Buckroe Beach - The Good Old Days

[kiplogan100]

i rode on the roller coaster once in the early eighties before they took the amusement park down.they shouldnt have done that.buckroe used to be popping.

[ClayfanEve]

Sweet memories; lived at Ft Monroe in the 70s and enjoyed Buckroe Beach

[kiddmarshall]

My Father ran the Bumper cars there for years, I lived on Bancroft rd and would walk to the Beach Park with My Friends...Wow what a time... I went to Old Buckroe Jr High and John B Cary in around1970 til 74.

[wsasser]

I lived on Long Green Lane in Holly Homes

[Raimond59]

Class of 78 Phoebus High. I went to the park many times for my entire childhood.  Brings back many memories like the tunnel of love! Thanks for posting.

[kaayyy1]

yhe beach looks different frm how it is now i can tell thoes condoes they have up now were where the rides were! igo to alot duringvthe summer its great place to see mi friends im still a kid so inever got to see the rides

[juglem]

I remember going to the park in high school. Didn't they blow up the roller coaster as part of a b-movie?

KHS class of 82

[wsasser]

It was Ocean View over in Norfolk that was blown up for a movie

[juglem]

That is what somebody else also told me. I guess my memory was a little foggy.

[SacredFireLodge]

Thank You so much for posting these pics...can't tell you what all that park meant to me...

[cocatwoman7]

Thanks for posting this! I spent half of my childhood at Buckroe,riding the rides and the waves and watching out for...jellyfish! Class of '79 Kecoughtan HS here. I miss the beach but the Colorado Rockies will do nicely :)

April Denn Bouchard

[StarTrakBaybee]

does anyone know what happened to it?

[stansdds]

The park's owner died around 1979, his sons made an initial reinvestment into the park, but then seemed to lose interest. The park fell into decline and could not compete with Busch Gardens and the area surrounding the park was also suffering from decline. The city of Hampton wanted the old carousel, but the owners would not sell. The city claimed "eminent domain" and condemned the park. The park closed in 1985. The carousel was sold to the city and the park was demolished in 1987.

[Jason73420]

Such a shame.

[wsasser]

One of my 9th grade teachers at Buckroe Jr. High, Mr. Parrish, ran the big concession stand in the middle of the park. This was the first time that I had ever seen vinegar on french fries. Never any better fries than at his stand.

[stansdds]

I had forgotten about those fries. Yes, they were incredible. The big concession stand disappeared around 1979 when the park underwent some renovations.

[MKBaughan]

@wsasser I totally agree with you.... they were awesome fries....

[aftan1982]

Wow...so nice to watch :) I sure wish it was like that now.

[barnesrl2]

WOW this brings back so many memories of when I was grewing up in Hampton, Virginia, but now I live in San Fransisco,

Kecoughtan High School

class of 1984

[barbyyoung]

Ha-class of '78 here

[zealousflow]

loved this!

[STEELERjtl]

Miss the beach...Ohio has ' o'....Miss Fullers in Phoebus too...K.HS 67 grad...

[nola305]

I remember going to this beach along with my army buddies from Fort Eustis when we had weekends off. this was in '68 and '69. Another thing i remember is the "caged" dance floor where you paid .25 cents per record to dance and you had to leave when the song ended. I rode the ferris wheel but never the roller-coaster. Those were the good ol' days. We had quite a long ride from Fort Eustis near Lee Hall, Va. to Phoebus but it was worth it, plus it was closer than Virginia Beach.

[stansdds]

Thanks for sharing the photos.

My grandparents would take me on a vacation to Buckroe every July. This was from the mid 1970's through 1983. I loved that old roller coaster and the only thing better were those old Lusse Dodgems. It was a great place to vacation. My grandfather died in 84 and we did not go that year. The park was open only on weekends and holidays in 1985, it did not open in 86 and the rides were sold off, it was flattened in 87.

I too wonder what happened to Ole Smitty.

[Beegee757]

I remember going to the black side of the beach I think it was called Bay Shore in the early 60s. Later on I remember going to Buckroe beach I was. All I remember is that it was fun.

[jay4457]

this is what it use to look like.........what the hell happened to it........

[mudhauls]

Thank you for sharing, Our family vacationed on Kelly Ave where my grandparents lived.. We always loved to visit Buckroe in the 70's and 80's. Thank you again.

[gardengirl38]

This is great! I moved to Hampton at the end of the parks life... rode the wooden roller coaster a few times before it was gone. I loved playing there. It definitely has changed.

[beachytabbyanne]

aw, i grew up in the nineties, early 2000s, so i wasn't even around then, but it is kinda messed up now, but i love the beach, so i go there all the time-i just hope Hampton doesn't go thru and build a bunch of condos, Hampton is populated enough, i think

[mountaindew171]

Awesome! (can you tell I was a teen of the 80's LOL) First job running the ducky pond & strings game. A buck fifty an hour under the table 'cause we were all underage and not supposed to be there anyway :) Whatever happened to Ole Smitty when it shut down?

And yeah I've been back and visited, doesnt look like the place I grew up. If it wasn't for SansSouci I wouldn't have known I was in Buckroe!

[virginiarobyn]

I grew up in Buckroe in the 60s, my first job was at the Soda Shop at the front of the park. Great site. If you are interested in more memories of Hampton Roads - google "tidewater va hippies" and go to the pikefish page.

[bartonbuster]

Remember it well ....thanks for the memories !!

Lived in Newport News and we always went to buckroe in the summer ...

[Apostolic757]

sad what the city of hampton has done this beach.i grewp up here as a child in the 70s and in foxhill in the 80s.i have seen alot of changes.

[oceanviewva]

Thanks for the memories, wsasser, that was great.

"Let's Go To Buckroe!"

[icetcraver]

I love going to Buckroe Beach!-My best friend's mom used to work the ski ball at the park! =)

[2olivemartini]

thanks im now 45 and remember going with my parents to buckroe and riding the roller coaster, great times,

[drmr4hm]

thank you!