The Downtown Portsmouth Historic District, also known as the High Street Corridor, is comprised of buildings primarily dating to the years around the turn of the 20th century, and include such architectural styles as Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, and Romanesque Revival, as exemplified by Pythian Castle. Located within the district’s boundaries are churches …
The Commodore Theater in Portsmouth, Virginia was named after Commodore James Baron and was opened in 1945 by Portsmouth native William Stanley Wilder who owned a chain of theaters in the Tidewater area. It was designed by Baltimore architect John Zink who produced a classic example of the streamline Art Deco style. Historical Significance Built …
The Portsmouth Community Library was built in 1945 to serve Portsmouth’s African American citizens, who then comprised about half of the city’s population. While the city founded its library system in 1914, the Portsmouth Community Library was the first freestanding building in Portsmouth to provide library services for African Americans, using African American staff. Despite …
The Park View Historic District is located in the northeastern area of the City of Portsmouth. Annexed in 1894, the Park View Historic District was Portsmouth, Virginia’s first residential suburb north of the downtown commercial area. Electric streetcars, mass-produced building materials, and building and loan associations all contributed to the availability of affordable housing within …
The Cradock neighborhood was built in 1918 and named in honor of British Rear Admiral Sir Christopher G. F. W. Cradock whose fleet was sunk by the German Navy in 1914. It was built on a 310-acre tract, formerly known as Afton Farm, three miles south of Portsmouth on Paradise Creek. It was connected to …
The 43-acre Truxtun neighborhood was built between 1918 and 1920 and named for Thomas Truxtun, an early naval hero. Its location was found suitable as it was bisected by Deep Creek Boulevard, which connected to downtown Portsmouth, and by Portsmouth Boulevard which gave direct access east to the naval shipyard. Truxtun was originally conceived as …