Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

Nansemond The Nansemond are the indigenous people of the Nansemond River, a 20-mile long tributary of the James River in Virginia. Nansemond people lived in settlements on both sides of the Nansemond River where they fished (with the name "Nansemond" meanin ...

and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and

Sewell's Point Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to th ...

where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic Ocean, and the surrounding metropolitan region located in the southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina portions of the Tidewater Region. Comprising the Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC, metropolitan area and an extended combined statistical area that includes the Elizabeth City, North Carolina, micropolitan statistical area and Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, micropolitan statistical area, Hampton Roads is known for its large military presence, ice-free harbor, shipyards,

coal pier A coal pier is a transloading facility designed for the transfer of coal between rail and ship. The typical facility for loading ships consists of a holding area and a system of conveyors for transferring the coal to dockside and loading it into t ...

s, and miles of waterfront property and beaches, all of which contribute to the diversity and stability of the region's economy. The body of water known as Hampton Roads is one of the world's largest natural harbors (more accurately a

roadstead A roadstead (or ''roads'' – the earlier form) is a body of water sheltered from rip currents, spring tides, or ocean swell where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5- ...

or "roads"). It incorporates the mouths of the Elizabeth,

, and

rivers, together with several smaller rivers, and empties into the Chesapeake Bay near its mouth leading to the Atlantic Ocean. The land area includes a collection of cities, counties, and towns on the Virginia Peninsula and in South Hampton Roads. Some of the outlying areas further from the harbor may or may not be included as part of "Hampton Roads", depending upon the organization or usage. For example, as defined for federal economic purposes, the Hampton Roads metropolitan statistical area ( MSA) includes two counties in northeastern North Carolina and two counties in Virginia's Middle Peninsula. The Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC, MSA has a population of 1,799,674, making it the 37th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. The Combined Statistical Area includes four additional counties in North Carolina, pushing the regional population to nearly 1.9 million residents, the 32nd-largest

CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

in the country. The area is home to hundreds of historical sites and attractions. The harbor was the key to Hampton Roads' growth, both on land and in water-related activities and events. While the harbor and its tributaries were (and still are) important transportation conduits, at the same time they presented obstacles to land-based commerce and travel. Creating and maintaining adequate infrastructure has long been a major challenge. The

Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel The Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel (HRBT) is a -long Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60. It is a four-lane facility comprising bridges, trestles, man-made islands, and tunnels under the main shipping channels for Hampton ...

(HRBT) and the

Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel The Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel (MMMBT) is the 4.6 mile-long (7.4 km) Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 664 in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States. It is a four-lane bridge–tunnel composed of bridges ...

(MMMBT) are major harbor crossings of the Hampton Roads Beltway interstate, which links the large population centers of Hampton Roads. In 2009, the

Hampton Roads Transportation Authority The Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission (HRTAC) is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States that has the responsibility for funding several major traffic projects in the Hampton Roads area. ...

(HRTA) was abolished by the Virginia General Assembly less than two years after its creation. In 2014, the

Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission The Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission (HRTAC) is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States that has the responsibility for funding several major traffic projects in the Hampton Roads area. ...

was established to oversee the Hampton Roads Transportation Fund.

Etymology

The term "Hampton Roads" is a centuries-old designation that originated when the region was a struggling English outpost nearly four hundred years ago. The word "Hampton" honors one of the founders of the Virginia Company of London and a great supporter of the colonization of Virginia, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. The early administrative center of the new colony was known as

Elizabeth Cittie Elizabeth City (or Elizabeth Cittie as it was then called) was one of four incorporations established in the Virginia Colony in 1619 by the proprietor, the Virginia Company of London, acting in accordance with instructions issued by Sir George Yeard ...

, named for Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of King James I, and formally designated by the Virginia Company in 1619. The town at the center of Elizabeth Cittie became known as "Hampton", and a nearby waterway was designated Hampton Creek (also known as Hampton River). Other references to the Earl include the area to the north across the bay (in what is now the

Eastern Shore Eastern Shore may refer to: * Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia), a region * Eastern Shore (electoral district), a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia * Eastern Shore of Maryland, a region * Eastern Shore of Virginia, a region * Eastern Shore (Al ...

) which became known as

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, and an area south of the James River which became Southampton. As with Hampton, both of these names remain in use today. The term "Roads" (short for

) indicates the safety of a port; as applied to a body of water, it is "a partly sheltered area of water near a shore in which vessels may ride at anchor". Examples of other roadsteads are

Castle Roads Castle Roads is the primary channel by which vessels enter Castle Harbour, Bermuda, from the Atlantic Ocean. Although little used, today, except by pleasure boats, Castle Harbour was once an important anchorage, and an access route used by ships ...

