Larchmont and Edgewater are residential neighborhoods on the west side of Norfolk sharing the 23508 Zip Code. The neighborhoods contain more than 2,300 homes, most of them occupied by single-family owners. Many homes were built in the early 20th century in styles ranging from palatial estates to modest bungalows. The dominant style of homes is Colonial Revival, but the neighborhood also features grand Victorian homes as well as Craftsman bungalows and new construction. The average price for the 90 neighborhood homes sold in 2003 was $241,592, according to the Real Estate Information Exchange Inc. (see 2003 Home Sale Prices)

Participating neighborhoods are bordered by 49th Street, the Lafayette River to the east and north, the Elizabeth River to the west and Old Dominion University and 52nd Street to the south. The neighborhood is bisected by Hampton Boulevard. Other major streets include Jamestown Crescent, Powhatan Avenue and Bolling Avenue.

Although it is almost totally a residential neighborhood, there are several nonresidential anchors in the neighborhood that make it special. The neighborhood's southern edge is bordered by Old Dominion University (www.odu.edu), one of the largest universities in Virginia, and WHRO (www.whro.org), the region's public radio and television station. ODU is in the midst of a major expansion program just a few blocks past the neighborhood's border. ODU's Ted Constant Convocation Center has been completed adjacent to an area where new apartments, retail shops and classrooms are being built.

Old Dominion University

WHRO

Adjacent to WHRO is Larchmont Elementary School with its kindergarten through fifth grade program. Larchmont Elementary (www.nps.k12.va.us/schools/larchmont) is consistently one of Norfolk Public School's highest-achieving elementary schools and has served students for generations. The school grounds include fields where youth soccer, baseball and football teams practice as well as two playgrounds, six lighted tennis courts and outdoor basketball courts. Its gym is home base for the city-run Larchmont Recreation Center. The Larchmont Elementary PTA traditionally sponsors two popular community events - the September R.A.T. Race, a 5-kilometer and 1-mile run and family walk, and an April spring carnival.

Larchmont Elementary School

Near the northern boundaries of the neighborhood are Bazemore's Friendly Market and The Larchmont Shop. Bazemore's, with its grocery store and delicatessen, has been part of the neighborhood for many decades and is currently under expansion. The new part is expected to open in early 2004. It will include a new entrance and parking lot as well as an expanded grocery store and delicatessen with the catering kitchen on the second floor. The Larchmont Shop, a sister operation that includes a soda fountain, gift shop, a dental office and a law office, opened in 2002.

Bazemore's Friendly Market

The Larchmont Shop

Across Hampton Boulevard from the stores is the Larchmont branch of Norfolk Public Library (www.npl.lib.va.us). The busy library branch, which includes computers, a meeting room and children's area is housed on a site that formerly was a power station used for street cars. Adjacent to it is the Birdsong Wetlands, which volunteers created several years ago as a small park that helps filter water before it enters the rivers. Across the street is the Lafayette River Complex, a small Navy installation housed in a collection of older buildings along the Lafayette River.

Larchmont Public Library

The Birdsong Wetlands

The neighborhood includes two churches - Larchmont United Methodist Church on Jamestown Crescent (www.larchmontumc.org/index.shtml) and Larchmont Baptist Church (www.norbaptist.com/LARCHMONT.htm), just down the road on Surrey Crescent. Both churches include special programs for children of all denominations. Larchmont Methodist is home to Larchmont United Methodist Preschool for children ages 2 through 5. Larchmont Baptist is home to Larchmont Baptist Infant Care Center for infants through preschool.

Larchmont Methodist Church

Larchmont Baptist Church

The Larchmont-Edgewater neighborhoods are home to 5,694 people, according to 2000 U.S. census data. The neighborhoods are divided into two census tracts that are divided by Hampton Boulevard. The largest tract to the west of Hampton Boulevard that includes all of Edgewater and part of Larchmont has 3,247 people living in 1,272 homes, most of them occupied by single families. The median age is 36.2. The census tract to the east of Hampton Boulevard that is in the Larchmont neighborhood has 2,342 people living in 1,032 households, including a group of older apartments that are slated for demolition. The media age of residents is 31.1.

Students living in the neighborhood attending public school are assigned to Larchmont Elementary, a neighborhood school. Later they can attend Blair Middle School and Maury High School, about two miles away in the Ghent neighborhood, or opt for one of the public school system's specialized middle or high schools.

Larchmont-Edgewater is home to Norfolk's Mayor Paul D. Fraim. He and city council member Barclay C. Winn are the neighborhood's official council representatives. In the Virginia General Assembly the neighborhood is represented by Sen. Yvonne B. Miller, Del. Johnny S. Joannou and Del. Kenneth Melvin. The neighborhood's U.S. Representative is Edward Schrock.