Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception (Norfolk, Virginia)

The Burning of Norfolk was an incident that occurred on January 1, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. British Royal Navy ships in the harbor of Norfolk, Virginia, began shelling the town, and landing parties came ashore to burn specific properties. The town, whose significantly Loyalist population had fled, was occupied by Patriot forces from Virginia and North Carolina. Although the Patriots worked to drive off the British landing parties, they did nothing to impede the progress of the flames, and began burning and looting Loyalist-owned property instead. After three days, most of the town had been destroyed, mostly due to the action of Patriot forces. The destruction was completed by the Patriots in early February to deny use of even the remnants of the town to the British. Norfolk was the last significant foothold of British authority in Virginia; after raiding Virginia's coastal areas for a time, its last royal governor, Lord Dunmore, left for good in August 1776.

Downtown Norfolk serves as the traditional center of commerce, government, and culture in the Hampton Roads region. Norfolk, Virginia's downtown waterfront shipping and port activities historically played host to numerous and often noxious port and shipping-related uses. With the advent of containerized shipping in the mid-19th century, the shipping uses located on Norfolk's downtown waterfront became obsolete as larger and more modern port facilities opened elsewhere in the region. The vacant piers and cargo warehouses eventually became a blight on downtown and Norfolk's fortunes as a whole. But in the second half of the century, Norfolk had a vibrant retail community in its suburbs; companies like Smith & Welton, High's, Colonial Stores, Goldman's Shoes, Lerner Shops, Hofheimer's, Giant Open Air, Dollar Tree and K & K Toys were regional leaders in their respective fields. Norfolk was also the birthplace of Econo-Travel, now Econo Lodge, one of the nation's first discount motel chains. Similarly, the advent of newer suburban shopping destinations spelled demise for the fortunes of downtown's Granby Street commercial corridor, located just a few blocks inland from the waterfront. Granby Street traditionally played the role as the premiere shopping and gathering spot in the Hampton Roads region. Retailers ranged from low-priced variety stores such as Woolworth's and Grants to more upscale department stores such as Smith & Welton (1898–1988), Rices Nachmans (1918–1985) and Ames and Brownley (1898–1973), and fine hotels and theaters lined its sidewalks. However, new suburban shopping developments promised more convenience and comfort. The opening of Pembroke Mall in Virginia Beach, the region's first climate controlled shopping mall, and JANAF Shopping Center in Norfolk's Military Circle area, helped foment Granby Street's spiral into commercial obsolescence. With amenities such as ample free parking at the door of one's favorite store, and in the case of Pembroke Mall, climate control, the businesses of downtown's Granby Street found it harder and harder to compete. Beginning in the 1920s, Norfolk's city leaders began what would be a long push to revive the fortunes of its urban core.

Norfolk ( NOR-fuk) is an independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Norfolk had a population of 238,005, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, and the 95th-most populous city in the nation. Norfolk holds a strategic position as the historical, urban, financial, and cultural center of the Hampton Roads region (sometimes called "Tidewater"), which has more than 1.8 million inhabitants and is the 37th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S., with ten cities.Norfolk was incorporated in 1705. Bordered to the west by the Elizabeth River and to the north by the Chesapeake Bay, the city shares land borders with the independent cities of Chesapeake to its south and Virginia Beach to its east. With coastline along multiple bodies of water, Norfolk has many miles of riverfront and bayfront property, including beaches on the Chesapeake Bay. The coastal zones are important for the economy. The largest naval base in the world, Naval Station Norfolk, is located in Norfolk along with one of NATO's two Strategic Command headquarters. Additionally, Norfolk is an important contributor to the Port of Virginia. It is home to Maersk Line, Limited, which manages the world's largest fleet of US-flag vessels. This low-lying coastal infrastructure is very vulnerable to sea level rise, with water levels expected to rise by more than 5.5 feet (1.7 meters) by the end of the 21st century. The city has a long history as a strategic military and transportation point, where many railroad lines started. It is linked to its neighbors by an extensive network of interstate highways, bridges, tunnels, and three bridge-tunnel complexes.