, in another of the Virginia Company's settlements, Bermuda, and

Lahaina Roads Lahaina Roads, also called the Lahaina Roadstead, is an anchorage in the ʻAuʻau Channel lying off the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in the Hawaiian archipelago and U.S. state of Hawaii. It lies in the lee of the West Maui Mountains, w ...

, in Hawaii. In 1755, the Virginia General Assembly recorded the name "Hampton Roads" as the channel linking the James, Elizabeth, and Nansemond rivers with the Chesapeake Bay. Hampton Roads is among the world's largest natural harbors. It is the northernmost major East Coast port of the United States which is ice-free year round. (This status is claimed with the notable exception of the extraordinarily cold winter of 1917, which was the entire U.S.'s coldest year on record.) Over time, the entire region has come to be known as "Hampton Roads", a label more specific than its other moniker, "Tidewater Virginia", which includes the whole coastal region of the state. The

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

changed the area's postmark from "Tidewater Virginia" to "Hampton Roads, Virginia" beginning in 1983. In January 2019, ABC News affiliate WVEC reported that the area was considering a rebranding under the Greater Norfolk Area banner according to a post from an Instagram page Oceanfront9.

Definitions

Counties and independent cities

The U.S. Census Bureau defines the "Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC, MSA" as 19 county-level jurisdictions—six counties and ten independent cities in Virginia, and three counties in North Carolina. While the borders of what locals call "Hampton Roads" may not perfectly align with the definition of the MSA, Hampton Roads is most often the name used for the metropolitan area. "Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC, MSA" is a U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). According to the 2010 Census, its population is 1,676,822 and the 2014 estimated population is 1,716,624. ''Since a state constitutional change in 1871, all cities in Virginia are

independent cities An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

and they are not legally located in a county. The OMB considers these independent cities to be county-equivalents for the purpose of defining MSAs in Virginia. Each MSA is listed by its counties, then cities, in alphabetical order and not by size.''

In Virginia

The MSA consists of these locations in Virginia: Counties * Gloucester County * Isle of Wight County *

James City County James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg. Located ...

Mathews County Mathews County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,533. Its county seat is Mathews. Located on the Middle Peninsula, Mathews County is included in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport ...

Southampton County Southampton County is a county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. North Carolina is to the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,996. Its county seat is Courtland. History In the early 17th centur ...

* York County Cities * City of Chesapeake * City of Franklin * City of Hampton *

City of Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Unit ...

* City of Norfolk * City of Poquoson *

City of Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dense ...

* City of Suffolk * City of Virginia Beach * City of Williamsburg

In North Carolina

The MSA also includes the following locations in North Carolina: * Camden County *

Currituck County Currituck County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Gates County

Evolution of Hampton Roads

The Hampton Roads metropolitan area was first defined in 1950 as the "Norfolk–Portsmouth Metropolitan Statistical Area". It comprised the independent cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth and South Norfolk and the counties of Norfolk and Princess Anne. In 1952, Virginia Beach separated from Princess Anne County. In 1963, Virginia Beach and Princess Anne County merged, retaining the name Virginia Beach. The city was added to the MSA that year, while South Norfolk lost its metropolitan status. Also in 1963, Norfolk County and the City of South Norfolk merged to create the city of Chesapeake. In 1970, Chesapeake was added to the MSA, while Virginia Beach became a primary city. In 1973, Currituck County, North Carolina was added to the MSA. In 1983, the "Newport News–Hampton Metropolitan Statistical Area", comprising the cities of Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson and Williamsburg, and the counties of Gloucester, James City and York, was combined with the Norfolk–Virginia Beach–Portsmouth MSA and renamed the "Norfolk–Virginia Beach–Newport News MSA". In 1993, Isle of Wight, Mathews and Surry counties were added. Although Virginia Beach had passed Norfolk as the state's largest city by 1990, it was not made the first primary city of the MSA until 2010. As a result of the 2010 Census, Gates County, North Carolina was added to the MSA, while Surry County, Virginia was removed.

Combined Statistical Area

The Virginia Beach–Norfolk, VA–NC, Combined Statistical Area additionally includes the Elizabeth City, NC, Micropolitan Statistical Area, comprising: *

Pasquotank County Pasquotank County
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Perquimans County Perquimans County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Micropolitan Statistical Area, comprising: *

Dare County Dare County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,915. Its county seat is Manteo. Dare County is named after Virginia Dare, the first child born in the Americas to English p ...

As of the 2010 census, the total population of this Combined Statistical Area was 1,779,243, with a 2013 estimate of 1,810,266, a growth of 1.74%. It is currently the 32nd largest in the country and the largest based in Virginia. Among all metropolitan areas in Virginia, only the Northern Virginia portion of the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV, MSA is larger.

