THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411240270
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: - Tom Holden
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
The bulkheads along Sandbridge were not the only man-made structures to suffer the effects of wind and waves during last week's near miss from Hurricane Gordon.
The Virginia Beach Fishing Pier, long a favorite spot for anglers, came up about 75 feet shorter during the two-day storm while a small building at Fort Story succumbed to the storm-driven erosion.
The damage to the privately owned fishing pier came less than a year after 200 additional feet were added to the fabled 43-year-old landmark at 15th Street. It was not the first time the pier suffered under the surf.
In 1985, Hurricane Gloria took about 250 feet off the pier, which once ran 1,000 feet into the ocean. Before last week's storm, the pier was about 700 feet long.
Waves also cut into the dunes along Fort Story and undermined O'Keefe's Pub, a snack bar for military personnel next to the Cape Henry Cross.
Olivia Alfriend, a spokeswoman for the base, said the pub will be demolished and rebuilt at a site closer to the Officer's Club. Debris from the building will be used to shore up the beach and hinder further erosion, she said. MEMO: [For a related story, see page 14 of The Beacon for this date.]
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by PETER D. SUNDBERG
Staff photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
ABOVE: Four days after the Nov. 18 storm, there is 75 feet less of
the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier, but some of the sand has returned
to the beach. LEFT: The back wall of the Fort Story club, O'Keefe's
Pub, was demolished.
by CNB