Saint Paul's Episcopal Church (also known as Borough Church) is a historic church in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. The Nave of the current church was built in 1739 and is the sole colonial-era building which survived the various wars that Norfolk has witnessed. The church has played host to several different denominations throughout its history. Originally a Church of England parish, the building was home to a Baptist parish in the early-19th century and was finally converted back into an Episcopal church.

Civic Plaza is a Tide Light Rail station in Norfolk, Virginia. It opened in 2011 and is located in the plaza in front of Norfolk City Hall, just east of St. Pauls Boulevard.The station is adjacent to several government buildings and is just north of Dominion Tower and the Elizabeth River waterfront.

The Willoughby–Baylor House is a historic home located at Norfolk, Virginia. It was built about 1794, and is a two-story, three-bay, brick detached townhouse with a gable roof. It features a Greek Revival style doorway and porch supported on two pairs of Greek Doric order columns. These features were added in the mid-1820s. It was built by William Willoughby (1758-1800), a local merchant and building contractor. The building is open as a historic house museum operated by the Chrysler Museum of Art.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

St. John's AME Church is a historic congregation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1840, it was the first African American Episcopal Church in Virginia. It moved to its present location on East Bute Street in what is now Downtown Norfolk in 1848.The historic church building was built in 1888, a red brick structure in the Richardsonian Romanesque style with a large, heavy and steeply pitched slate roof and two flanking towers. The building features a centered stone entrance portico, containing the main entrance to the church. The portico is built of light grey freestone in a style reminiscent of the ambulatory of a Romanesque abbey and consists of two large openings headed by semi-circular arches. The building houses a large sanctuary and horseshoe-shaped balcony with a seating capacity of 1,500 people. Also on the property is the contributing parsonage; a 2½-story, four-bay, brick dwelling in a simplified Second French Empire style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Harbor Park is a Tide Light Rail station in Norfolk, Virginia. It opened in August 2011 and is situated in Downtown Norfolk along Park Avenue, adjacent to Harbor Park baseball stadium.The station is the first part of a planned intermodal public transport hub, which is intended to include bus, commuter rail and ferry services. In December 2012, a new Amtrak station opened adjacent to the station.

Harbor Park is a stadium, used primarily for baseball, on the Elizabeth River, in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. Once rated the best minor league stadium by Baseball America, it is home to the Norfolk Tides Minor League Baseball team. The Tides are the Baltimore Orioles' Triple-A farm team and compete in the International League. Harbor Park opened on April 14, 1993, and can seat 12,067 people.

First Baptist Church is a historic African-American Baptist church located in Norfolk, Virginia. It was designed by architect R. H. Hunt and dedicated in 1906. It is a Romanesque Revival-style church with a richly ornamented facade of rough-faced, pink granite ashlar and limestone trim. It features a tall, eight-level corner tower with a multiplicity of window types and a shorter flanking tower at the opposite corner. Construction began in 1904.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Freemason Street Baptist Church is a historic Baptist church located at Norfolk, Virginia. It was designed by architect Thomas Ustick Walter and dedicated in 1850. It is a one-story, Perpendicular Gothic style stuccoed brick church. The front facade features a projecting belfry and two stage tower topped by an octagonal spire.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

The TowneBank Building (formerly the Norfolk Southern Tower) is one of the major distinctive and recognizable features of Downtown Norfolk, Virginia, United States. The building was notable as being the corporate headquarters of one of the United States' five Class I railroads, Norfolk Southern, until the relocation of their headquarters to Atlanta, GA in 2021. The tower was completed in 1989 at the corner of Main Street and Commercial Place in the business district of Downtown Norfolk. The current tenancy of the building is split between the financial services wing of TowneBank and information offices of CHKD.