April 1917. Abandoned exhibition halls sit rotting on a 400-acre peninsula called Sewell's Point, just north of downtown Norfolk. Weeds push through the floors. The crowds that once packed this place — more than a million of them — are a decade gone. And the U.S. Navy is staring at this ghost town thinking: this is exactly what we need.
That's the moment the Naval Station Norfolk history origin really begins. Not with a grand congressional plan or a decade of construction. With an abandoned World's Fair and a war that couldn't wait.
From World's Fair to War Machine: The Jamestown Exposition of 1907
Back up ten years. It's 1907, and Sewell's Point is the most exciting place on the East Coast. The Jamestown Exposition has taken over the peninsula to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown — and 44 states have each built their own exhibition hall on the site. The Navy even shows up, hosting a review of the Atlantic Fleet in the harbor just offshore.
Over the course of the exposition, roughly one million visitors make the trip. Presidents, dignitaries, tourists. It's a genuine spectacle.
Then it ends. The crowds go home. And the buildings — those 44 state pavilions, the exhibition halls, the infrastructure — just sit there. For ten years, Sewell's Point is essentially a beautiful, slowly decaying ghost town on the water.
Nobody had a plan for what came next. Until Germany forced one.
Six Months, 4,393 Acres, and a Race Against a World War
When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the Navy faced an urgent problem: it had no major installation on the East Coast capable of supporting a modern fleet at wartime scale. They needed one immediately — not in five years, not in two. Now.
The abandoned Jamestown Exposition site was acquired almost immediately. Within weeks, construction crews, sailors, and workers descended on Sewell's Point and started building. What followed was one of the most remarkable construction feats in American military history.
In under six months, they transformed that 400-acre exposition site into a functioning naval station. Barracks, piers, warehouses, airfields — all of it rising out of what had been a fairground. Some of the original 1907 Exposition buildings didn't get torn down. They got repurposed. Several still stand today, now used as officers' quarters — making them some of the oldest structures on the base and a direct physical link to that 1907 World's Fair.
Think about that the next time you drive down Hampton Boulevard. Those buildings predate the base itself.
What Naval Station Norfolk Became
What started as a wartime emergency measure became something no one in 1917 could have fully imagined.
Today, Naval Station Norfolk covers 4,393 acres — a long way from that original 400-acre expo site. The numbers are staggering:
• 75+ ships homeported at the base
• 130+ aircraft
• 80,000+ military and civilian workers
• Home to U.S. Fleet Forces Command and NATO Allied Command Transformation
It is, by every measure, the largest naval station in the world. And it sits minutes from downtown Norfolk and Norfolk International Airport — not tucked away somewhere remote, but woven directly into the fabric of the city.
The Naval Station Norfolk history origin isn't just a footnote. It's the story of how a peninsula that hosted a party became the nerve center of American naval power.
Why It Still Matters to Hampton Roads Residents
I've been selling homes in this region for over 20 years, and I can tell you: Naval Station Norfolk isn't just a historical curiosity. It is the single largest economic engine in Hampton Roads. Every year, thousands of military families receive orders to this installation — and they arrive knowing almost nothing about the area they're moving to.
Understanding this history matters because it explains Hampton Roads itself. Why Norfolk grew the way it did. Why the real estate market here is more stable than most metros in the country — military demand doesn't evaporate in a downturn the way civilian demand does. Why communities from Virginia Beach to Hampton developed their particular character.
That World's Fair site on Sewell's Point didn't just birth a naval base. It shaped the entire region that grew up around it.
If you're a military family getting ready to PCS here, or a longtime Hampton Roads resident who's driven past those Hampton Boulevard gates a hundred times — this is your history too. It started with a fair. It became something that changed the world.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Naval Station Norfolk built and why?
Naval Station Norfolk was built in 1917 after the United States entered World War I and needed a major East Coast naval installation immediately. Construction began within weeks of the decision to use the site and the base was operational in under six months.
What was on the Naval Station Norfolk site before the base was built?
The site on Sewell's Point previously hosted the Jamestown Exposition of 1907, a World's Fair celebrating the 300th anniversary of Jamestown that drew over one million visitors. After the exposition ended, the buildings sat abandoned for nearly a decade before the Navy acquired the property.
Are any original buildings from the 1907 Jamestown Exposition still standing at Naval Station Norfolk?
Yes — several of the original 1907 Jamestown Exposition state pavilion buildings still stand on the base today and are used as officers' quarters. They are among the oldest structures on the installation and represent a direct architectural connection to the Naval Station Norfolk history origin.