Shopping for Antiques? Discover Olde Towne Portsmouth, VA

There’s one thing for sure about Virginia, and that is there’s an abundance of antique dealers scattered throughout the Commonwealth. From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Tidewater region of the Atlantic coast, Virginia has a treasure trove of shops and malls to peruse through.

Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia, one of America's most historic seaports has been well known for it's selection of fine antique shops throughout the decades. Though we have lost some dealers during the recession years, Olde Towne Portsmouth still offers a handful of the best antique shops in Hampton Roads. Olde Towne also offers a monthly antiques to flea market that draws hundreds of shoppers to hunt through the huge variety of treasures offered for sale.

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Skipjack Nautical Wares 

& Marine Art Gallery

Devonshire Square, 620 High Street, Portsmouth, VA (757) 399-5012

Virginia’s premier maritime antique store and marine art gallery. Offering a large selection of authentic maritime antiques, ship models, marine instruments including clocks & barometers, telescopes, spyglasses, sextants, octants, compasses, lamps and lighting, ships wheels, boat and yachting salvage and collectibles, bells, US Navy, US Coast Guard and other military items. Skipjack also offers a collection of maritime paintings, prints, bronze sculptures as well as sailor-made and folk carvings and other marine art forms. If you are searching for nautical items, this is the place to find it.

Open Tuesday-Saturday 10 am- 5 pm. 

Closed Sunday and Monday or by chance or appointment.

https://www.skipjackmarinegallery.com/

Beautiful nautical antiques and marine art can be found at
Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery,
 Olde Towne Portsmouth, VA.

Authentic maritime antiques, ship salvage and nautical instruments at Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery.

Choice period Antique furniture can also be found at Skipjack!

Great selection of nautical table lamps, re-purposed using antique ship lamps and other maritime items is available at Skipjack.

Discover one of  the finest collections of authentic antique maritime instruments in the world at Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery.

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Way Back Yonder Antiques 

Devonshire Square, 462 Washington Street, Portsmouth, VA 757-398-2700

Since 1991, Way Back Yonder Antiques has offered a fine selection of quality antiques to customers the world over. Their inventory is collected from the local area and they select only the best to offer their customers. They are a general line antique store with an emphasis on quality. The inventory includes items from antiquity to the 20th century, furniture, accessories, lighting, glassware, pottery, porcelains, ceramics, metal and wooden wares, estate silver of both sterling and plate, estate and costume jewelry, coins, collectibles, and other curiosities.

Open Monday-Saturday: 10 am – 6 pm Sunday: 12 pm – 6 pm

http://oldetowneportsmouth.com/listings/way-back-yonder-antiques/

Beautiful porcelain antique oyster plates can be found at
Way Back Yonder Antiques.

Way Back Yonder is known for their wonderful collection of sterling silver flatware
and hollow ware.

Great selection of antique flow-blue dishes.

Fabulous treasures abound at Way Back Yonder Antiques. 

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The Olde Towne 

Antiques to Flea Market

Currently being held at 200 County Street  (757) 405-3500

Visit the Olde Towne Portsmouth Antiques to Flea Market the first Saturday of each month, rain or shine, and enjoy the eclectic collection of unique and antique wares. With more than 70 vendors, you will discover a great selection of antique and flea market items of all types – priced to sell! Shop for estate furniture, architectural salvage, china, silverware, art, sports gear, musical instruments, books and ephemera, hand-made crafts and toys, as well as decorative accessories and one-of-a-kind items. A favorite of local and visitors alike, it is a treasure hunter’s dream come true! Always Free Admission & Free Parking!

The Olde Towne Antiques to Flea Market is held the first Saturday
of each month here in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia.

Great selection of antiques and flea items and large crowd of shoppers at the
Olde Towne Portsmouth Antiques to Flea Market.

One visit to Olde Towne Portsmouth and you’ll be hooked. Amble along the famous Seawall. Stroll through three centuries of historic neighborhoods. Go antiquing. Take in some art. Eat at one of the delightful restaurants. Choose from a wide variety of fine, casual and family dining establishments with many offering outdoor seating. Many of Portsmouth’s attractions are clustered within easy walking distance of each other, making it the perfect place to spend a day.

