Center to a metropolitan area of approximately 1.7 million, Norfolk sits at the confluence of the James River and Chesapeake Bay. The cradle of Anglo-American civilization, it was in nearby Jamestown that the first permanent English settlement in North America was founded, in Williamsburg where the first Colonial government sat, and in Yorktown where George Washington finally defeated the British, ending the Revolutionary War. Today Norfolk is home to the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet, and is thus the most decidedly military-oriented city in the east. Considering its highly conservative citizen base, decentralized nature, and Virginia Beach's reputation as a huge sprawler, BeyondDC went to Norfolk with relatively low expectations. We were very pleasantly surprised. Downtown was extremely attractive. There were virtually no surface parking lots of notable size, architecture varied and was interesting, there were people on the sidewalks, and to our great delight, it appeared few historic buildings had been bulldozed during the Urban Renewal days, which lead to a dense, full appearance on many streets.

Norfolk's downtown skyline. Photo © Richmond City Watch.

Downtown:

A panorama from the 7th floor of a parking garage. Downtown Norfolk is behind the camera, not visible. For a larger, unlabeled version CLICK HERE

The Norfolk Waterside is essentially an imitation of the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Main Street runs parallel to the Waterside 2 blocks off the water.

Granby Street runs perpendicular to Main.

"Nauticus" is a naval museum...

... It's home to the USS Wisconsin, one of the world's last (and most famous) battleships.

A few blocks away is the MacArthur Center mall. BeyondDC didn't find it too objectionable. It has mostly underground or otherwise structured parking, is accessible from the sidewalk, and seemed to anchor, rather than take away from, surrounding downtown retail. And how many cities this size can claim to have two department stores downtown? How many can claim to have a Nordstrom downtown?

Tazewell Street

Brooke Street

City Hall Avenue

A few small plazas / parks

The loft boom is alive and well in Norfolk

Dominion Tower, tallest in the region at 340 feet tall

Bank of America

Main Street Tower

Marriott Hotel

The recently completed tower at 150 Main Street

The Norfolk Southern Building

Norfolk World Trade Center

The BB&T Building

A Federal Courthouse

A local courthouse which looks strikingly similar to that of Fairfax County, only smaller.

A Civil War monument

The MacArthur monument

The mermaid, symbol of Norfolk

Sidewalk scenes

West Freemason, the only neighborhood BeyondDC explored, was equally impressive. Full of 19th Century rowhouses and detached townhomes of varying styles, lined with a lush canopy of trees, and paved with century-old cobblestones, it felt like the kind of quiet, beautiful urban neighborhood every city should be so lucky to have - a lot like Alexandria, VA or Capitol Hill, DC.

Botetourt Street

An apartment building

Lofts under construction

Rowhouses and detached townhomes

Sidewalk scenes