Waterside (Norfolk, Virginia)

The Waterside, is a festival marketplace on the Elizabeth River in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, opened June 1, 1983. While the Waterside Annex was demolished May 16, 2016, the main portion of the structure is undergoing renovation to reopen in spring, 2017. A critical component of Norfolk's ongoing post-World War II revitalization, the complex connects via a cross-street pedestrian bridge to a parking garage, sits at the foot of the Portsmouth Ferry terminal, and connects via a waterfront promenade to the downtown, the nearby baseball stadium (Harbor Park), naval museum (Nauticus) and waterfront neighborhood of Freemason Harbor.

Beginning in the late 1970s, mall-developer James W. Rouse and the Rouse Company had conceived the festival marketplace (e.g., Norfolk's Waterside) as an important component to redeveloping a declining downtown, a seminal catalyst to further development. The concept combined to varying degrees major restaurants, specialty retail shops, food courts and nightlife activities.

Like other shopping centers, malls and marketplaces, the Waterside has evolved through numerous business cycles. Originally, Waterside featured mostly restaurants like The Baitshack on the first floor. There were small nautically themed stores as well as an arcade. The balconied second floor featured more niche stores and kiosks. A second phase was added to the complex in the 1980s, while the mid-1990s saw a decline in business, mitigated by the opening of nearby MacArthur Center. In the early-2000s, the upstairs stores were replaced by nightclubs, such as Jillian's.

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