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Portsmouth boasts
the largest concentration of antique houses between Alexandria and Charleston,
South Carolina. You'll see more sites on the National Register of Historic
Places here than in any other Virginia city. It is not quantity, however, that
captivates visitors on a walking tour of Olde Towne---it's the diversity of
architectural styles.
The old English
city checkerboard pattern was laid out in 1752 by Colonel William Crawford,
prominent merchant and ship owner. You get the tour map by stopping at the
Portside Visitor Center, then follow the red brick sidewalks into America's past
on the Olde Towne Lantern Tour. Portsmouth plagues on the street
lanterns indicate stops on the walking tour.
Begin your walk on
London Boulevard at 108, the Cassell House that Captain John McRae built in
1829. You'll want to pay close attention to the details of these houses. The
Cassell House features a handcarved arched frame door with a fanlight and stone
lintel. The gabled roof reflects Dutch influence.
The house at the
corner of London Boulevard and Crawford Street has two names. The first, Murder
House, does not recall a heinous crime but the pronunciation of the owner's
family name, the Murdaughs. Since the Civil War it's been called by its second
name, the Pass House, because the Federal adjutant general headquartered here
granted passes to enter and leave Portsmouth. This is the first example you'll
see of the above ground basement homes copied from Hull, England, that were
ideally suited for this low-lying location.
The
now-respectable office building at 216-218 London Boulevard was once a sailor's
tavern called The Red Lion. Recent renovations uncovered a cockfighting pit in
the cellar.
Move up London
Boulevard to Middle Street and turn right. Several visitors have heard, but
only one has seen, the ghost of the Ball-Nivison House at 417 Middle Street.
According to that eyewitness, a professor in an academic gown carries not his
books but his head under his arm. John Nivison, prominent Portsmouth attorney,
certainly kept his head when he bought this Dutch Colonial home in 1784. It is
one of the many "tax dodger" homes in town, so named because the British taxed
only full floors, leaving the dormer floor tax free.
When the Marquis
de Lafayette returned to Portsmouth in 1824, 50 years after the Revolution, he
stayed at the Ball-Nivison. Lafayette was 19 when he joined the fight for
American independence. He returned, an elderly statesmen, to a hero's welcome.
The Lafayette Arch at Crawford Street and London Boulevard commemorates
his visit.
The Gothic Revival
house at 370 Middle Street is full of gingerbread touches like the wooden
lattice and patterned barge-board gables. Victorian woodwork, called jigsaw, is
featured on the porch at 371 Middle Street. Just a few steps down the street is
another elaborate porch at 365.
Continue up the
300 block of London Boulevard to the corner of Court and Queen streets and
you'll see the pink granite Court Street Baptist Church, considered by some
architectural historians to be one of the four best examples of Romanesque
design in the country. The words "In God We Trust" were added to our money at
the suggestion of Mark R. Watkinson, a former pastor of this church.
The corner of
Court and High streets was Towne Square on William Crawford's plans. On the
four corners there was a church, market, courthouse and a jail. This took care
of moral and practical needs. Only Trinity Church remains; it is Portsmouth's
oldest church dating from 1761.
Norfolk burned
during the American Revolution but not Portsmouth. The city was saved by Lt.
John Dickey of the British Royal Navy. He had been captured and brought to
Portsmouth, but instead of spartan imprisonment he enjoyed the hospitality of
Tory sympathizers. Dickey repaid the city by intervening when Lord Dunmore was
ready to turn the British guns on Portsmouth. General Cornwallis, too, spent
time in Portsmouth. He was headquartered here before his ill-advised move to
Yorktown. British supporters made him welcome, but he decided the town was
difficult to defend. The Revolution might have lasted longer had Cornwallis
remained in Portsmouth.
At 420 Court
Street, a Victorian house built in 1870 has stylish floor length windows with
semi-elliptical arched tops. Be sure to notice the ironwork, particularly where
it crests over the porch. The 400 block of London Boulevard looks like a
Currier and Ives print. The small frame house at 412 will remind you of
Williamsburg. A row of colorful cottage-style houses built in the mid-to-late
1800s have a wealth of architectural details. Along Washington Street you'll
find another group of 19th-century homes. Smuggled medicines destined for the
Confederate army were hidden beneath the hearthstones at 412 Washington Street.
