Norfolk, Virginia: Evolution of A City In Maps

Description

The Every Square Inch of Norfolk Virginia Series

The Every Square Inch of Norfolk Virginia project, which is creating The Encyclopedia of Norfolk Virginia History-Geography, begun in 2003 under the direction of Irwin Berent, is designed to document the geographical history of the entire length and breadth of Norfolk, Virginia, one of America’s most historic cities. The culmination of this ambitious and daunting task is the “Every Square Inch of Norfolk Virginia Series.”

Each book of the “Every Square Inch of Norfolk Virginia Series” covers a different aspect of the history, infrastructure, and people of Norfolk by examining in minute detail the geography of the entirety of the city, as defined by its current bounds. Adopting a philosophy of “historical-geographic egalitarianism,” this series covers not, as most histories of Norfolk have, merely the land that formed the original town and borough – essentially the “downtown” area – but rather also all the land that encompasses the full city limits of the current day: spanning, therefore, from Berkley, Atlantic City, Ghent, Lambert’s Point, and Larchmont to Algonquin Park, Titus Town, Riverview, Benmorreel, Glenwood Park, Sewells Point, the Naval Base, and Mason Creek; from Campostella, Huntersville, Villa Heights, Park Place, and Colonial Place to Cromwell Farm, Ward’s Corner, Monticello Village, and Willoughby Bay; from Brambleton, Roberts Park, Lindenwood, Lafayette Terrace, Winona, and Roland Park to Suburban Park, Monticello Village, Oakwood Park, Lenox, and Ocean View; from Riverside Park, Ingleside, Bowling Park, Ballentine Place, Norview, and Coronado to Chesapeake Manor, Oakwood Park, Forest Park, and Bayview Beach; from River Forest Shores, Easton Place, Fairlawn, and Admiralty Acres to Camden Heights, Camelia Acres, and Little Creek. And those are just a few of the more than 1,000 different subdivisions and geographic landmarks (and farms and plantations that preceded them) that this series covers and that make up the land – the entire land – of Norfolk.

Unlike any other treatment attempted for Norfolk (indeed, perhaps for any other city in the entire U.S.), the “Every Square Inch of Norfolk Virginia Series” covers all the major topics critical to understanding the complete breadth and depth of the geography of the city. Each of the hefty eighteen books in the series uses actual historical examples, both in words and pictures, to illustrate in minute detail one or more of those key defining topics. Each book, therefore, can separately stand alone, as each offers a rich view of some key parts of the city’s history and geography. And taken together, the series offers an extraordinarily comprehensive panorama of that history and geography.