THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 18, 1995 TAG: 9502160216
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATHLEEN BUTLER, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
Tucked beneath the shadow of Portsmouth Naval Hospital, with the Elizabeth River at its doorstep, is Swimming Point - a quaint neighborhood with turn-of-the-century-style houses that many residents have called home for decades.
``I've always loved this neighborhood,'' says Gale Butt, who has lived in Swimming Point for 32 years. ``It's always had a family character. It seems like the houses go from one generation to the next.''
Her husband, Holt Butt, grew up in Swimming Point - a block from their current house. For the first few years they were married, they lived in an apartment on the edge of the neighborhood.
``It's like being in the center of Tidewater,'' gale Butt says. ``I imagine if you looked at a map of Hampton Roads, you would see Swimming Point and Olde Towne very centrally located.''
James ``Moose'' Brown says he and his wife moved to Swimming Point from the Churchland area of Portsmouth about five years ago because of the neighborhood's character and abundance of good neighbors - many of whom they had known for years.
``To me it's unique,'' Brown says of the area. ``It's so delightful. It's small, it's convenient and we have wonderful neighbors.''
Part of the charm of Swimming Point is its size - about two dozen homes spread in an area three blocks long by two blocks wide. With no through-street, residents say they are pleasantly cut off from city.
``We're more or less bypassed by the rest of the world,'' Brown says.
At the neighborhood's edge are Swimming Point Walk and the Elizabeth River. From here, residents can see the row houses of Old Town, the ships of the Naval Shipyard, and across the water, the tall buildings and bright lights of downtown Norfolk. Dozens of ducks and seagulls flock to the river's edge.
``It's like being in a suburb, except you're in the middle of a city,'' gale Butt says.
All but two of Swimming Point's homes were built after 1920, but they retain many turn-of-the-century characteristics such as high ceilings and hardwood floors. Wrought iron fences picket small gardens filled with well-pruned shrubs and ivy even in the winter months.
In addition to the 20th-century houses, Swimming Point is also home to what is reputed to be Portsmouth's oldest house, built in 1739 and now owned by Robert Reed. In the 1800s the house was used as a makeshift hospital during a yellow fever epidemic and as a poor house run by the Episcopal Church.
Reed, who moved into one of two Swimming Point homes as a toddler in 1920, recalls watching the neighborhood literally grow up around him.
``Every (other) house has been built in my lifetime,'' Reed says. ``When we moved here, we were moving to the country.''
Barbara and Richard Grace built their brick home in 1958 after living in an apartment on the outskirts of the neighborhood for 12 years. Like many of her neighbors, Barbara Grace was born and raised in downtown Portsmouth. To her, Swimming Point was in an ideal location and a good place to raise their three children.
``It was the sort of neighborhood where all the parents stuck together as far as raising the kids,'' she says.
Today there are few children in the area, though residents say they have seen more young families recently. Until a few years ago, the neighborhood had almost no turnover, and even now only one house carries a for-sale sign. That sense of permanence is something residents say they have long treasured.
``The stability of the neighborhood has been one of its charms,'' gale Butt says.
In a neighborhood where everyone knows everyone else, residents say they look out for each other. The Swimming Point civic league meets quarterly and typically at least one person from each household attends, Reed says.
``There's a lot of pride in the neighborhood,'' gale Butt says. ``Nobody has to say do this. People do it because they treasure what they have.''
Still, although residents feel secure in their surroundings, they say an in-home assault on one couple last year has left them more cautious. Now more than ever, they say they look out for each other.
``There's not a person in the neighborhood I couldn't call and say I need help and they wouldn't be here immediately,'' gale Butt says. ``And I'd do the same for them.''
Although residents have mostly kind words to say about Swimming Point, many say they wish shopping was more convenient. Most of the downtown stores - grocers, department stores, cinemas and the five-and-dime - have closed. Residents say they often must travel to Chesapeake or Norfolk to shop.
But rather than complain, residents talk wistfully of years gone by when the Norfolk ferry docked at High Street and downtown was bustling with pedestrian traffic.
``All roads led to the ferry, so shopping was centrally located,'' gale Butt says. ``When the tunnel opened there was no reason for people to come down this way. But it made it a lot more quiet and pleasant downtown.''
And residents also point to recent efforts to rebuild downtown and say they hope newcomers to Portsmouth - such as the Children's Museum that opened last fall - will help reestablish the area. Residents also say the downtown area does have some of the necessities such as a post office, banks and pharmacies.
Despite the occasional shopping headaches, Swimming Point folks say they feel lucky to live in a neighborhood where people not only know each other, they've been friends for years.
``We've just loved it,'' Barbara Grace says of her time in Swimming Point. ``I wouldn't want to be anyplace else.'' ILLUSTRATION: JIM WALKER
A picket fence marks a two-story Colonial house on Washington
Street. The neighborhood is south of the Naval Hospital.
This elegant brick dwelling is on Swimming Point Walk near the
Elizabeth River.
AT A GLANCE
Staff Map
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Schools: Park View Elementary School, Harry A. Hunt Junior High
School and Woodrow Wilson High School.
Shopping areas: Many residents complain about the lack of
convenient shopping. Downtown Portsmouth is a few minutes away, and
I-264 offers easy access to the rest of Hampton Roads.
Recreation: No formal recreation areas, but many residents take
advantage of their waterfront location and proximity to downtown to
walk or run.
FOR SALE
510 Craford Place: This brick house has hardwood floors, four
bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a formal dining room, a Florida room, a
kitchen with mahogany cabinets and views of the Elizabeth River.
The asking price is $199,900.
by CNB