they are all FREE!
Norwegian Lady Statue
After the fatal wreck of the Norwegian bark “Dictator” on March 28, 1891, its wooden figurehead, which washed ashore in the ship’s wreckage, stood at the oceanfront as a memorial for 60 years. The city of Moss, Norway commissioned a nine-foot bronze replica of the original figurehead and presented the gift to Virginia Beach in 1962 to commemorate the tragic loss. An exact duplicate was erected in Moss to unite the two sister cities. This great piece of history is located at 25th Street and Boardwalk and is a great area to check out while on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk.
King Neptune Statue
King Neptune is a colossal 34-foot-high bronze statue that rises from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean at 31st Street & Atlantic Avenue, overlooking Neptune Park. The King Neptune statue was built in honor of the Neptune Festival, which is a held each September. Volunteers of the popular annual Neptune Festival wanted a statue that honored the festival. They raised private funds and commissioned Richmond artist and sculptor Paul DiPasquale, who not only designed and created the massive statue, but accompanied it to China, where it was cast in bronze.
Virginia Beach Law Enforcement Memorial
The memorial is 19 feet tall and ten feet wide at the base. The officers are about two times life size. The memorial is located in a newly designed plaza at the end of 35th Street and the Boardwalk in a setting designed to allow for quiet reflection on the sacrifices made by the members of our law enforcement who have died in the line of duty. Individual plaques provide details of each fallen officer’s line-of-duty death.
Naval Seal Monument
The 19-foot-tall monument at 35th Street and the Boardwalk features three bronze figures – representing the Police Department, Sheriff’s Office, and state and federal agencies – joining one hand in solidarity and reaching another down toward the citizens. More than 80 family members of the fallen attended the memorial’s dedication, making it the largest gathering of survivors in city history, said Jake Jacocks, president of the Virginia Beach Police Foundation and a former police chief.
“Every individual who wears the uniform of a law enforcement officer knows and understands that each morning brings no promise of tomorrow,” former Mayor Will Sessoms said at the ceremony. The monument is a “permanent and lasting tribute” to those who serve the city. “It’s like none other in the United States of America, and none other in the world,” Sessoms said.
These are four points of interest and monuments in Virginia Beach that you will want to check out. Next month’s landmark and monuments in Virginia Beach article will showcase 4 things to check out on the south-end of the resort area. There is really a lot of free stuff to enjoy while in Virginia Beach.
So take time out from the sun and sand to learn about Virginia Beach history. It will help complete your experience in our great city!
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