The Portsmouth Visitor
Information Center
located at 6 Crawford Parkway (at North Landing), offers visitors an abundance of informational brochures on area attractions. In addition to buying souvenirs here from the gift shop, visitors may also purchase the Portsmouth Museums Key Pass and tickets for the Carrie B Harbor Tour and the Olde Towne Trolley Tour. Dining reservations may also be made. (757)393-5111
Starboards (Coffee Kiosk)
A local landmark since 2004, Starboards combines tourist-related
services with an outdoor coffee kiosk. Visitor information and
services include local maps, visitor guides, brochures and
restaurant menus and referrals. The "coffee kiosk" features
Seattle's Best Coffee®, espresso, latté, and cappuccino - all brewed
with natural spring water. You'll find Olde Towne's largest
selection of daily, weekly and Sunday newspapers. Free wireless
Internet access. Open year-round, seven days a week, 6:30 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. Located at High Street Landing across from the Elizabeth
River Ferry. 101 High Street. 757-966-5357
Travel at Olde Towne, Portsmouth - Hotels and more ...
About Portsmouth
From
oldetowneportsmouth.com
Portsmouth is a quaint seaport city
that has managed to hold on to its 18th and 19th-century history and
charm for more than 250 years. Still standing is the original
downtown intersection that the city's founder, Col. William
Crawford, dedicated to public use -- one corner each for a church, a
market, a courthouse, and a jail. In fact, Trinity Episcopal Church
on the southwest corner -- founded in 1762 -- still rings its bells
across the street from the 1846 Courthouse that now serves as a
museum. With six districts listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register
and the National Register of Historic Places, Portsmouth is a
history lover's paradise.
COL. CRAWFORD AT HIGH STREET LANDING, AS PORTRAYED BY ERIC
PRICE Portsmouth's history dates to the settlement of Jamestown in
1607. Captain John Smith, while mapping lands surrounding Jamestown,
sailed down the Elizabeth River and marveled at the lush beauty of
the terrain. The first settler on the land, which is now Portsmouth,
was Capt. William Carver, who was issued a land grant in the
mid-1600s. In 1672, Capt. Carver stabbed Thomas Gilbert and
following Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, Capt. Carver was captured,
recalled to England, was tried and hanged. His land was forfeited
and given to Col. William Crawford in 1715. The original town was
enlarged in 1763, in 1811, and in 1899.
Portsmouth gets its name from the English naval port of Portsmouth,
England. The town was laid out checkerboard style with 122 half-acre
lots around its town square at High and Court streets. Streets were
organized in a grid pattern with street widths alternating between
32, 50 and 100 feet. Each block or square was named for noted
Virginians, Englishmen, or places in England or the United States.
Streets were named similarly. High Street was named for the main
commercial corridor in Portsmouth, England. It is 100 feet wide,
with two narrow parallel streets of 32-foot widths (Queen and King
streets), located to the north and south. Narrower streets served as
alleys for High Street, facilitating the access to commercial
buildings from the rear.
Because of its excellent location on the Elizabeth River, early
Portsmouth was rich in waterfront commerce. The town grew from the
river inland. Col. Crawford built his home on Crawford Street, and
most of the houses were built in the eastern portion of the city. In
1793 there were 300 homes and a population of 1700 people, and by
1806 there were 700 homes and 3000 inhabitants. A rail line was
built to handle the shipping of goods to and from the wharves.
During the American Revolution, Portsmouth was spared as Norfolk
burned following the defeat of Lord Dunmore at Great Bridge;
however, a number of homes were set afire by the American
Revolutionary War Colonel Charles Lee because he felt that many of
the Portsmouth inhabitants were too sympathetic to the British
cause. In 1779, Commodore Sir George Collier invaded Portsmouth,
ransacked the town, and destroyed 137 vessels in the harbor. A year
later General Benedict Arnold took command of the town. He returned
to New York to be with his pregnant wife, and General Cornwallis
took command of the town, only to leave shortly thereafter to fight
Washington and Lafayette at YOrktown.
The War of 1812 followed after only 35 years of peace. The British
were repelled at Craney Island and Olde Towne was never invaded.
Portsmouth grew as a maritime center, and in 1827 the U.S. Navy
built its first hospital in Portsmouth at the revolutionary war
site, Fort Nelson. In 1833, the Navy constructed the first drydock
in North America at the Gosport Navy Yard, now the Naval Shipyard in
Portsmouth. Both facilities are still used by the Navy.
In 1861, Virginia seceded from the United States. John Porter
designed and converted the USS Merrimac into the CSS Virginia and
the famous battle between the CSS Virginia and the USS Monitor, the
first battle between ironclad ships, was fought just down the river
at the junction of the Elizabeth and James rivers. Pieces of the
ironclad are on display at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum.
Nineteenth century Portsmouth relied heavily on shipbuilding. In
1894, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad came to town. For the next 60
years the railroad dominated Portsmouth, giving the city its motto,
"where rail meets sail."
The first World War turned Portsmouth into a boomtown, bringing
thousands of new jobs to the area due to the construction of
drydocks and ships, but in 1923 the Washington Naval Limitation
Treaty stopped all warship construction and the shipyard laid off 75
percent of its workforce.
World War II provided rapid economic growth for Portsmouth. In 1943,
43,000 people were employed in the shipyard. In order to house this
huge influx of people, many of the large, older homes in Olde Towne
were converted to apartments. After the war, the first of two
tunnels opened in 1952; and the Elizabeth River passenger ferries,
which had served as a major means of transportation, ended.
Olde Towne Portsmouth has survived wars, fires, plagues, depresions,
and occupation by foreign troops and will continue to survive, due
to the spirit of the people who call Portsmouth home.
for more information - http://www.oldetowneportsmouth.com/