Geography

The metropolitan area and water area is in the Tidewater region, a low-lying plains region composed of southeastern portions of Virginia and northeastern portions of North Carolina. Elizabeth River at NNSY

The water area known as Hampton Roads is a wide channel through which the waters of the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

Nansemond River The Nansemond River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the James River in Virginia in the United States. Virginian colonists named the river ...

, and Elizabeth River pass (between Old Point Comfort to the north and

to the south) into the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Norfolk and Hampton Roads are among the worst-hit parts of the United States by the effects of global warming. As of 2016, the region is a few decades ahead in feeling the effects of sea-level rise compared to many American coastal areas. The geology and topography of the Hampton Roads region is influenced by the Chesapeake Bay impact crater, one of three factors contributing to the sinking of Hampton Roads at a rate between per century. The region has extensive natural areas, including of Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay beaches, the Great Dismal Swamp, picturesque rivers, state parks, wildlife refuges, and botanical gardens. Inland from the bay, the region includes

Lake Drummond Lake Drummond is a freshwater lake at the center of the Great Dismal Swamp, a marshy region on the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina, in the United ...

, one of only two natural lakes in Virginia, and miles of waterfront property along the various rivers and waterways. The region's native flora is consistent with that of the Southeast Coastal Plain and the lower Southeast Maritime Forest. The land area that constitutes Hampton Roads varies depending upon perspective and purpose. Most of Hampton Roads' land is geographically divided into 2 smaller regions: the eastern portion of the Virginia Peninsula (the Peninsula) and South Hampton Roads (locally known as "the Southside"), which are separated by the harbor. When speaking of communities of Hampton Roads, virtually all sources include the seven major cities, two smaller ones, and three counties within those two subregions. In addition, the Middle Peninsula counties of Gloucester and Mathews, while not part of the geographical Hampton Roads area, are included in the metropolitan region's population, as is a small portion of northeastern North Carolina (

Currituck County Currituck County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Knott's Island in that county is connected to Virginia by land, but is only accessible to other parts of North Carolina by water via a ferry system. Each of the following current cities, counties and towns is included by at least one of the three organizations that define Hampton Roads: Welcome To HamptonVA

The Hampton Roads area consists of nine independent cities (which are not part of any county).

Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

, Norfolk, Portsmouth,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, and Virginia Beach cover the Southside of Hampton Roads while Hampton, Newport News,

Poquoson Poquoson (), informally known as Bull Island, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,460. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Poquoson with surrounding York County ...

, and

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

are on the Peninsula.

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

borders Suffolk but the Census Bureau does not consider it part of the metro area. The metro area has one county in North Carolina, Currituck. The remaining counties, in Virginia, include Isle of Wight and Surry on the Southside, James City and York on the Virginia Peninsula, and Gloucester and Mathews on the Middle Peninsula. While Southampton is adjacent to Surry, Isle of Wight, and the City of Suffolk, the Census Bureau does not consider it part of the metro area. Five incorporated towns are in the metro area, including

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth ** Claremont Football Club, West Australian Footba ...

in Surry County, Dendron in Surry County, Smithfield in Isle of Wight County, Surry, Surry County's seat, and Windsor in Isle of Wight County. (Two other incorporated towns, Boykins and Courtland, are in Southampton County, and therefore, like the county within which they are located, are not part of the federally defined metropolitan area). Other unincorporated towns and communities in the metropolitan area that are not within its cities include

Gloucester Courthouse Gloucester Courthouse is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Gloucester County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2010 census. History The Gloucester County Courthouse Square Historic District, Glouce ...

and

Gloucester Point Gloucester Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in Gloucester County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,402 at the 2010 census. It is home to the College of William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science, a graduate school f ...

in Gloucester County, Isle of Wight Courthouse, Rushmere, Rescue, Carrollton, Benns Church, and Walters in Isle of Wight County, Yorktown,

Grafton Grafton may refer to: Places Australia * Grafton, New South Wales Canada * Grafton, New Brunswick * Grafton, Nova Scotia * Grafton, Ontario England * Grafton, Cheshire * Grafton, Herefordshire *Grafton, North Yorkshire * Grafton, Oxfordshi ...

, Seaford, and Tabb in York County, Jamestown, Ford's Colony,

Grove Grove may refer to: * Grove (nature), a small group of trees Places England *Grove, Buckinghamshire, a village * Grove, Dorset * Grove, Herefordshire * Grove, Kent * Grove, Nottinghamshire, a village * Grove, Oxfordshire, a village and civil ...

