It was called “The Vacation Paradise of the South” and was one of the earliest African American beach resorts in the country. Learn all about its inspiring history at a new exhibit at the Hampton History Museum in Hampton, Virginia.
In the 1890s, beaches were separated. Beaches in Hampton were inaccessible to blacks. A group of professors from Hampton University decided to change that. They pooled their resources and founded the Bay Shore Hotel Corporation. Bay Shore bought a few acres of beach between what is now Buckroe and Fort Monroe. In the beginning there was only the beach and a house.
The beach was instantly popular. So popular that a three-story hotel with 70 rooms was built. They added an amusement park and a music hall. There was a ferris wheel and a middle ground with black-owned shops. Visitors even came from New York, and the resort was particularly popular with Richmond residents. As popular as the amenities were, the beach was still the main attraction. And there was a fence on the beach. It separated the white beach of Buckroe from the Afro-American beach of Bay Shore.
Bay Bulletin asked Allen Hoilman, the curator of the Hampton History Museum, if there were any violations or incidents caused by the line in the sand. Has anyone ever jumped over the fence? “We didn’t really look, but we didn’t find any reports of serious incidents between guests on the white beach and black beach. However, we found that young whites visited Bay Shore Music Hall because of its reputation for being such a fun place. And the music was really, really good, ”said Hoilman. Cast includes Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong.
The resort flourished and prospered for decades. It even survived the Great Depression. But it was no match for the famous 1933 hurricane. The storm literally destroyed everything. Due to inadequate insurance and a lack of cash, only the music hall was initially remodeled. Then it was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that put Bay Shore in even greater trouble. Under racial segregation, African Americans could not visit white beaches. After the law was passed, the black community could visit any beach. As the black population explored new venues, Bay Shore visitors declined. The property eventually went bankrupt and was sold to developers.
The exhibition, entitled “Historic Black Beaches: Bay Shore and Other Memorable Sands,” opened last weekend at the Hampton History Museum. You’ll find tons of photos, memorabilia like arcade games, a carousel horse, and vintage beachwear, as well as stories from the resort.
The museum is located at 120 Old Hampton Lane in Downtown Hampton. Free parking spaces are available in the garage opposite the museum. For more information, see hampton.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=4950.
–Kendall Osborne