Olde Towne Portsmouth

I headed to Portsmouth today to pick up a Valentine's Day gift and thought I would spend some time walking through Olde Towne. This part of Portsmouth is rich in history and architecture, as well as some great shops and restaurants. Unfortunately the charms of Olde Towne are often overlooked by the rest of Hampton Roads.

There are many churches in Olde Towne, and one of my favorites is a great big confection made of pink granite. Court Street Baptist Church was built in the Richardson Romanesque style, and it looks so exotic that it could possible double as a mosque.

I tried to get inside for a look, but the ornate door was locked. However, I did get a peek of one of the stained glass windows. The anchor is an appropriate symbol in a city whose existence owes a great debt to the sea.

Portsmouth's Confederate memorial sits right in the middle of Court St.

Live Oaks and an iron fence frame the old Norfolk County courthouse. There is no longer a Norfolk County and now the courthouse is an art museum.

Across from the courthouse is Trinity Episcopal and the churchyard and cemetery are surrounded by a Nandina clad brick wall.

Portsmouth has always been a little sleepier than its older sister across the river, and as a result much of the downtown area was spared from the urban renewal bulldozers. Although, there are a great many houses that survived from the colonial era, architectural styles from many other eras can be found as well. The houses are densely packed, but there are gardens and several small parks tucked between them.

This building was was built as the Macon House Hotel, but during the Civil War it housed troops and was one of the area's many hospitals. Right after I graduated college I rented an apartment in this building. I am not a superstitious man, but this was the only place I ever lived that I felt was haunted.

The lightship Portsmouth is now permanently berthed in concrete next to Elizabeth River.

The Portsmouth Seawall offers great views of the working waterfront and downtown Norfolk.

One of our good friends recently moved overseas and divested himself of many possessions, including a panorama taken in 1914 of the Norfolk waterfront. I have always admired it and am grateful it is now in our house. I took the above shot today, at about the same place this photo was taken 96 years ago.