Located in the Churchland area, the Old Dominion University Tri-Cities Higher Education Center is a full-service facility offering upper level undergraduate 300- and 400-level degree completion classes, graduate and certificate programs, admissions, registration, advising and other student services for residents of Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk and surrounding areas
The “Path of History” is a walking trail that tells the story of Portsmouth’s unique relationship with the local military and, especially, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. It stretches from Fort Nelson Park outside the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center to Gosport Park located just across the street from Quarters A at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The …
The Portsmouth Service League opened the original Children’s Museum in the basement of the Portsmouth Public Library in January 1980. After great success, it was expanded and moved to the 1846 Courthouse (now Portsmouth Art and Cultural Center) in 1984.
The Portsmouth Seawall is a linear walking path stretching about a mile on the eastern edge of the city. It is used for recreation by locals and visitors and includes commercial and residential structures along with museums and historic sites. A Seawall renovation project began in 2017 and should be complete in 2022.
Building 215, the first “skyscraper” in Hampton Roads provided a modern hospital where medical services could be consolidated. The 17-story, 500-bed hospital, at the time, was the tallest welded steel-framed building between New York and Miami.
In 1915, before the United States entered the war, the yard became the reluctant host to two interned German sea-raiders, the KRONPRINZ WILHELM and the PRINZ EITEL FREDERICK. The crews of these vessels, numbering about a thousand officers and men, built in the yard, from scrap materials, a typical German village named “Eitel Wilhelm,” which …
Captured Spanish warships were brought to Portsmouth to be refitted as American vessels. The Spanish wounded were brought to the Naval Hospital where they were visited by the defeated Spanish Naval Commander and President Theodore Roosevelt. The shipyard had the second oldest Marine barracks in the nation. Marines from Portsmouth saved the embassies in China …
The Portsmouth Naval Hospital sits on a peninsula joining the Elizabeth River at a site that once housed Fort Nelson, a fort built during the American Revolution. To save on costs, part of the hospital was built with the bricks from the fort. The first patients arrived in 1830 as a result of the Mexican-American …
“He was reinforced by Gen. Phillips with 2,000 troops, and later by the Army of Lord Cornwallis, who assumed command, and in August evacuated Portsmouth for Yorktown, where he surrendered to American and French forces on October 19th. Arnold was subordinate to Phillips, but when Phillips died at Petersburg Arnold made Portsmouth command headquarters for …
The first public system of waterborne transportation in America, the early ferries were simple skiffs rowed by men. The ferries carried only pedestrians until 1720 when the skiffs were made larger to accommodate horse drawn vehicles.
Hard Times Skate shop in Portsmouth, Virginia offers everything for the skating enthusiast including decks, wheels, trucks, accessories, t-shirts, socks, footwear, hoodies, and much, much more. Hard Times Skate Shop is located inside of Cradock’s Historic Afton Square Shopping Centre and just a few blocks away from George Washington Skate Park. Some of the things …
Family owned for over 20 years. It’s not just new and pre-owned bikes you’ll find at Bayside Harley-Davidson. You’ll also find all the gear you need to look great and stay safe on the road, as well as a committed service and parts team with the ability to keep your Harley running great for years …
German specialty gifts, including food, wine, and beer, along with traditional German attire, souvenir shirts, and much more.
The Mt. Calvary Cemetery Complex is a Virginia historical site that opened in 1879, although some burials occurred earlier. The historically African-American cemetery holds over 8,000 memorials and some scholars estimate as many as 15,000 gravesites. The 13-acre complex consists of Mount Calvary Cemetery, Mount Olive Cemetery, Fisher’s Hill, and a potter’s field where the …
St. Paul’s is the oldest Catholic congregation in Portsmouth. The church began holding services in 1803. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s an excellent example of a compact Gothic Revival style, cruciform plan church. It is constructed of load-bearing masonry walls clad in quarry-faced granite. This Virginia historical site was designed by …
On the first Sunday in January 1865, John W. Godwin, Dennis Morris, and his wife and son, along with Phillip Ackins, John Williams, and Susan King secured the use of Temperance Hall, at the corner of South and Middle Streets. They held services at this Virginia historical site and organized themselves as the First Colored …
Commodore Richard Dale, a Portsmouth native, was the first Commodore of the Gosport (now Norfolk) Naval Shipyard. Captured twice by the British during the American Revolution, he returned to serve in the Continental Navy and later became one of the original six Commodores in 1794 when Congress created the U.S. Navy. The statue was erected …
Located on the Path to History, Fort Nelson Park tells the story of the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center from its beginning in 1820. The sixteen interpretive signs in the park chronicle early medicine, the nurse corps, Yellow Fever, Hampton Roads first high rise building, and much more. Naval artifacts include guns, anchors, and buoys.
A dominant landmark of the Portsmouth waterfront, this curved-front structure has been a symbol of the link between rail and sea commerce in Hampton Roads. Erected in 1894-95 and enlarged in 1914, this Virginia historical site served as the northern terminus and headquarters of the Seaboard Air Line railroad. This railroad transported to Portsmouth much …
Shea Terrace Elementary School was constructed in 1925 during a burst of school construction throughout the state. The city of Portsmouth’s population greatly increased during World War I with an influx of shipyard workers creating the need for more schools. Designed by master architect Charles M. Robinson, the elementary school was located in the Shea …
Boat slips, dry storage, transients welcome, ships store, fuel, full service. 36° 49′ 54.8”, -76° 17′ 45.85”
This Virginia historical site is not available to visit due to military security. Originally known as the Norfolk Naval Hospital, this famous facility was an outgrowth of the 1798 Congressional act creating the Marine Hospital Service. Fort Nelson, a Revolutionary War defense work guarding the Norfolk harbor, was chosen as the hospital site in 1826. …
Boat slips, dry storage, transients welcome, ships store, fuel, full service. N 36° 50.767′ / W 076° 18.900′
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 …
350 slips, transients welcome, ships store, full-service, fuel. N 36° 50.483′ / W 076° 17.883′