Lightfoot Lightfoot may refer to: * Lightfoot (surname) * Lightfoot (lacrosse), Native American lacrosse player * Lightfoot, Virginia, an area of York County that is west of Williamsburg, VA * Operation Lightfoot, part of the Second Battle of El Alamein ...

, Toano, and

Norge Norge is Norwegian (bokmål), Danish and Swedish for Norway. It may also refer to: People * Kaare Norge (born 1963), Danish guitarist * Norge Luis Vera (born 1971), Cuban baseball player Places * 11871 Norge, asteroid Toponyms: *Norge, Oklah ...

in James City County, Moyock,

Knotts Island Knotts Island is a marshy island and a small unincorporated community. The island is shared by Currituck County, North Carolina and Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States, bounded by the Currituck Sound, North Landing River, Back Bay, and Knotts ...

, and Currituck in Currituck County, North Carolina. The Hampton Roads MSA, with a population of about 1.7 million, is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the Southeastern United States, after the Washington metropolitan area; Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL, MSA; Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Marietta, GA, MSA, Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater, FL, MSA; Orlando–Kissimmee, FL, MSA; and Charlotte–Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC–SC, MSA.

History

17th–19th centuries

The first colonists arrived in 1607 when English

Captain Christopher Newport Christopher Newport (1561–1617) was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of the ''Susan Constant'', the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company in 1607 on the way to found the settle ...

landed at

Cape Henry Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to the long estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Cha ...

, today's City of Virginia Beach, an event now called the "First Landing." However, his party moved on, in search of a more defensible area upriver, mindful of competitors such as the Spanish, who had built a failed settlement on the Virginia Peninsula known as the Ajacán Mission. After exploring the

, they established the first successful English colony in the New World on Jamestown Island on May 14, 1607. Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities: ''Jamestown History'' But the low, marshy site proved unhealthy and most of the colonists died, before a new Governor,

Lord De La Warr Earl De La Warr ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1761 for John West, 7th Baron De La Warr. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles of Viscount Cantelupe (1761) in the Peerage of Great Britain, Baron De La Warr ( ...

(Delaware) arrived with John Rolfe, who would establish the Virginia tobacco industry. The harbor and rivers of Hampton Roads were immediately recognized as prime locations for commerce, shipbuilding and military installations, with the fortifications at Old Point Comfort established as early as 1610, and

Gosport Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

(later Norfolk Naval Shipyard) in 1767. The decisive battle of the Revolution was won at Yorktown in 1781, and the first naval action of the War of 1812 took place in Hampton Roads, when a Royal Naval vessel was seized by the American privateer ''Dash''. Later the entrance from Chesapeake Bay was equipped with new fortifications ( Fort Monroe and Fort Wool), much of the building work being supervised by a young military engineer

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the historic

Battle of Hampton Roads The Battle of Hampton Roads, also referred to as the Battle of the ''Monitor'' and ''Virginia'' (rebuilt and renamed from the USS ''Merrimack'') or the Battle of Ironclads, was a naval battle during the American Civil War. It was fought over t ...

between the first American ironclad warships, the and the CSS ''Virginia'', took place off

in 1862. The battle was inconclusive, but Union forces later took control of Hampton Roads, Norfolk, and the lower James River, though they were thwarted from venturing further upstream by a strong Confederate battery at

Drewry's Bluff Drewry's Bluff is located in northeastern Chesterfield County, Virginia, in the United States. It was the site of Confederate Fort Darling during the American Civil War. It was named for a local landowner, Confederate Captain Augustus H. Drewry, w ...

. Also in 1862, Fort Monroe was the launching place for Union General George McClellan's massive advance up the Virginia Peninsula, which almost reached the Confederate capital

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, before the Seven Days Battles forced him back. In 1865, as the Confederacy was near collapse, President Abraham Lincoln met with three senior Confederates at Hampton Roads in an unsuccessful bid for a negotiated peace. Some former slaves had been camped near Fort Monroe, where they were declared to be Contraband of war, instead of being returned to their former owners.

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

was among the freedmen who attended the local school, which evolved into the present-day

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

20th century

The Jamestown Exposition for the 300th anniversary of the 1607 founding of Jamestown was held at

in a rural section of Norfolk County in 1907. President Theodore Roosevelt arrived by water in the harbor of Hampton Roads, as did other notable persons such as

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

and Henry Huttleston Rogers, who both arrived aboard the latter's steam yacht '' Kanawha''. A major naval display was featured, and the U.S.

