Hundreds of vintage glass bottles unearthed at Atlantic Park construction site in Virginia Beach

VIRGINIA BEACH — Finding debris underground on a construction site isn't uncommon, but contractors say the amount of vintage glass turning up at the site of the Atlantic Park project has been remarkable.

Hundreds of glass bottles have been uncovered about 5 feet under the surface of the lot next to 20th Street, between Arctic and Baltic avenues. Some date back more than 100 years.

Construction workers removing unusable soil where an entertainment venue will be built discovered dozens of intact bottles along with pieces of broken glass this week.

"For this much to be in one place is definitely unique," said Cap League, assistant superintendent for W.M. Jordan Co., the general contractor.

W.M. Jordan construction workers uncover antique glass bottles at the Atlantic Park construction site on a plot of land where the entertainment venue will be located between Arctic and Baltic Ave. and 19th and 20th St. at Virginia Beach, Va. on Thursday, June 8, 2023. (Tess Crowley / The Virginian-Pilot)

A W.M. Jordan employee investigates antique glass bottles in a trailer off 18th St. on the Oceanfront that workers found at the Atlantic Park construction site on Virginia Beach, Va. on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Workers found the bottles five feet below gravel and grassland on a plot of land where the entertainment venue will be located between Arctic and Baltic Ave. and 19th and 20th St. (Tess Crowley / The Virginian-Pilot)

W.M. Jordan Assistant Superintendent Cap League investigates antique glass bottles in a trailer off 18th St. on the Oceanfront that workers found at the Atlantic Park construction site on Virginia Beach, Va. on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Workers found the bottles five feet below gravel and grassland on a plot of land where the entertainment venue will be located between Arctic and Baltic Ave. and 19th and 20th St. (Tess Crowley / The Virginian-Pilot)

A W.M. Jordan employee investigates an antique medicine bottle in a trailer off 18th St. on the Oceanfront that workers found at the Atlantic Park construction site on Virginia Beach, Va. on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Workers found the bottles five feet below gravel and grassland on a plot of land where the entertainment venue will be located between Arctic and Baltic Ave. and 19th and 20th St. (Tess Crowley / The Virginian-Pilot)

W.M. Jordan Senior Project Manager Gary Mulgrew investigates an antique glass bottle in a trailer off 18th St. on the Oceanfront that workers found at the Atlantic Park construction site on Virginia Beach, Va. on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Workers found the bottles five feet below gravel and grassland on a plot of land where the entertainment venue will be located between Arctic and Baltic Ave. and 19th and 20th St. (Tess Crowley / The Virginian-Pilot)

Contractors broke ground in April, where a mixed-use project is being built that will feature a surf park, music hall, apartments, shops and restaurants. The city owns the land and is working with Venture Realty Group and musician Pharrell Williams on the project.

Among the artifacts unearthed, League found a Coca-Cola bottle manufactured in Richmond with the date Nov. 16, 1915, marked on it. The Root Glass Company of Indiana created the iconic glass contour bottle in 1915 to help the brand stand out from other drinks, according to Coca-Cola.

He also discovered two small vintage Listerine bottles, and an antique Gordon's London Dry Gin bottle.

And he spotted another relic: a cobalt blue medicine bottle, about 4 inches tall, featuring the words "Chelf's Celery-Caffein Comp’d" made by Chelf Chemical Co. of Richmond. The tincture was made after 1908 and was used to treat headaches and head colds, according to the National Museum of American History.

League suspects the area where construction workers are seeing so much glass may have been used as a dumping ground. They’ve also found scrap metal and construction debris in what he describes as an area "almost in the shape of a ditch."

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The land is adjacent to where the old Dome stood and was previously the site of a building constructed in the 1930s or 1940s that once held both the city's fire and police departments. It's unclear what was on the land before then.

Clearing the site of debris will be a minor setback; the project is progressing as expected, according to a city spokesperson.

League said he’ll continue to keep an eye out for glass with markings on it, adding he’ll display the most interesting in his office.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, [email protected]

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