From time-to-time, visitors stop by the Ocean View Station Museum at the Pretlow Library at the east end of Granby Street in Norfolk to donate artifacts and photographs that embrace the grandeur of Ocean View in its heyday.
Charles Fleetwood, museum director, enjoys receiving the artifacts and photographs from donors, but he treasures the opportunity to listen to the fascinating personal stories and memories that his benefactors share with him about the Ocean View area and its colorful history.
Recently, a museum patron donated an exit sign that used to hang on the gate of The Rocket, a wooden roller coaster that served as the centerpiece at Ocean View Amusement Park for over five decades.
“You’re kidding me,” Fleetwood said upon receiving the long-forgotten artifact from the amusement park that closed in 1978.
Fleetwood was assured the salvaged sign was no joke. It had been acquired at the time the park was demolished, and it was authentic. The salvager had torn it from the gate of The Rocket exit himself, and he had stored it in his garage for more than 40 years.
“Everyone thought that the old wooden Rocket was dangerous and rickety and was about to fall down,” Fleetwood said. “They couldn’t tear it down. They had to blow it up.”
King’s Dominion, Water Country USA and other amusement park venues opened in the mid-1970s. Public interest declined at Ocean View Amusement Park.
“They went out of business here in Ocean View. They sold out,” Fleetwood said. “The city of Norfolk tore it down. That was it, 1979. That was the end of the park.”
All of the artifacts and photographs exhibited in the Ocean View Station Museum come from people who have brought in relics and images from family collections, amusement park motifs and old-time events.
“They’ve brought them in and delivered them to us. It happens all the time on a regular basis,” Fleetwood said. “As people get older, they donate older items, and we’re collecting them.”
The museum survives on minor donations and sales of reprinted posters and photographs. The city of Norfolk provides several modest sized rooms in the Pretlow Library for office space and for display of the museum’s collection. There is no charge for admission.
Volunteers are needed at the museum, even if you can only contribute a few hours a week.
“The best part of the museum is the people that come in to visit. It’s not about the museum,” Fleetwood said. “It’s about the people and their memories and all of the events and things that have gone on in their lives. They look and they see all that we have here. When I look at their smiles, that is wonderful.”
The Ocean View Station Museum was named after the trolley car station located where the Pretlow Library stands today. Ocean View was the end of the line. The Ocean View Amusement Park was the biggest attraction.
“A lot of the older people come in, and I love to see them. They walk around and they point and they talk,” Fleetwood said. “They have their grandchildren with them. That makes me feel good. That’s what we’re here for.”
For more information about the museum and volunteer opportunities, call 757-531-0445.