Great White Fleet The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the group of United States Navy battleships which completed a journey around the globe from December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909 by order of President Theodore Roosevelt. Its mission was t ...

made an appearance. The leaders of the U.S. Navy apparently did not fail to note the ideal harbor conditions, as was later proved. Beginning in 1917, as the United States became involved in World War I under President Woodrow Wilson, formerly rural

became the site of what grew to become the largest Naval Base in the world which was established by the United States Navy and is now known as the Naval Station Norfolk. Twice in the 20th century, inhabitants mostly African American were displaced when land along the northern side of the

Peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

primarily in York County west of Yorktown was taken in large tracts for military use during World War I and World War II, creating the present-day U.S. Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, which includes Cheatham Annex, and a former Seabee base which became Camp Peary. Communities including "the Reservation", Halstead's Point, Penniman, Bigler's Mill, and Magruder were all

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

and absorbed into the large military bases. Although some left the area entirely, many of the displaced families chose to relocate nearby to

, an unincorporated town in southeastern

where many generations of some of those families now reside. From a population estimated at only 37 in 1895, Grove had grown to an estimated 1,100 families by the end of the 20th century. (To its north, Grove actually borders the Naval Weapons Station property and on its extreme east, a portion of the U.S. Army's land at Fort Eustis extends across Skiffe's Creek, although there is no direct access to either base).

Colonial Williamsburg

It was the dream of an Episcopal priest to save his 18th-century church building by turning Williamsburg into the world's largest living museum. Williamsburg replaced Jamestown at the very end of the 17th century after a disastrous fire. It was the capital of the colony and the new State of Virginia from 1699 to 1780. The capital was moved to Richmond in 1780. Williamsburg became a "sleepy" small town. During the Civil War the Battle of Williamsburg was fought nearby during the Peninsula Campaign in the spring months of 1862. The decaying town was not located along any major waterway and did not have railroad access until 1881. Perhaps due to the secure inland location originally known as Middle Plantation Williamsburg missed growth and economic expansion in the 19th century. The main economic engines were The College of William & Mary and Eastern State Hospital. The College of William and Mary was chartered by the Crown and is the only pre-Independence college to have kept it. In addition to the city's historic past, quite a few buildings of antiquity from the 18th century were still extant, although time was taking a toll by the early 20th century. The Reverend Dr.

W.A.R. Goodwin William Archer Rutherfoord Goodwin (June 18, 1869 – September 7, 1939) (or W.A.R. Goodwin as he preferred or "the Doctor" as commonly used to his annoyance) was an Episcopal priest, historian, and author. As the rector of Bruton Parish Church, ...

of Bruton Parish Church motive was to only to save historic church building which was secured by 1907. He subsequently served in Rochester, New York for many years. Upon returning to Williamsburg in 1923 he realized that many of the other colonial-era buildings were deteriorating and their existence was at risk. Goodwin dreamt of a much larger restoration of the colonial town. A cleric of modest means, he first sought support and financing from a number of sources before successfully drawing the interests before receiving major financial support from

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

heir and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. The result is the creation of Colonial Williamsburg with extensive restoration of buildings such as the Wren Building of the College of William & Mary and the Governor's Palace, and the transformation of downtown Williamsburg area into Historic District of restored buildings. Many 19th century buildings were removed. By the 1930s, Colonial Williamsburg had become the centerpiece of the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia. These were, of course, Jamestown, where the colony started, Williamsburg, and Yorktown, where independence from Great Britain was won. The three points were joined by the U.S. National Park Service's Colonial Parkway, a remarkable accomplishment in course of 27 years. The Historic Triangle area of the Hampton Roads region became one of the largest tourist attractions in Virginia. In Dr. Goodwin's words: "Williamsburg is Jamestown continued, and Yorktown is Williamsburg vindicated."

Government

The area consists of ten independent cities and six counties. Each independent city has the powers and responsibilities of a county, including maintaining roads, courts, schools, and public safety. Some cities share these responsibilities with an adjoining county. Incorporated towns located within counties in Virginia operate with some level of autonomy, with some larger Towns exercising more autonomy than others. The localities come together to consult on regional issues. Virginia defines regional planning districts by law. District members are usually independent cities and counties. Localities around the state may belong to more than one Planning District, as their constituents may have interests which cross over individual planning district boundaries. The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) currently includes 16 cities and counties and one incorporated town in Virginia, representing over 1.7 million people. The 17 jurisdictions include: * the Cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg, * the Counties of Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Southampton, Surry, and York * the Town of Smithfield There are incorporated towns in three of the counties (Isle of Wight, Southampton and Surry) within the district. The differences between the service area of the HRPDC and the federally defined metropolitan statistical area (MSA) are: * Southampton County and the City of Franklin are not in the MSA. * Mathews County is in the MSA but not the HRPDC. * The MSA includes Currituck County and Gates County, North Carolina, but the HRPDC does not. The Federal government has two major research laboratories in the area. NASA-Langley, on the northeast edge of Hampton near Poquoson, is the home of a variety of aeronautics research, including several one-of-a-kind wind tunnels. The Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (known as 'Jefferson Lab') conducts cutting edge physics research in Newport News; the lab hosts the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) and a kilowatt-class free-electron laser.