Turn right on
North Street. At the corner of North and Dinwiddie streets is the Federal-style
house built in 1799 by Colonel Dempsey Watts. During the Black Hawk War, the
chief of the warring tribes was brought to Portsmouth to see the "big canoes"
and hear the "big boom" of the U.S.S. Delaware cannons. Impressed, the
Black Hawk Chief returned to the Watts House where he was entertained as a guest
of the nation.
Turn left to
explore the 300 block of Court Street. Like many of the English basement
houses, 336 has been lowered so that the main floor is close to street level.
The ghosts at the Maupin House 326, are, legend has it, pet bull terriers.
The Harth House at
320 Court Street is reputedly the oldest house in Portsmouth still faithful to
its original design. This early 19th-century basement house has a Greek Revival
portico. Notice the door's transom light with rectangular panes and the brass
doorknob and knocker.
The William Peters
House at 315 Court Street, with its Classical Revival look, suggests the Battery
homes of Charleston, South Carolina. The Porter family lived here during the
Civil War. John L. Porter hid the plans for the conversion of the salvaged
Union ironclad Merrimack into the Confederate ship Virginia in the
walls of his home. When Union General Benjamin Franklin Butler, who was in
charge of this Confederate city, appeared to inspect their home, one of the
ladies tripped him on the stairs. This was not as ill-advised as you might
think. The general's nickname was "Spoon" Butler; he had a habit of purloining
family silver. When Miss Porter tripped him, silver spoons bounced out of his
uniform pockets as he tumbled down the stairs. Only Butler's dignity was
harmed, but luckily for the Porter family he did not return to complete his
inspection.
Years later when
Butler ran for president on the Radical Reconstruction ticket, a campaign banner
was hung in Portsmouth recalling the general's 1865 Civil War victory. To the
slogan "Butler Hero of Five Forks" a local opponent added, "and the Lord only
knows how many silver teaspoons."
On the corner of
Court and North Street is the Bain House, built on one of William Crawford's
original lots. The old Elks Club across Court Street is built in the Romanesque
style. The 300 block of North Street has another group of mid-19th-century
basement houses. The first city mayor, George M. Grice, who served from 1858 to
1861, lived at 314 North Street.
The Hill House,
221 North Street, was built in the early 1800s by Captain John Thompson. His
nephew, John Thompson Hill, the second owner, gave his name to the house and it
remained in the family until 1962. Many original 19th-century pieces still fill
the house which is open for tours Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to
5:00 P.M. Admission is charged.
The Grice-Neeley
House, 202 North Street, suggests New Orleans with its wrought-iron balcony and
graceful stairs. To complete your walking tour turn right on Crawford Street.
You'll pass three mid-19th-century houses, the Benthall-Brooks Row. Brooks, a
sea captain, built these houses in the 1840s one floor at a time. He built the
basement story for all three and waited a year; then built the second floor and
waited another year. He finished the three houses the third year. Perhaps he
knew what he was doing; the row houses have survived more than 150 years.
Other interesting
tours of the Olde Towne Historic District are the African American Heritage
Trolley Tours, the Olde Towne Ghost Walk and Historic Civil War Day.
On weekends in the
spring and fall and daily during the summer you can take a 75-minute trolley
ride through Olde Towne Portsmouth and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard's Trophy
Park. This latest addition to the tours features over 300 years of
historical weaponry ranging from the Revolutionary War to World War I and II.
If you are
searching for a cultural and aesthetic experience stop at the 1846 Courthouse,
at Court and High streets, which features work from international as well as
regional artists in temporary exhibitions. Three blocks up High Street, visit
the state's largest children's museum. Formerly housed in the 1846 Courthouse,
the expanded Children's Museum of Virginia offers over 60 interactive
exhibits. It is open daily from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. From Memorial Day
through Labor Day hours are 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. Admission is charged.
Directions: From
I-95 in the Richmond area, take I-64 east toward Norfolk/Virginia Beach. In
Hampton, exit on I-664 south and cross the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel. Take
I-264 east into Portsmouth. Take the Crawford Street exit and follow Crawford
Street for a half-mile to the Visitor Information Center at Portside. You can
also take a ferry from Norfolk's Waterside to Portside.
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