Bay Shore Beach

Coordinates: 37°3′17″N 76°17′8.9″W / 37.05472°N 76.285806°W / 37.05472; -76.285806

Bay Shore Beach was a beach that existed adjacent to Buckroe Beach in Hampton, Virginia in the 20th century. It was founded in 1898 by several African-American businessmen. The beach was one of the most popular resort and vacation destinations in the Mid-Atlantic region for African-Americans. In addition to standard beach activities, hotels, and restaurants, Bay Shore also had an amusement park. The beach was in its prime of popularity from 1898 until 1933 when a Hurricane devastated the coast. Both "sides" of the beach, (Bay Shore & Buckroe) were respectively rebuilt, however, Bay Shore may not have been built back to its former heights, although it continued to remain popular.

The beginnings of desegregation can be correlated to the decline in Bay Shore's popularity. This parallel is evident with other historically "black", "negro", or "colored" beaches around the nation such as American Beach of Florida, and Bruce Beach of Los Angeles (Manhattan Beach). Bay Shore beach ceased to exist by the early 1970s. Buckroe Beach, its white counterpart, continues to exist although its golden era ended with the upstart of Virginia Beach located in the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Currently, the property that was once Bay Shore Beach has been privately developed. To various degrees at various points in recent times, Buckroe, Virginia residents have been resisting Hampton City Council attempts to sell Buckroe Beach to private developers.

Bay Shore, New York

Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. In 2008, Bay Shore celebrated the 300th anniversary of the purchase of the land from the Secatogue Native Americans. The population of the CDP was 26,337 at the time of the 2010 census.

Early history

Bay Shore is one of the older hamlets on Long Island. Sagtikos Manor, located in West Bay Shore, was built around 1697. It was used as a British armed forces headquarters, at the time of the Battle of Long Island during the Revolutionary War. President Washington stayed at the manor during his tour of Long Island in 1790.

The land that would become Bay Shore proper was purchased from the Secatogue Native Americans in 1708 by local school teacher John Mowbray for "several eel spears".

The hamlet's name has changed over time: Early European settlers referred to the area first as Penataquit and later as Awixa; both were names used by the Native American Secatogue tribe. For reasons never documented, the name was changed in the early 19th century to Sodom. In 1842 there was a further name change to Mechanicsville, then a return in 1849 to Penataquit. The name Penataquit proved unpopular because it was difficult to spell. The name of the hamlet and post office was changed to Bay Shore in 1868.

Bay Shore (disambiguation)

Bay Shore may refer to a location in the United States:

Sports

See also

Bay Shore (LIRR station)

Bay Shore is a major railroad station on the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), on Park Avenue and Oak Street north of Suffolk CR 50 (Union Boulevard) and west of Fourth Avenue, in Bay Shore, New York. Ferries to Fire Island board from a port south of the station.

History

Bay Shore Station was built by the South Side Railroad of Long Island on May 20, 1868 as Penataquit Station only to be renamed Bay Shore Station in July 1868. It was replaced in 1882 and replaced again on July 17, 1912, in the style typical of stations such as Riverhead, Manhasset, Northport, and Mineola. The station also had a freight yard nearby. High-level platforms were added in 1984. The entrance to the station once had decorative pillars on the sides, and a railroad hotel once existed behind the station plaza. It is one of the few stations on the LIRR with two station buildings. The larger building was for the westbound platform and the smaller one was for the eastbound platform. An underground pedestrian tunnel once connected the two station houses until a pedestrian bridge was built in 2009. Both station houses still stand, but the smaller one previously used for the eastbound platform was taken over by the MTA. The new overpass brought a renovation project, replacing platform lighting and new platform waiting shelters. There are two large parking lots on each side of the tracks.