Portsmouth Square(d) Inaugural Installation of Olde Towne Cornerstones

Portsmouth, VA – The Portsmouth Heritage Initiative will lay the inaugural stone in the Portsmouth Squared project on Friday, June 3, 2016 at 11:30AM.  The ceremony will be held at Golden Square – 200 High Street, at the intersection of High & Crawford Streets.

Portsmouth, the first city in Hampton Roads, was well planned from its inception in 1752. Much like its British port counterpart in Savannah, Georgia, Portsmouth was laid out in a series of squares.  Many squares were labeled to designate the desired use for the property (i.e. CHURCH, MARKET, PRISON).  With help from the writings of many Portsmouth historians and a found portion of an 1851 map, we were able to identify the square names used throughout the original boundaries of the city.  The Portsmouth Heritage Initiative plans to place granite footers at the corner of each Olde Towne intersection to commemorate each square’s historical significance. Our hope is to bring the community together to celebrate and market our old world charm while restoring a sense of place to this seaport city. 

The Portsmouth Heritage Initiative plans to place granite 
footers at the corner of each Olde Towne intersection to commemorate each square’s historical significance.

Portsmouth gets its name from the English naval port of Portsmouth, England. The town was laid out checkerboard style with 122 half-acre lots around its town square at High and Court streets. Streets were organized in a grid pattern with street widths alternating between 32, 50 and 100 feet. Each block or square was named for noted Virginians, Englishmen, or places in England or the United States.

Streets were named similarly. High Street was named for the main commercial corridor in Portsmouth, England. It is 100 feet wide, with two narrow parallel streets of 32-foot widths (Queen and King streets), located to the north and south. Narrower streets served as alleys for High Street, facilitating the access to commercial buildings from the rear. For more information about Portsmouths historic squares, go to:  http://oldetowneportsmouth.blogspot.com/2012/10/12-historic-squares-of-high-street-olde.html

Portsmouth Heritage Initiative was formed by Aaron Kelley to illuminate and enhance the rich history of the City of Portsmouth through education, marketing, and tourism promotion. We believe that our history is one of the city’s greatest competitive advantages.

 If you would like more information about the Portsmouth Heritage Initiative, a donor-funded non-profit organization, or the Portsmouth Squared Project, please contact Aaron Kelley at 757-478-3888 or email at portsmouthheritage@gmail.com.

Commodore Richard Dale, USN, (1756-1826)

Richard Dale was born in Norfolk County, Virginia, on 6 November 1756. He went to sea at the age of twelve and had command of several merchant vessels before his twentieth birthday. After the outbreak of the American Revolution, Dale became an officer in the Virginia State Navy. Taken Lexington. That vessel's Commanding Officer, John Barry, persuaded young Dale to return to the American cause.

Portrait of Commodore Richard Dale
in uniform.

Taken prisoner by the British, he joined the Loyalist forces but was subsequently captured by the Continental Brig
He was an officer on Lexington from mid-1776 until she was taken by the British cutter Alert on 19 September 1777. Imprisoned in England, Dale twice escaped, finally making his way to France. His next position was as a Lieutenant on board the Continental warship Bonhomme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones. He performed valiantly during her desperate fight with HMS Serapis on 23 September 1779. For the remainder of the war, Dale served in the frigates Alliance and Trumbull, and was Commanding Officer of the privateer Queen of France.
After the Revolution Dale was again a merchant marine officer. When the United States established its Navy in 1794, he was one of the first six men appointed to the rank of Captain, though the Navy's lack of ships ensured that he was primarily employed in commercial trade for the next four years. In 1798, after undeclared war began with France, Dale took command of USS Ganges, in which he cruised in search of enemy shipping. Returning to the merchant marine, he made a cruise to China in 1799. In 1801 Captain Dale was given command of a U.S. Navy squadron and sent to the Mediterranean Sea to confront the piratical states along the North African coast. Relieved of this command in 1802, after a successful cruise, he resigned his commission shortly afterwards.

Commodore Richard Dale monument located on
Washington Street in Olde Towne Portsmouth, VA.

Dale spent the rest of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was a prominent citizen and was active in local defense efforts during the War of 1812. Richard Dale died in that city on 26 February 1826.
The U.S. Navy has named five ships in honor of Richard Dale, including: USS Dale (1840-1921); USS Dale (Destroyer # 4), 1902-1920; USS Dale (Destroyer # 290, later DD-290), 1920-1931; USS Dale (DD-353), 1935-1946; and USS Dale (DLG-19, later CG-19), 1963-2000.

*History reprinted from the Naval Historic Association.

2015 STEEPLE TO STEEPLE TOUR IN OLDE TOWNE PORTSMOUTH, VA

Saturday, May 9, 2015
Start starts at 9:00 am  (includes lunch with the price of a ticket) and ends at 3:00 pm. The tour begins at St. Paul's Catholic Church (Corner of Washington & High Streets)

Portsmouth’s annual Steeple To Steeple church and synagogue tour takes you inside seven of Hampton Roads most interesting and beautiful churches as well as the Chevra T'helim synagogue.

It starts at St. Paul’s Catholic Church on the corner of Washington and High streets. St. Paul’s stunning German glass from the early years of the twentieth century has just been cleaned as have its many murals and statuary.

Other church interiors on the tour are Trinity Church, from 1762, with its six windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany (on his pencil list and so done by him, not Tiffany and Co.), painted windows from the 1850's and Civil War era and rare English White Friars windows.

Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, perhaps the oldest black congregation in the nations, with handsome ceiling murals, pews hand hewn by slaves, hiding places on the “underground railroad,” and slave made stained glass and ironwork.

St. John’s Church in high Victorian style with what is thought to be the largest window ever made by Tiffany and Company; Monumental Methodist which claims to be the oldest continuously operating Methodist congregation in the South and third oldest in the nation.

Chevra Thelim synagogue, recently restored as a museum with a Holocaust Torah; First Presbyterian with two-hundred year old English pews and rare English stenciled glass windows.

Court Street Baptist which is one of only two Baptist churches in the nation in the Romanesque Revival style - inside its dozens of stained glass windows in gold and pink fill the interior with a golden glow.

The tour starts at 9:00 am Saturday, May 9th, with lunch (included in the price of the ticket) and ends at 3:00 pm. It is led by three costumed interpreters, among them: Colonel William Crawford, the town’s founder, and the Rev. John Braidfoot, the second rector of the Colonial church.

Tickets are $21 in advance (limit 100 people). For tickets contact Clifford Harbin (committee chair) at 757-575-8594, or  Dean Burgess, 757-393-0973 or at redlion3@juno.com, or send your check to Steeple to Steeple , P. O. Box 126, Portsmouth, VA 23705-0126 (made out to Steeple To Steeple ). Tickets are $20 in advance, $21 if ordered online and $25 on teh day of teh walk. The tour starts at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church (518 High Street, corner of Washington Street). All profits go to the HER Shelter for battered women in Portsmouth. All the churches are handicapped accessible, but please note your special needs in advance. http://www.steepletosteeple.com/

http://oldetowneportsmouth.com/events/

Contact Clifford King Harbin, Committee Chair
704-575-8594
757-759-7371
and Dean Burgess
P. O. Box 126, Portsmouth, VA 23705-0126
757-393-0973
redlion3@juno.com

The 2014 Historic Olde Towne Holiday Home Tour

Friday, December 12, 2014 from 5-9 pm
Saturday, December 13, 2014 from 2-8 pm

Visit historic Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia for a weekend full of holiday events. The Historic Olde Towne Holiday Home Tour will again be a two-day event with seven Southern homes decked out with Christmas spirit. Ticket holders may tour either day or split the seven tour stops between the two days.

The historic Hill House is part of this years
Olde Towne Holiday Home Tour.

This Years Olde Towne Homes Open for the Holiday Home Tour include:

106 London Street

221 North Street - Historic Hill House

339 Court Street

340 court Street

329 Court 

497 North

506 Hampton Place

Live music will be playing throughout the tour celebrating the traditional sounds of the season and historical vignettes are part of the entertainment at some of the homes, including a colonial dance demonstration and recollections by a 19th century sea captain. Refreshments will be served at the Hill House including hot wassail for purchase. And don't miss the commemorative merchandise for this year's tour by local artist Karen Goins, also on sale at the Hill House (221 North Street).

The Historic Olde Towne Holiday Home Tour this year is held in conjunction with the Annual Olde Towne Holiday Music Festival. Launched in 1998, this festival has become one of Portsmouth's signature Holiday Season events. It is a musical tribute to the spirit of the Holiday Season, enlivening the historic High Street corridor with performances, children's activities, re-en-actors in period attire and strolling characters. This event offers a musically packed day for visitors to Olde Towne Portsmouth featuring choral groups from regional schools as well as performances by established recording artists. http://www.portsvaevents.com/december_2014.html

Tickets for the Historic Olde Towne Holiday Home Tour are $20 per person and can be purchased at the event, at many Olde Towne business locations and also online. For more information, ticket locations and online ticket sales go to: http://www.otcl.org/Events.html  or call 757-235-2608.

This holiday event is sponsored by the Olde Towne Civic League, The Olde Towne Business Association the City of Portsmouth and the new Portsmouth Kroger's Marketplace.

The Olde Towne Antiques to Flea Market- A treasure Trove to Be Discovered

"Great Finds of All Kinds"

The popular "Antiques to Flea Market’ is held the first Saturday of each month, in historic Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia. Browse through an eclectic collection of unique and antique wares. With over 60 dealers and vendors exhibiting, bargain hunters and serious collectors will discover a great selection of antique and estate furniture, architectural antiques, china, silverware, art and prints, sporting gear, musical instruments, books and ephemera. There are even hand-made crafts and toys, as well as decorative accessories and flea market items of all types and one-of-a-kind items priced to sell. Held inside the Middle Street garage located on the corner of Middle and London. 

You will also find during the December Antiques to Flea Market all types of vintage and antique Christmas decorations and unusual Christmas gift items for the hard to find eclectic collector in your life! 

The  Olde Towne Antiques to Flea Market is held the first Saturday of each month.

The Olde Towne Antiques to Flea Market opens at 10am til 2 pm. Come early for best selections! http://www.oldetowneportsmouth.com/ 
757-339-1876

Sponsored by the Olde Towne Business Association.

Welcome to The Mermaids' Porch Bed & Breakfast

The Mermaids Porch Bed and Breakfast is located in the heart of historic Olde Towne Portsmouth.

Get a taste of history at this circa 1898 Queen Anne Victorian home, the new Mermaid's Porch Bed & Breakfast is located in the heart of Olde Towne Portsmouth's historic district.

Sip a glass of wine at their complimentary wine and cheese afternoon social hour. Full, three course breakfast is prepared daily with a changing menu so you won't be served  the same main dish each day (unless you request it). Local meats from Smithfield and fresh produce from the Portsmouth Olde Towne Farmers Market will be used in preparing these delectable dishes when available and in season.

The dining room of the Mermaids Porch B & B.

The B & B amenities include a living room with working fireplace (and a cord of firewood for those chilly winter nights). The room is filled with Victorian era antique furniture and accessories. The adjacent parlor room offers cable TV and a variety of board games for home-style entertainment. An upright piano is also available if you choose to play a song or two. Enjoy sitting in brick-paved private courtyard for relaxing, reading a book and dining Fresco. Also, the beautiful Greenwich Park is located just across the street on the adjacent Olde Towne corner. The property is decorated throughout with art and furnishings purchased by the innkeeper during here years of worldwide travel during here naval career.

The Mermaid's Porch Bed & Breakfast is conveniently located just a short walking distance to the Historic High Street corridor where you will find an abundance of fine dining and pubs, antique shops, art galleries

The High Street corridor is located

just a short walking distance away 

offering an abundant selection of 

pubs and restaurants, antique shops, 

art galleries and unique shops to 

choose from.

and unique stores, the famous Commodore Theatre and four museums including the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, the Children's Museum of Virginia and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum. Enjoy changing art exhibits at the Portsmouth Arts & Cultural Center that also holds free music venues the first Friday of each month. The Portsmouth Olde Towne Farmers Market is held each Saturday (from early spring through December) It is also just a few blocks away from the Portsmouth Visitors Center and the  North Street Ferry landing that takes you to downtown Norfolk.

About the Innkeeper

Dawn Richardson is a retired Navy Supply Officer who has traveled the world during her career. She was a restaurant manager prior to going into the service and has a Bachelors Degree in Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management from Purdue University. An exceptional chef and caretaker, Dawn will delight you with southern hospitality and a warm embrace for the weary traveler.

Enjoy sitting in brick-paved private courtyard for relaxing, reading a book and dining Fresco.

Here's the details

The Mermaids' Porch Bed & Breakfast
497 North Street (on the corner of North & Dinwiddie)
(757) 673-3790

email: dawn.richardson.usn@gmail.com

http://www.mermaidsporch.com/

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Mermaids-Porch-Bed-and-Breakfast/715652278499887

http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/va-portsmouth-themermaidsporchbedandbreakfast-page.html

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/11/welcome-mermaids-porch-bed-breakfast

The Olde Towne  experience has been treasured by visitors the world over-an opportunity to shop our fine antique shops, visit our galleries and unique specialty stores, enjoy excellent dining, both indoors and out in one of our many fine restaurants and pubs. Discover all of the magic yourself.
Discover Olde Towne Portsmouth!

The Historic Olde Towne Holiday Home Tour Interview to Air on "Portsmouth Now"

Rob Lauer and Rebecca Larys  discuss the upcoming Olde Towne Holiday Home Tour

Rob Lauer, Producer &  Host of  "Portsmouth Now" on PCTV--Cox Channel 48/Fios Channel 39 interviews Rebecca Larys, a director of the Historic Olde Towne Holiday Home Tour discusses the upcoming holiday season event. Rob and Rebecca stand in front of The Mermaids' Porch Bed & Breakfast slated to open this Friday. The Mermaid's Porch is located at 497 North Street (corner of North and Dinwiddie) and is one of seven featured homes open for this years home tour decorated for the holidays.  The Historic Olde Towne Holiday Home Tour will be open this year Friday, December 12th from 5 -9 pm and Saturday, December 13th from 2- 8 pm. Enjoy live music and historic acted vignettes. Tickets are $20.00 and are available now at The  Portsmouth Visitors Center,  6 Crawford Pkwy., the Portsmouth Arts & Cultural Center, 400 High Street,  The Coffee Shoppe, 300 High Street, Little Shoppes on High, 425 High Street, Way Back Yonder Antiques, 620 High Street and on line at http://www.otcl.org/Events.html.

Tickets will also be available each Saturday up to the event at the Portsmouth Olde Towne Farmers Market is located at the northwest corner of High Street and Court Street (opposite the Visual Arts Center) and runs west along High Street and north along Court Street., http://www.portsmoutholdetownefarmersmarket.com/  Tickets will also be for sale at the Antiques to Flea Market held the first Saturday in December inside the Middle Street Garage. http://www.oldetowneportsmouth.com/ You can also purchase your tickets the day of the event at any of the seven houses open for tour.

This is Portsmouth, Virginia's Holiday Signature event weekend and the Holiday Home Tour runs in conjunction with the 17th Annual Olde Towne Holiday Music Festival, Saturday December 13 from Noon - 6 pm. Launched in 1998, this festival has

become one of Portsmouth's favorite Holiday Season events. It is a musical tribute to the spirit of the Holiday Season, enlivening the historic High Street corridor with performances, children's activities, re-enactors in period attire and strolling characters. This event offers a musically packed day for visitors to Olde Towne Portsmouth featuring choral groups from regional schools as well as performances by established recording artists.  http://www.portsvaevents.com/december_2014.html

The December "Portsmouth Now" episode will air 6 times a week throughout the month of December. For more information, visit http://www.otcl.org/Events.html  and  http://www.portsvaevents.com/december_2014.html

Buy your tickets now!

The Historic Olde Towne Holiday Home Tour is brought to you by the Olde Towne Civic League, The Olde Towne Business Association and the City of Portsmouth, Virginia.

The 34TH Annual Olde Towne Ghost Walk

The spirits of the Olde Towne Civic League have been putting on our spook-tacular Ghost Walk for over 30 years. This year’s Ghost Walk is on Friday, October 24, 2014, with tours leaving at 7, 8 and 9 p.m. from Trinity Church graveyard.

Guides carrying dim-lit lanterns will escort you through the
brick-covered walkways of historic Olde Towne Portsmouth.

The walk begins in the Graveyard of historic Trinity Church, where you will start your ghoulish journey by learning about real horror stories from Olde Towne Portsmouth's past. You are then swept away to the front steps of Portsmouth's old Court House where you will be transported back in time to the age of Jack the ripper, the Victorian era. A guide, carrying dim-lit lanterns will then escort you through the brick-covered walkways of historic Olde Towne.

The ghost of Portsmouth's founder, Colonel William Crawford.

 There, you and your guests will need to decide a direction to follow. Each route offers eight stories from our sometimes troubling past reenacted by performers upon the antique porches of our authentic period homes. As we say here in Olde Towne...you can't make these stories up (or something close to that) and believe you me, the more outrageous the story the closer to the truth it gets!

You will be transported back in time to the
age of Jack the ripper, the Victorian era.

Once your tour is complete, your attendant will take you to Cider Park located on Middle Street where a cauldron of hot witches brew, a concoction similar to apple cider is served to help shake off the the old cobwebs! Relax and enjoy featured music and meet the giant tree man...We Are Groot!!  For more information, visit their website at: http://portsmouthghostwalk.com.

The 44th Annual Seawall Art Show Olde Towne Portsmouth, VA

The 44th Annual Seawall Art Show at Olde Towne Portsmouth, VA's  waterfront.

Show dates and Hours:August 23rd and 24th, 2014
Saturday: 10 am - 6 pm
Sunday: 10 am - 5 pm

Virginia's historic seaport, Olde Towne Portsmouth is the place to be this weekend as we host the 44th Annual Seawall Art Show with some 90+ juried artists participating. As in previous years, expect to find a little of everything, from wood carving to oil paintings, handwoven clothing to art glass, fine jewelry to pottery, and more.

With more than 30 years experience showcasing juried fine arts and fine crafts on the Portsmouth waterfront, the Seawall Art Show draws large crowds of art buyers to this prestigious event. With the assistance of the Portsmouth Museum and Fine Arts Commission, it is an all volunteer run show. Show proceeds always go to support the arts in Portsmouth.

The Seawall Art Show begins at the High Street basin (Ferry Landing)

Aside from works for sale, the show also features a student art show, entertainment, and a selection of food vendors too. Artists vie for thousands of dollars in awards gathered from exhibitor fees. The show is run by volunteers, and is supported by the Portsmouth Museum and Fine Arts Commission

Admission to the show is FREE. Street and city garage parking is also free on the weekends.

Best parking is the Water Street garage (on Water Street just off High at the riverfront) and the Middle Street garage (behind the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum).

For more information about this annual event, visit their website at 2014 Seawall Art Show. 

expect to find a little of everything, from wood carving to oil paintings, handwoven clothing
to art glass, fine jewelry to pottery, and more.

Don't forget to support Olde Towne Portsmouth's fine merchants and restaurants. The downtown

district begins at the riverfront and up the High Street corridor to Effingham Street. Peruse through some of Hampton Roads best antique shops, unique boutiques and one of a kind specialty stores. Take a break from all of the event shopping and enjoy a wonderful lunch or dinner in one of the regions best restaurants, taverns and sports bars located here in Olde Towne Portsmouth .Lot's off outdoor dining opportunities too! Shop, dine and experience Olde Towne Portsmouth!

An Enslaved Woman and her Dressmaker Daughter

April 24, 2014
At the Commodore Theater
421 High Street
Portsmouth, VA
(757) 393-6962
Doors open at noon
Lunch may be purchased from noon-12:45
Talk begins at 1:00 p.m.

Historian, Kathleen Curtis Wilson will tell the story of an exceptional African American family in Appalachia

Historian Kathleen Curtis Wilson

Virginia and explain what is known and not known about skilled enslaved women and the importance of new discoveries in the field of African American studies.  Her presentation includes photographs of textiles made by Lizzie Bolden, photographs of her mother and father, members of her family and other freed slaves living and working in Bath County.

Historians have long underestimated the importance of the skills that enslaved individuals possessed because there is no body of work to study.  That is especially true in Appalachia.  In the world of textiles and clothing, it is accepted that many skilled slave artisans spun thread and wove cloth, stitched slave clothing from coarse fabrics, did the fine (but tedious) finish quilting on their mistresses’ showpiece quilts, or were hired out as dressmakers, earning money for their masters and sometimes saving enough from their earnings to purchase freedom.  However, there is little physical evidence of these skills to support further scholarship.  Since slave-made textiles have traditionally remained with the master’s family, historians have had no way to authenticate the original maker of a quilt, bedcover, or other piece of cloth that has only a vague provenance.

Elizabeth Morris Bolden, Lizzie, lived in Warm Springs, VA all of her life.  She and her husband hand one

Lizzie's quilt, Warm Springs, Virginia

daughter, Alice.  What makes her story worthy of historical documentation are the textiles she leer behind, evidence of her skill as a seamstress and her status in the community.  Five textiles have passed from mother to daughter along with remembrances of Lizzie’s life and details of her sewing career.  At a time when African Americans in Appalachia had few opportunities for more than unskilled employment, Lizzie had her own business as a dressmaker for clients in the community. Lizzie’s great granddaughter, Perlista Y. Henry, will be at the presentation to answer questions at the end of the talk.

Kathleen Curtis Wilson is a Fellow at the Virginia Foundation of Humanities, Charlottesville, VA.  A renowned authority on Appalachian crafts, Wilson is craft section editor for the Encyclopedia of Appalachia. As an Appalachia textile historian, Wilson has been documenting, photographing, and writing about regional craft traditions for more than 25 years.  Currently she is working on her first novel, The Fabric of Wishful Thinking.

The talk is being held in conjunction with the exhibit Changing Appalachia: Custom toCutting Edge at the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center. This program is sponsored in part by the Commodore Theater, Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center, the African-American Historical Society of Portsmouth and the Thomson Family Foundation of Minnesota.

Brutti’s Brings “Ameri-pean” Ambiance and Cuisine to Olde Towne Portsmouth

By Guest Blogger
Toi M. Wilson

Since 1993, Brutti’s has served as a regional attraction by luring patrons from throughout Hampton Roads to Downtown Portsmouth for its European-inspired classic American fare.  Over the past two decades, the restaurant has become synonymous with impressive accolades like Brutti’s famous BagelNutz and renowned Sunday Brunch.  In addition to bringing patrons to Olde Towne, owner Charles Greenhood takes the show on the road with Brutti’s Catering – expanding the business footprint as far as Williamsburg and Franklin for special events and weddings.  Having spent over 20 years in Portsmouth as a restaurateur and with over 40 years of experience, Charles brings a special “Ameri-pean” ambiance to the City and a story of entrepreneurship that will certainly leave a good taste in your mouth.

Brutti's "Ameri-pean ambiance in Olde Towne Portsmouth, VA.

Today’s Brutti’s opened at 467 Court Street fourteen years ago, and it all started with a dynamic journey beginning in Churchland and winding its way back to Olde Towne by way of the West Indies.  Prompted by the 1986 closing of Greenhood’s, a family business in Churchland, Charles moved to the West Indies and operated an ice cream and frozen yogurt shop for four years.  Charles subsequently returned home to Portsmouth to open Brutti’s Bistro.  As the orders grew, the thirty seat bistro grew out – and over to 467 Court Street.  Brutti’s as we know it today is a beautifully styled restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the famous Sunday Brunch.  The inspiration for the styling comes from one of Charles’ favorite New York City eateries – the Balthazar Restaurant.

Brutti’s has continuously evolved and is more than a restaurant.  On Friday nights the restaurant becomes a comedy club from 9:00 to 11:00 pm featuring local and national acts, including comedians from the famous Los Angeles Laugh Factory.  The banquet space available for private parties, wedding receptions, or corporate events is some of the most expansive and stunning on the east coast.  The three-story venue features two ballrooms and a penthouse lounge suite area which can, in total, accommodate hundreds of attendees with state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment under Swarovski crystal chandeliers – a real gem for the City and the region.

Brutti's sidewalk dining on Court Street in Olde Towne Portsmouth, VA.

For more information about BangelNutz, Sunday Brunches, Friday night Comedy Night, or to make reservations for your next special event, contact Brutti’s at (757) 393-1923.

Toi Wilson is a local economic development professional with private-sector, finance and banking experience, and academic background of finance and public administration. She is an economic development analyst for the City of Portsmouth, Virginia. Toi’s position focuses on local economic development for urban municipality. Development of business retention and expansion strategies, professional representation and marketing of the City of Portsmouth, event coordination and planning, analysis of financial reports and legal documents.

Portsmouth Art Movement Gains Traction

John Joyce has headed a beautification committee in Portsmouth for several years. Here, he kneels next to a bronze toad outside the Children's Museum of Virginia on Aug. 1, 2013. (Hyunsoo Leo Kim | The Virginian-Pilot)

By Janie Bryant

The Virginian-Pilot
© August 6, 2013

PORTSMOUTH

It started two years ago with a toad.

Not just any toad. This was a child-size bronze amphibian entered into Portsmouth's annual outdoor sculpture competition.

Children loved it, warts and all. So did art advocates who were loath to see it leave the city. So they raised about $8,000, and the toad now squats permanently outside the Children's Museum of Virginia.

That push gave birth to the Supporters of Portsmouth Public Art, a growing group of art lovers who have made it their mission to preserve and spread art throughout the city.

"Not just downtown," said John Joyce, president of the Supporters of Portsmouth Public Art. "Not just midtown."

It's a trend of beautification that has taken off in cities across the country, a natural offshoot of downtown revitalization efforts, according to Nancy Perry, Portsmouth's director of museums.

Norfolk established a public art program in 2006. Since then, the city has spent about $2 million on an array of projects, including an elephant sculpture at the Virginia Zoo and art along the light-rail route.

Public art is something Joyce always looks for when he travels. His favorites are works that have "a little bit of humor," he said.

Barbara Vincent, an artist who is part of the effort, also takes note of what other cities do.

"Thoughts Running Like a River" by Pattie Porker Firestone is in the Portsmouth Art and 
Cultural Center Courtyard on Aug. 1, 2013 (Photo by Hyunsoo Leo Kim/ The Virginian-Pilot)

"We want to make it clear to people that we're not just going to buy sculpture and plop it in front of buildings," said Vincent, who owned an art gallery in Olde Towne for several years.

Public art can be anything from whimsical bike racks and park benches to murals, she and Joyce said. In some cities, Vincent has even seen crosswalks painted as public art.

"If you improve the way your environment looks, it will improve your sensibilities," she said.

Joyce and Vincent are Olde Towne residents who are active in the community: For several years, Joyce has headed a beautification committee that has improved and maintained medians and parks in the city's oldest neighborhood. Vincent is a former chairwoman of the Museum and Fine Arts Commission. Joyce was on the commission, too.

The Supporters of Portsmouth Public Art is largely made up of people who have worked behind the scenes to build the city's art offerings. In addition to Joyce and Vincent, who are longtime patrons of the arts, Sue Landerman, a Portsmouth sculptor whose work on brick can be seen at universities and schools all over the country, is a member. Landerman sculpted the bronze statue of Col. William Crawford, the founder of Portsmouth, at High and Crawford streets.

Malani Green, 3 of Hampton, checks out the bronze toad in front of the Children's Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth on Aug. 1 2013 (photo by Hyunsoo Leo Kim/ the Virginian-Pilot)

Other members, including retired Pilot reporter and columnist Ida Kay Jordan, give Landerman credit for efforts to save the Al Hirschfeld-style mural from The Circle, a 1940s restaurant that was slated for demolition.

The organization plans to work with the city to help its civic leagues and other groups use art to enhance neighborhoods and schools. And it has come on the scene at a good time: New City Manager John Rowe is a believer in the power of art to make a city appear welcoming.

"It's a concept and an idea that John is really pushing people to embrace," Perry said.

Perry has attended meetings of the nonprofit as a city liaison. She's also getting direction from Rowe on projects he wants the city to undertake, such as art wraps to cover downtown's aesthetically challenged signal boxes.

The city is working with artists on two murals on public buildings downtown.

The nonprofit is also focusing on murals, working with Sam Welty, the artist behind Cedar Grove Cemetery's mural of the Battle of Craney Island. Supporters have identified about eight private buildings that would provide a good canvas.

"Everybody is working collaboratively for this overall vision of betterment of their community," Perry said.

Joyce said the organization will be seeking city approval for a mural on the side of a commercial building that can be seen from the atrium of the Children's Museum.

It isn't the first time Joyce has pitched the idea of putting art closer to the people: He was on the Museum and Fine Arts Commission when members were brainstorming ways to get more people into the city's arts center.

The center is housed in the 1846 Courthouse, a building with plenty of architectural dignity but one that didn't shout "there's art in here now."

Joyce suggested bringing the art outside to the people. The idea sparked the sculpture competition that has continued to transform the courtyard of the Portsmouth Art and Cultural Center into an outdoor exhibit several months of the year. That brought lots of public art to that corner of downtown.

And, eventually, it brought the toad.

And then public art took a leap in Portsmouth.

Janie Bryant, 757-446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com

This article is reprinted by permission from the Virginian-Pilot.