Beside the Elizabeth River in Downtown Norfolk, Virginia, you have reached the Waterside District, an entertainment complex. It’s owned and operated by the Cordish Companies of Baltimore, Maryland. You can feel the layers of its history here: it began as the Waterside Festival Marketplace, developed by The Rouse Company and the Enterprise Development Company (EDC), both founded by James W. Rouse, together with local developer Harvey Lindsay Jr. under Waterside Associates.
As its name suggests, it was a festival marketplace with popular vendors including Phillips Seafood, Jillian’s Entertainment, and later Hooters. An expansion in September 1990 added the Waterside Annex — that Annex was demolished on May 16, 2016 as part of Cordish’s redevelopment. The mall later struggled, and on Halloween 2014 it temporarily closed for the major redevelopment that "de-malled" the structure, heavily renovating it into what reopened to the public on May 11, 2017 as the Waterside District.
Before construction it was known as Waterside Live! during redevelopment planning, a reminder of the in-between phase. Your view spans the renovated complex and drops down to the Elizabeth River just beside you.