U.S. Military

The military has a large presence in the region. Area military facilities (alphabetically) include: :* Camp Allen, in Norfolk :* Camp Peary, in York County :
Coast Guard 5th District
in Portsmouth :
Coast Guard Base Portsmouth
in Portsmouth :*

Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown The U.S. Coast Guard Training Center (TRACEN) in Yorktown, Virginia is one of eight major Coast Guard training facilities in the United States. The others are Training Center Petaluma, Training Center Cape May, Aviation Training Center, locat ...

, in York County :*

Fleet Training Center Dam Neck Training Support Center Hampton Roads is the current name of the facility in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA, which was long-known as "FTC Dam Neck". It is the home of the Fleet Combat Training Center Atlantic of the United States Navy. History ...

, in Virginia Beach :* Fort Eustis, in Newport News :* Fort Monroe, in Hampton (closed in September 2011) :* Joint Expeditionary Base East, in Virginia Beach :* Lafayette River Complex (LRC), in Norfolk :*

Langley Air Force Base Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News, Virginia, Newport News. It was one of List of airfields of the Training Section of the United States Army Air Service, thirty-two ...

, in Hampton :* Naval Air Station Oceana, in Virginia Beach :* Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, in Virginia Beach :* Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress, in Chesapeake :* Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, in Portsmouth :* Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk :*

Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads (NSA HR) is a United States Navy Echelon 4 regional support commander that is responsible to Navy Region Mid-Atlantic for the operation and maintenance of the installation of the same name that it is headquarte ...

, in Chesapeake :*

Naval Consolidated Brig, Chesapeake The Naval Consolidated Brig, Chesapeake (NAVCONBRIG Chesapeake) or the Joint Regional Correctional Facility Mid-Atlantic is a military prison, serving as Building 500 of the Northwest Annex of the Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads in Chesapeake, ...

:* Naval Support Activity Northwest Annex, in Chesapeake :* Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, in York County :*

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

, in Portsmouth (not to be confused with Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, in Kittery, Maine) :* Saint Julian's Creek Naval Depot Annex, in Chesapeake

Economy

Hampton Roads is home to two ''Fortune'' 500 companies. Representing the retail and shipbuilding industry, these two companies are located in

and Newport News. ;2021 ''Fortune'' 500 Corporations * 111

Dollar Tree Dollar Tree, Inc. is an American multi-price-point chain of discount variety stores. Headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, it is a ''Fortune'' 500 company and operates 15,115 stores throughout the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Canada. Its st ...

* 327

Huntington Ingalls Industries HII (formerly Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.) is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States as well as a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. HII, ranked No. 371 on the Fortune 500, w ...

Hampton Roads has become known as the "world's greatest natural harbor." The port is located only from open ocean on one of the world's deepest, natural ice-free harbors. Since 1989, Hampton Roads has been the mid-Atlantic leader in U.S. waterborne foreign commerce and is ranked second nationally behind the Port of South Louisiana based on export tonnage. When import and export tonnage are combined, the Port of Hampton Roads ranks as the third largest port in the country (following the ports of New Orleans/South Louisiana and Houston). In 1996, Hampton Roads was ranked ninth among major U.S. ports in vessel port calls with approximately 2,700. In addition, this port is the U.S. leader in coal exports. The coal loading facilities in the Port of Hampton Roads are able to load in excess of 65 million tons annually, giving the port the largest, most efficient and modern coal loading facilities in the world. It is little surprise therefore that the Hampton Roads region's economic base is largely port-related, including shipbuilding, ship repair, naval installations, cargo transfer and storage, and manufacturing related to the processing of imports and exports. Associated with the ports' military role are almost 50,000 federal civilian employees. The harbor of Hampton Roads is an important highway of commerce, especially for the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Newport News.

(formerly Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company), was created in 2008 as a spinoff of Northrop Grumman Newport News and is the world's largest

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

. It is located a short distance up the

. In Portsmouth, a few miles up the Elizabeth River, the historic

is located. BAE Systems, formerly known as NORSHIPCO, operates from sites in the City of Norfolk. There are also several smaller shipyards, numerous docks and terminals. Northrop Grumman Newport News 032007 015

Northrop Grumman Newport News 032007 015

Massive

s and loading facilities were established in the late 19th and early 20th century by the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...

(C&O),

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

(N&W), and

Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. History ...

(VGN). The latter two were predecessors of the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

, a Class I railroad which has its headquarters in Norfolk, and continues to export coal from a large facility at

Lambert's Point Lamberts Point is a point of land on the east shore of the Elizabeth River near the downtown area of the independent city of Norfolk in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, United States. It includes a large coal exporting facilit ...

on the Elizabeth River.

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

now serves the former C&O facility at Newport News. (The VGN's former coal facility at

has been gone since the 1960s, and the property is now part of the expansive

Norfolk Navy Base Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ha ...

Federal impact

Almost 80% of the region's economy is derived from federal sources. This includes the large military presence, but also NASA and facilities of the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Commerce and Veterans Affairs. The region also receives a substantial impact in government student loans and grants, university research grants, and federal aid to cities. The Hampton Roads area has the largest concentration of military bases and facilities of any metropolitan area in the world. Nearly one-fourth of the nation's active-duty military personnel are stationed in Hampton Roads, and 45% of the region's $81B gross regional output is Defense-related. All five military services' operating forces are there, as well as several major command headquarters: Hampton Roads is a chief rendezvous of the United States Navy, and the area is home to the Allied Command Transformation, which is the only major military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO) on U.S. soil.

is home to

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

(ACC). The

is located at

near the mouth, on the site used for the tercentennial Jamestown Exposition in 1907. For a width of the Federal government during 1902 through 1905 increased its minimum depth at low water from , and the channel has now been dredged to a depth of in some places.

NASA's

Langley Research Center The Langley Research Center (LaRC or NASA Langley), located in Hampton, Virginia, United States of America, is the oldest of NASA's field centers. It directly borders Langley Air Force Base and the Back River on the Chesapeake Bay. LaRC has fo ...

, located on the Peninsula adjacent to

in Hampton, is home to scientific and aerospace technology research. The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (commonly known as Jefferson Lab) is located nearby in Newport News.

Commercial growth

The area's experiences with commercial and retail centers began early in 1918. Afton Square, located in the Cradock naval community of Portsmouth, was the first planned shopping center in the US and has served as template for future developments throughout the nation. Hampton Roads experienced tremendous growth during and after World War II. In the 1950s, a trend in retail was the shopping center, a group of stores along a common sidewalk adjacent to off-street parking, usually in a suburban location. In 1959, one of the largest shopping centers on the east coast of the US was opened at the northeast corner of Military Highway and Virginia Beach Boulevard on property which had formally been used as an airfield. The new

JANAF Shopping Center The JANAF Shopping Yard, commonly known as JANAF, is a suburban shopping center located in Norfolk, Virginia. Opening in 1959,Pembroke Mall. The mall opened in 1966, and became Hampton Road's newest indoor shopping destination. The Virginia Peninsula had its first indoor shopping mall in 1973, with

Coliseum Mall The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

. Coliseum Mall drew so much traffic from Interstate 64, that a towering flyover was built at the Mercury Boulevard and Coliseum Drive intersection, to accommodate eastbound mall traffic, from the Mercury Boulevard interchange. Coliseum Mall was demolished to make way for the open air mixed-use development

Peninsula Town Center Peninsula Town Center is an open air mixed-use development located in the Coliseum Central Business improvement district of Hampton, Virginia in the Hampton Roads region. The Town Center is located on the site of the original Coliseum Mall, an en ...

. Also in the 1970s,

Tower Mall Victory Crossing, formerly Tower Mall, is a shopping mall located in Portsmouth, Virginia. The shopping mall opened in 1973. The mall's original primary anchors were Bradlees (originally J.M. Fields) and Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is th ...

was built in Portsmouth, but was torn down and turned into the Victory Crossing shopping development. In Norfolk, Military Circle Mall on Military Highway was built across Virginia Beach Boulevard from the large JANAF Shopping Center with its own high-rise hotel right in the center. In 1981, Greenbrier Mall gave Chesapeake a shopping mall of its own as well, and Virginia Beach got the massive Lynnhaven Mall the same year.

Chesapeake Square Mall Chesapeake Square is a regional mall in Chesapeake, Virginia, in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The mall has approximately 70 stores, three anchors (Burlington, Cinemark Theatres, and Target), several eateries at the mall's food court inclu ...

was constructed in Chesapeake, Virginia in 1989, near the border of Suffolk, Virginia, and has spawned a number of shopping centers in the surrounding areas. Macarthercenter

MacArthur Center opened in March 1999, which made downtown Norfolk a prime shoppers destination, with the region's first Nordstrom department store anchor. MacArthur Center is compared to other downtown malls, such as Baltimore's Harborplace, Indianapolis' Circle Centre Mall, Atlanta's Lenox Square Mall and most comparably to

