Olde Towne Waterfront Walk

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Enjoy a stroll along the Seawall and the Elizabeth River Boardwalk and take in beautiful views at any time of day. Here you can find LOVE, and the perfect photo spot!

Our little branch of the Elizabeth River has played a huge part in the history of our country and is still an active waterway today.

As you walk the Seawall, you can see the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth across Craford Bay. It is the oldest continually running hospital in the Navy medical system. It is built on the old Fort Nelson. Construction was started in 1827 and the first patients arrived in 1830. The original hospital building was thought to be the finest Federal period building in the South. Its most innovative details were the windows used to illuminate the operating room.

If you are a history lover, the Civil War Trails placards tell the story of Portsmouth during the war.  As you look out at the Elizabeth River, imaging yourself back in time to about noon on March 8, 1862 when the CSS Virginia first sailed down the Elizabeth River from the Gosport Shipyard. The waterfront on both banks was lined with thongs of anxious local residents. No one had ever seen such a ship before and some skeptics expected this strange vessel to capsize. Two months later on May 10th, the Gosport Shipyard was burned and Portsmouth evacuated Confederate forces to Suffolk. That was the beginning of 8 years of Federal occupation of Portsmouth.

Behind the Renaissance Hotel you can walk the Elizabeth River Boardwalk. Here you will see the Titan, a one-piece steel floating dry dock built in 1979. It is 950 feet long and 160 feet wide. The Titan was built in Holland and sold to Brazil where it was purchased for use here. It is currently owned by BAE Systems.

There is always something to enjoy while walking our historic waterfront!