2 Virginia Beach Oceanfront motels land on National Register of Historic Places

When Jimmie and Melvin Koch bought the Cutty Sark Motel at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront 46 years ago, the nightly rate for a room on Fourth of July weekend was $35.

Guests would wake up and watch the sunrise over the ocean from their beds, or cook a meal on a stove in their rooms.

Flash forward to last summer, and the only discernable difference at the Cutty Sark was how much rooms cost: $276.

The Koch family continues to operate the three-story motel on the land side of Atlantic Avenue at 37th Street. Melvin died in 2017, but his widow, Jimmie, 88, still greets guests when they walk through the front door.

Cutty Sark and the nearby Blue Marlin Inn & Suites on Pacific Avenue are among a small remaining group of independently-owned, family-operated motels at the Oceanfront. They were both recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Groups of Virginia Beach hotels and motels built between 1955 and 1970 were recently classified in a way that allows them to be nominated for the designation.

“They’re a dwindling resource,” said Mark Reed, the city’s historic preservation planner.

In many cases, the land the motels sit on is many more times valuable than the buildings themselves, Reed said.

While the national designation doesn’t protect the properties from future changes, it’s an honor for the owners and the city.

On a recent afternoon in the Cutty Sark lobby, Jimmie sat facing the original large picture window to reminisce.

“It pleases me so much to have the Cutty Sark recognized as historic, and hopefully it will deliberately remain so,” she said.

The Kochs have no immediate plans to sell and want the motel to keep its vintage charm for as long as possible.

Cutty Sark was originally named Crest Kitchenette Motel, which is how it’s listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by architect William Burton Alderman and built in 1963 by William Winner.

Melvin and Jimmie bought it in 1977, using their retirement savings as a down payment. Melvin had been a mechanic for the Navy’s fighter jet squadrons, and Jimmie had managed other hotels at the Oceanfront. The Cutty Sark appealed to them in their retirement years because it was small, with only 13 rooms, Jimmie said.

In the winter, they would close the motel and travel the world, visiting lodges like their own.

“I always admired little, small, three star hotels that had some history to them,” Jimmie said. “They were always in a good location; they were always real well-maintained.”

During the summer, the Kochs lived in a suite behind the Cutty Sark lobby. Melvin would fix anything that was broken; Jimmie managed the day-to-day operations.

Meanwhile, national chain highrise hotels sprung up around them, but the couple kept Cutty Sark’s classic feel and moderate pricing. Each suite still has the original kitchenette from 1963. Customers returned year after year.

“Instead of every three years coming in and completely redecorating like the franchise hotels have to do and passing the costs onto the guests, we kept the guests in our mind,” Jimmie said.

Several of the Cutty Sark’s architectural details helped it gain national recognition, including the concrete beams that extend through the building from front to back and are exposed on the ceilings in the lobby and in each suite.

Over the years, the Kochs also bought several cottages, built in the early 1900s, across the street from the motel for customers to rent weekly. The houses are still operated as part of the Cutty Sark property, but they were not included in the recent historic designation.

Four generations of Kochs have worked at the Cutty Sark. Jimmie’s there every day in the summer and still enjoys greeting guests when they arrive.

“The people give me the most pleasure,” she said. “It’s like having company everyday.”

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com