Kecoughtan High School - Tomahawk Yearbook (Hampton, VA)

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We’ve come a long way baby ' Town ' to ' City ' Constantly beingseshape If b ' ' Grandview Beach provides a • “t » a distant : galaxy, fhe fampf9w Ci gp«w%j weary travelers;welcomes vimoi . (betting night oieni ffSthwent. Mercury Boulevard. “The downtown area became a ghost town,” remarked Kilgore. But, the merchants did not lose hope. Instead, they presented the city with $40,000 and an idea to restore the area. Restoration projects included City Hall, King and Queen Street, Settler’s Landing Road, and, more recently, Queensway Mall. The newly remodeled downtown district provides a pleasant route for Kecoughtan’s traditional football Homecoming Parade. All of the changes occurring in Hampton since the late ’60’s have happened simultaneously with students’ “growing-up years.” Al¬ though all change has not been desirable, most growth has added im¬ measurably to the city’s progressive attitude. “Some people don’t want any kind of change, but change is inevitable. The job of city government is to see that the change is well-ordered, well- planned, and well-executed,” said Kilgore. Kecoughtan students and Hampton have “grown-up” together and, “We’ve come a long way, Baby!” ver th,e last 25 years, Hampton has changed from a segregated, Demo¬ cratic, conservative town to an inte¬ grated, by-partisan, liberal city,” said former Mayor and City Council- woman Ann Kilgore. During the lifetime of the average student, the most significant change was the shift in retail business. “Before 1970, downtown Hampton and Newport News were where you went to shop. But, in the early ’70’s, the business district moved to the rapidly growing Mercury Boulevard area,” explained Kilgore. The construction of the Hampton Coliseum in the late ’60’s started a chain reaction that included the build¬ ing of several hotels and Coliseum Mall. Besides influencing the growth of business, the Coliseum became Hampton’s landmark. Its multi¬ colored lights are a signal to all Hamptonians that home is close-by. The Coliseum is also deep-rooted in Kecoughtan tradition as every gradu¬ ating class since 1970 has walked across its stage to receive diplomas. Everyone, however, did not rejoice over the extensive development of I i h

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A tlgxrcapsuia for the City of Hampton, set in the I und at the Aerospace Park in 1965, will be opener? in 2665. Un construction, the skeleton of the Hampton Cc r.eum stands out starkly against the gray sky in this . ' 58 photo. The Coliseum has come to be a landmark for Hamptonians. »w i w.-imm lit fi||7 ItHs? ' ' ■;;|S Mrajpglt jfif ... 1 JNB Ju I f y

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