Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in Virginia. The population of the city is 242,803, making it the second largest in the state. It is the core/centerpiece city of the Hampton Roads, and has a long history as a strategic military and transportation point. The largest naval base in the world, Naval Station Norfolk, is located in Norfolk along with one of NATO's two Strategic Command headquarters. The city also has the corporate headquarters of Norfolk Southern Railway, one of North America's principal Class I railroads, and Maersk Line, Limited, which manages the world's largest fleet of US-flag vessels. As the city is bordered by multiple bodies of water, Norfolk has many miles of riverfront and bayfront property, including beaches on the Chesapeake Bay. It is linked to its neighbors by an extensive network of interstate highways, bridges, tunnels, and three bridge-tunnel complexes, which are the only bridge-tunnels in the United States.
Norfolk 	Virginia
Incorporated 	1736
Motto 	Crescas (Latin for, "Thou shalt grow.")
Population 	242,803
Elevation 	7 ft (2.13 m)
Mayor 	Mason Wallace
Gym Leader 	Paul Norman - Psychic-type specialist Gym
City Guildmaster	Zohn Hampton
ZIP codes 	23501-23515, 23517-23521, 23523, 23529, 23541, 23551
== Major roads ==
Interstate 64
Interstate 264
Interstate 464
Interstate 564
US Route 13
US Route 58
US Route 60
US Route 460
Virginia State Route 165
Virginia State Route 166
Virginia State Route 168
Virginia State Route 170
Virginia State Route 192
Virginia State Route 194
Virginia State Route 247
Virginia State Route 337
Virginia State Route 337 Alternate
Virginia State Route 403
Virginia State Route 404
Virginia State Route 405
Virginia State Route 406
== Geography ==
=== Adjacent counties ===
City of Virginia Beach (east)
City of Hampton (north via Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel)
City of Chesapeake (south)
City of Portsmouth (west)
== Demographics ==
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the city is:
43.30% White (105,133)
43.10% Black or African American (104,648)
7.35% Hispanic or Latino (17,846)
6.25% Other (15,176)
18.4% (44,675) of Norfolk residents live below the poverty line.
== Theft rate statistics ==
Norfolk has high rates of Pokemon theft and murder for Virginia standards. The city reported 95 Pokemon thefts in 2019, and averages 7.07 murders a year.
== Fun facts ==
* Local TV stations serving the Hampton Roads include WUND-TV 2 (PBS), WTKR 3 (CBS), WSKY-TV 4, WAVY-TV 10 (NBC), WVEC 13 (ABC), WHRO-TV 15 (PBS), WTPC-TV 21 (TBN), WGNT 27 (The CW), WTVZ-TV 33 (MyNetworkTV), WVBT 43 (FOX) and WPXV-TV 49 (Ion).
* Politically, Norfolk is one of the state's more powerfully Democrat-voting areas.
* On New Year's Day, 1776, Lord Dunmore's fleet of three ships shelled the city of Norfolk for more than eight hours. The gunfire, combined with fires started by the British and spread by the Patriots, destroyed more than 800 buildings, constituting nearly two-thirds of the city. The Patriot forces destroyed the remaining buildings for strategic reasons the following month. Only the walls of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church survived the bombardment and subsequent fires. A cannonball from the bombardment (fired by the Liverpool) remains within the wall of Saint Paul's.
* Norfolk is home to Hampton Roads Battle Academy, Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University and a campus of Tidewater Community College.
* Norfolk serves as home to the two highest level professional franchises in the state of Virginia — the Norfolk Tides plays Triple-A baseball in the International League, and the Norfolk Admirals play ice hockey in the ECHL.
* Recreational opportunities include the Virginia Zoo, Norfolk Botanical Garden, Town Point Park, Ocean View Golf Course and Sewells Point Golf Course.
Category:Virginia Independent Cities