THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 4, 1995 TAG: 9502020298
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATHLEEN BUTLER, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
Ragan Freeman says her home in the Westover neighborhood of Norfolk is a small-town oasis tucked away from the city's hustle and bustle.
``At night, when the moon is out, it looks like something out of the movies,'' Freeman says. ``It's secure, yet exciting.''
Westover is a tree-lined section of West Ghent located off Hampton Boulevard, just minutes from downtown Norfolk and a few blocks from the Midtown Tunnel to Portsmouth. Old Dominion University and Eastern Virginia Medical School are nearby. Yet residents say they often feel like they live worlds away.
``It's an extremely convenient place, but you don't feel like you're in the city,'' Freeman says.''
In Westover, residents still welcome new neighbors with baskets of goodies and invitations to community functions. They take turns watching the neighborhood children. And in the summer, they sit on each others' porches after dinner to chat and catch up on the day's events.
``It's like a small town,'' Freeman says. ``we really look out for each other.''
An active civic league and caring, alert neighbors have kept the neighborhood relatively free from crime, residents say.
Karen Hammersley, who recently returned to her childhood home in Westover, agrees that the neighborhood is special.
``This is a great neighborhood,'' Hammersley says. ``I wouldn't say everybody knows everybody . . . but everybody is friendly.''
Hammersley's mother bought their Westover home in 1962 and began renting out apartments as her children moved away. Now, Hammersley has returned to raise her own child there.
``A lot of us have come back to the same neighborhood,'' Hammersley says of her childhood neighbors.
Most of Westover's homes were built in the early 1900s, and though they are all similar in design, wood, brick or wood-brick facades give each its own unique character. An oversized farmer's porch - often with a porch swing - adds to the feeling that living here takes one a step back in time.
In addition to single-family homes, one block of Westover features brownstone apartment buildings, some of which have recently been converted to condominiums.
Freeman, who owns the oldest home on the block - built in 1907 - says the neighborhood is a good example of early 20th-century track housing. High ceilings were common. Because dining rooms were considered centerpieces of the home in the early part of the century, they were often large and artfully detailed, she says.
Westover has a convivial atmosphere, Freeman says, and residents frequently socialize with each other. When the weather is warm, children play softball, baseball or street hockey. Residents also take advantage of the public tennis courts and three parks - all within walking distance.
The neighborhood has a good mix of young and old from all walks of life, residents say. But Freeman says they share a common trait: ``Everyone has a story. They've lived life well, and everyone is interesting.''
Front yards - though small - are well landscaped, adding to the neighborhood's feeling of stability, Freeman says.
Jim Johnson and his wife, Gwen, moved to Westover 26 years ago when their family outgrew its previous home. They say they've seen the neighborhood take shape around them.
``When we first moved here, we were the young people on the block,'' Jim Johnson says. ``Now we're the old people. It's not decaying - it seems to be building up with the young people.''
``It doesn't feel temporary,'' she says.
Although residents speak highly of their neighborhood today, they admit that Westover's proximity to Hampton Boulevard and the Midtown Tunnel once caused headaches. A few years back traffic from the Navy base got so bad that residents say they couldn't get down their street during rush hour.
But residents were undaunted. Through the civic league, they banned together. And now traffic signs basically prevent cars from cutting through the neighborhood during rush hour.
Through the years, the Johnsons have grown to appreciate the area so much that they bought the house next door when its owner died. They say the value of homes in the neighborhood has steadily increased in the past 30 years.
``The homes are nicer now,'' Gwen Johnson says. ``Young people have come in and tried to enhance the look and value of their property.''
Although ``for sale'' and ``for rent'' signs do occasionally pop up on a Westover lawn, residents say there is little turnover in their neighborhood. And residents like Gwen Johnson say they know why.
``I love it,'' she says. ``I really wouldn't want to live anyplace else.'' ILLUSTRATION: TAMARA VONINSKI/Staff
Ragan Freeman has lived in Westover since 1980. She says the quiet
neighborhood is "like something out of the movie."
Kids enjoy a vigorous game of rollerblade hockey on Westover
Avenue.
AT A GLANCE
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD
FOR SALE
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by CNB