Cover

Advertisement
Aaron's Office Furniture
Key West

Printable version Send this page to a friend... Share this page

The Shipping News: Newport

Exploring maritime heritage in this city by the sea.
May 2006

Published in ::

From America’s historic first settlements and a new $30-million-dollar maritime exhibit to the teeming wildlife of Chesapeake Bay, Newport News has much to offer fans of life on the ocean wave.

Legend has it, when English mariner Christopher Newport was on his fourth trip to America, his vessel was shipwrecked off the coast of Bermuda, and the inspiration for Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest was born. Much like the history of the 17th-century privateer’s voyage, the story of Newport News, Virginia, is a bit fuzzy. In fact, just how this coastal city—nestled between its more famous neighbors Williamsburg and Norfolk—got its name remains a subject of debate. The most obvious explanation is that it’s named after Captain Newport, who would bring “news” to the English settlers. Another version says the name is a spin of the Newce brothers, who arrived from Newcestown, Ireland. And then there’s the possibility that it came from settler Daniel Gookin’s hometown of Newport, Ireland, according to a 1947 article written for the Virginia Historical Magazine. Most still point to the sea captain. “Christopher Newport might just be the most famous man you never heard of,” says Steven Breese, professor and director of theater at Christopher Newport University. But if you pass through these parts of Virginia this year or next, you’ll soon be familiar with the name. Starting this summer, Jamestown 2007 is an 18-month commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement, the first English settlement in America (see “Jamestown 400th” box, next page). Breese has researched the captain extensively for a play he is producing especially for the celebrations, even traveling to England to get the broader picture. You can still visit the historic Jamestown site (Route 31 South), located about 20 miles west of Newport News/Williamsburg airport, on an island in the James River.

While the origins of its name may be left for historians to ponder, there sits the city of Newport News, running along 25 scenic miles of the James River and the Hampton Roads Harbor, home to Army soldiers, Navy sailors and Northrop Grumman’s vast shipyards. The city of 100,000—one of several in the Hampton Roads region— boasts the only Italianate antebellum home, very rare for the Virginia Peninsula, which was used as a Confederate headquarters during the Civil War (Lee Hall Mansion, 163 Yorktown Road, 757-888-3371, www.leehall.org).
Above all, Newport News caters to sailing enthusiasts, who can roam through thousands of pieces of the port’s marine-industry history, spanning 3,000 years. A stop at The Mariners’ Museum (100 Museum Drive, 757-596-2222, www.mariner.org) is a must. Inside the 60,000-square-foot building lies a collection of seafaring experiences and timeless pieces. One is a model of the SS Fushima Maru built by the Japan Mail Steamship Co, known in the West as NYK. The Steamship Co. presented the model to the Mariners’ Museum in November 1941, a month before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and forced the United States into World War II. The Fushimi Maru was pressed into battle, but an American submarine off the Japanese coast torpedoed it. At present the museum is feverishly working to open the USS Monitor Center, a $30 million Civil War attraction due to open in March 2007. The Center will house 4,000 artifacts revolving around the first battle between ironclads USS Monitor and USS Merrimack, also known as CSS Virginia. The 1862 battle is widely accepted as the starting point of a new era of naval warfare, the marked change from wood and sail to iron and steam. The museum is open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday noon-5 pm; $8 for adults, $6 for children aged six to 17. If you’re a fan of military might and mammoth machines, you’ll also appreciate the 100 full-size trucks, tugboats, aircraft, amphibian craft and experimental vehicles on view at the US Army Transportation Museum located at Fort Eustis (300 Washington Blvd, Besson Hall, 757-878-1115, www.eustis.army.mi), six miles northwest of the airport. Visitors can follow the Army Transportation Corps from its humble beginnings during the Revolutionary War to operations in Iraq. Stop at the Guard House near the gate for a visitor’s pass; open daily 9am-4:40pm, closed Mondays and federal holidays; admission free.

No trip to the Chesapeake Bay region is complete without a stop at the Virginia Living Museum, a self-led tour through aquariums, outdoor habitats, an underground gallery and cypress swamps (524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd, 757-595-1900, www.valivingmuseum.org). During the outdoor segment, say hello to coastal birds, beavers, bobcats, river otters, red wolves and other species found throughout Virginia. A warning, though: If you or your kids don’t want to see skinned wolves or an elephant’s leg used as a footstool, stay clear of the endangered species exhibit. Summer hours, from Memorial Day through Labor Day, run 9am-6pm; $13 for adults, $10 for children.

Finally, if you like to take the path less traveled, head eight miles southeast of the airport to the Hilton Village neighborhood, the country’s first wartime public housing project, built in World War I to accommodate an influx of shipbuilders. Today, it’s the most charming part of Newport News, a 16-block mix of tree-lined streets, home to small businesses and old English-cottage homes. Like so many of Newport News’ historic attractions, it’s a testament to how times have changed.

Newport News Flash

What to do and see in the city this month.

Showtime

May 1 through October: “Port Warwick in Performance: Summer Sounds in Styron Square”—a program of free concerts, 757- 926-1400, www.portwarwick.com/calendar

May 3: Fiesta by the Fountain. “South of the Border” event with food, drinks and free music. City Center at Oyster Point, 5pm-9pm, 757-926-1400.

May 5-7, 12-14, 19-21, 26 & 27: 1776 at Peninsula Community Theatre (Warwick Blvd). Catch the Tony-award-winning musical that brings the history of American Independence to life, Friday and Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2:30pm, 757-595-5728, www.peninsulacommunitytheatre.org

May 6: Bill Cosby at Ferguson Center for the Arts, 4pm and 7pm, tickets $40-$50, 757-594-8752.

May 27: Virginia Symphony Concert—free sunset performance at Oyster Point, 7pm-9pm, 757-926-1400.

Soldier, soldier

May 13: Armed Forces Day Toy Soldier Show at Virginia War Museum, 9am-4pm. Browse or buy antique and contemporary toy soldiers and miniatures. $4 to $6, free for children, 757-247-8523, www.warmuseum.org

May 20: The Battle of Chancellorsville Civil War Van Tours at Lee Hall Mansion. Tour the sites associated with Gen. Robert E Lee’s greatest victory and the loss of Gen. Stonewall Jackson, 8am-5pm, $50, reservations required, 757-888-3371, www.leehall.org

Steak out

There are a great many chain restaurants to choose from in Newport News but if you’re after something a little more special, go for the white tablecloth treatment at Schlesinger’s Chop House, Port Warwick (1106 William Styron Square). Named after the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and presidential biographer, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr, the restaurant has a 150-strong wine list. Regulars have permanent liquor lockers located in the lobby for their favorite drinks. Reservations: 757-599-4700.

For more events in Newport News, see www.newport-news.org

Words by David Leiva

Published in ::

Recent features


Browse Go Features: