Attractions
A state and national landmark, the Attucks Theatre is distinguished as the oldest remaining legitimate theatre in the nation that was completely financed, designed, constructed and operated by African Americans. In its heyday, the theatre was the focal point of entertainment, business, and racial pride in Norfolk’s African-American community. Built in 1919, the name of the theatre, “Attucks,” commemorates Crispus Attucks, an African-American man who was the first American patriot to lose his life in the Boston Massacre of 1770. In the present day, the Attucks Theatre is a star on the Norfolk cultural stage, with an eclectic lineup each season, including musical performances, plays, dramatic readings, etc. The Attucks Theatre, located just minutes from downtown, has a well-deserved reputation for combining elegance and first-class service.
The Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception is the oldest parish community in the Catholic Diocese of Richmond and is often referred to as “The Mother Church of Tidewater Virginia.” It came into existence in 1791 as St. Patrick’s Church which was two years before the establishment of the United States hierarchy and twenty-nine years before the institution of the Richmond Diocese. Its first parishioners were French Catholics, compelled to abandon their native land by the French Revolution. In a matter of years, it received some of the earliest Irish Catholic immigrants to the United States. The original church was built in 1842, but was destroyed by fire in 1856 rendering the building dysfunctional for use as a church. In 1858, the present church building was erected. It was dedicated to Mary of the Immaculate Conception, and was the first church to bear the name after the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX. African American Catholics began attending St. Mary’s in 1886 where a portion of the choir loft was reserved for them. Today, St. Mary’s Catholic Church is ninety-nine percent African American.
Architecturally, the Whittle House ranks among the finest late-eighteenth century Federal style town houses in Virginia. It is also one of the few surviving examples of its type left in the Tidewater section of Virginia. The quality of both the design and workmanship gives evidence to the prosperity and high cultural standards of Norfolk’s Post-Revolutionary era. The house’s close similarity to the well-known Myers House on the same street, would indicate that the authorship of the two houses is the same, however, neither architect nor builder in either case is known.
Built in 1739, St. Paul’s Church is Norfolk’s oldest building, and the only structure to survive the British destruction of the city on New Year’s Day, 1776. A cannonball fired by Lord Dunmore of the British Fleet still remains lodged in the southeastern wall of the church. Featuring a beautiful Tiffany stained glass window, the church retains an active parish to this day. Outdoors, St. Paul’s tree-lined cemetery is dotted with 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th century tombstones. Visitors may tour the churchyard and cemetery at any time. The interior is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesdays-Fridays. Guided tours are available upon request.
One of Norfolk’s earliest post-World War II developments – the Poplar Hall neighborhood – is named in honor of this rugged brick house at the western end of the drive. “At the west end of Poplar Hall Drive just beyond the white, split-rail fences and down the narrow, oyster shell driveway, are 12 acres of tranquility….” In February 1761, The Hoggard family bought the 200 acres along Broad Creek from Lewis Thelaball for 235 pounds sterling. They built a slate-roofed, brick Georgian brick home there shortly afterward., overlooking Broad Creek. On both sides of the historic home are groves of stately trees which lend an air of rural tranquility. The tract was known for its stately poplar trees, which were said to have been planted as a symbol of loyalty to the British crown. Local historical accounts note that its Broad Creek waterfront was the site of one of the first three shipyards in America. The Hoggard family owned the farm from about 1799 until 1952. During the Revolutionary War, British troops were quartered in Poplar Hall. They returned during the War of 1812, when they burned three ships and broke into the closets in the house. During the yellow fever epidemic of 1854, many Norfolk families sought refuge with the Hoggard family, and Poplar Hall’s lawn was covered with tents. During the Civil War a garrison of 16 Union troops and an officer were living on the plantation. The Union forces correctly suspected that blockade runners were using Broad Creek, and they attempted to stop the evasions. Union troops seized the meat in the smokehouse and hauled it away by boat. Lucy Hopper, a slave, intercepted some of the provisions on their way to the boat and hid what she could for the family’s use. Lucy also smuggled food to Horatio Cornick Hoggard, a Confederate soldier who hid in the woods when he came home on furlough and found Union soldiers on the grounds. Except for raiding the food stores of the plantation, the Union troops did no harm. The acres then, “sort of dozed off for more than a century, undisturbed by the outward push of Norfolk…,” until 1952 when it was sold to William B. Copeland. The Poplar Hall neighborhood took its name from the old homestead.
The d’ART Center, recently relocated to the Norfolk Arts District, is a unique attraction, providing an environment where working artists are a part of an interactive community. The d’Art Center is home to 42 professional visual artists, who display and sell original works of art on-site. The interactive concept crosses socioeconomic lines and bridges the gap between the artist and the art, making the creative process and the visual arts come alive and accessible.
