Norfolk, 21st Century

2000 - Hampton Roads is chosen as one of eight American ports of call for OpSail 2000, a parade of tall ships from more than 20 nations, celebrating the millennium.

2000 - Dedication of the Cannonball Trail, a walking trail primarily in downtown Norfolk, marking sites of historical interest.

2000 - Preparations are made at Nauticus for the permanent docking of the battleship USS Wisconsin, which arrives 7 December 2000.

2001 - The USS Wisconsin opens to the public in April.

2001 - Norfolk joins the nation in mourning those who died in four hijacked US airplanes commandeered by terrorists on September 11. The attacks raise fears locally that seaports such as Hampton Roads are extremely vulnerable to use by terrorists for mounting another attack on America. The Coast Guard assesses the ports' vulnerabilities, while Congress considers legislation to tighten security. On Dec. 20, the Senate passes the Port and Maritime Security Act of 2001, a bill that grants ports $390 million over five years to improve security.

2001 - A $2 million extension of the Nauticus pier to accommodate the world's largest cruise ships opens on October 1, serving its first ship, the 900- passenger Regal Empress. By November, 13 ships have called here, delivering 23,531 passengers. Eight more cruise ships are scheduled to call in spring 2002.

2001 - Southwest Air Lines begins flying out of Norfolk airport

2002 - The owner of the Selden Arcade proposes razing much of the 71-year-old downtown Norfolk landmark to make way for a parking lot. Preservationists urge the city to save what it calls a vital pedestrian link. The city offers to buy the arcade, as the future home for D'Art Center, a group of local artists currently operating out of a building on Boush Street. D’Art Center opens in the Selden Arcade in 2005.

2002 - The nonprofit Fort Norfolk Retirement Community Inc. forms to develop Harbor's Edge, an $87 million continuous-care retirement community, similar to Virginia Beach's Westminster Canterbury, in Norfolk's Atlantic City area. The 12- to 14-story community will offer sweeping views of the Elizabeth River. A 2006 opening is projected.

2002 - “Legends of Music Walk of Fame” premiers on downtown Granby Street. Eight regional musical legends are honored at an unveiling of plaques set into the sidewalk, a concert and reception. Five more legends join the first in 2003.

2003 - Hurricane Isabel strikes on the morning of 18 September. It is the most powerful storm to hit the City since 1933, with nearly all the damage coming from falling trees and high water. Thousands of trees fall on homes and businesses, and power, cable and phone lines. Harrison’s Pier, a local Ocean View landmark, is destroyed. Ninety-five percent of the region is left without power, in many cases for more than a week.

2003 - Two cruise lines choose Norfolk as a homeport for the coming year. Commitments from Celebrity Cruises Inc. and Holland America Line will add 31 calls and about 60,000 more passengers to the pier in 2004. Holland America has made Norfolk a year-round cruise spot by bringing in ships in the winter months. Nauticus erects a heavy-duty tent to serve as a shelter for passengers in inclement weather. The structure will serve until the city completes plans to build a permanent cruise terminal there.

2003 - Numerous redevelopment projects are underway in and near downtown and in Ocean View’s East Beach. The former Ames & Brownley department store is converted into a 49-unit loft apartment building on Granby Street.

2004 - In Atlantic City, demolition begins on the Dixie Jute Manufacturing building in preparation for construction of the Harbor’s Edge retirement community.

2005 - Norfolk City Council votes to return to a popularly-elected mayor in 2006.

2005 - The Norfolk History Museum at the Willoughby-Baylor House opens on 10 September.

From 50 acres of land and a population of 1, Norfolk has grown to 61.86 square miles (39,590.4 acres) and a population of nearly 300,000.