The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, also known as Pentagon City Mall, is a shopping mall in the Pentagon City, Virginia, Pentagon City neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, near Interstate 395 (Virginia), Interstate 395 and Hayes Street. Its Metro lev ...

near Washington, D.C., in Arlington, Virginia. Currently, Virginia Beach's Lynnhaven Mall is the region's largest shopping center with nearly 180 stores, and is one of the region's biggest tourist draws, with the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens Williamsburg and MacArthur Center. For a long time, the indoor shopping malls were seen as largely competitive with small shopping centers and traditional downtown type areas. However, in the 1990s and since, the " big-box stores" on the Peninsula and Southside, such as Wal-mart, Home Depot, and Target have been creating a new competitive atmosphere for the shopping malls of Hampton Roads. Patrick Henry Mall sign, Hampton Roads, Virginia

Patrick Henry Mall sign, Hampton Roads, Virginia

Several older malls such as Pembroke and Military Circle have since their grand openings been renovated, and others have been closed and torn down. Newmarket North Mall is now

NetCenter Netcenter, located in the independent city of Hampton, Virginia, is a former shopping mall redeveloped beginning in 2000 and converted into a business center with supporting retail, personal services and food service amenities. It was the first ...

, a business center.

, in Hampton, has been redeveloped as

in a new style, in step with the latest commercial real estate trend: the nationwide establishment of " lifestyle centers". Additional malls which have closed include

Mercury Mall The Mercury Mall is an enclosed shopping centre in Romford town centre, in the London Borough of Havering, Greater London. It opened in June 1990 as Liberty 2. From 2006 to August 2010 it was owned by The Mall Fund and was known as The Mall Ro ...

in Hampton (converted to Mercury Plaza Shopping Center in the mid-1980s, then completely torn down in 2001), and

in Portsmouth (Built in the early 1970s, then torn down in 2001).

America's first region

In late 2006, the Hampton Roads Partnership, a non-profit organization representing 17 localities (ten cities, six counties, and one town), all local universities and major military commands as well as leading businesses in southeastern Virginia, commenced a campaign aimed at branding the land area of Hampton Roads as "America's First Region". The new title is based on events in 1607 when English Captain Christopher Newport's three ships – the '' Susan Constant'', ''

Godspeed Godspeed, a statement wishing someone a prosperous journey or success, may refer to: Literature * ''Godspeed'' (Sheffield novel), a 1993 science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield * ''Godspeed'', an unpublished novel by Will Christopher Baer * ...

'', and ''

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

'' landed at

along the Atlantic Coast in what is today Virginia Beach. After 18 days of exploring the area, the ships and their crews arrived at Jamestown Island where they established the first English speaking settlement to survive in the New World on May 14, 1607. Because the region's east–west boundaries (now the City of Virginia Beach and James City County) have not changed since 1607, the Partnership felt justified in labeling Hampton Roads "America's First Region". It unveiled the new brand before 800 people at the annual meeting of the

Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce (also known as Hampton Roads Chamber) is a business network comprising 2,500 businesses throughout the Hampton Roads region. The mission of the chamber of commerce is to "set the optimal conditions for busin ...

on December 13, 2006. A video shown that afternoon included endorsements from mayors and county board of supervisors chairs representing Hampton, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg and James City County as well as the Governor of Virginia,

Timothy Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgini ...

. The mission of Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance (HREDA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to business attraction—marketing the Hampton Roads region as the preferred location for business investment and expansion. HREDA represents the cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg and Franklin, as well as the counties of Gloucester, James City, Isle of Wight, York, and Southampton.

Transportation

Historically, from the earliest times, the harbor was the key to the Hampton Roads area's growth, both on land and in water-related activities and events. The harbor and its tributary waterways were (and still are) both important transportation conduits and obstacles to other land-based commerce and travel. Yet, the community leaders learned to overcome them. In modern times, the region has faced increasing transportation challenges as it has become largely urbanized, with additional traffic needs. In the 21st century, the conflicts between traffic on vital waterways and land-based travel continue to present the area's leaders with extraordinary transportation challenges, both for additional capacity, and as the existing infrastructure, much of it originally built with toll revenues, has aged without an adequate source of funding to repair or build replacements. The now-closed

Kings Highway Bridge Kings Highway Bridge was located on the Nansemond River in the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia, United States. Built in 1928, it carried traffic on the Kings Highway, also known as State Route 125, for over 75 years. The drawbridge wa ...

and the

Jordan Bridge The Jordan Bridge, officially named the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge, is a tolled highway fixed bridge which carries State Route 337 over the Southern Branch Elizabeth River between the City of Portsmouth into the City of Chesapeake in South ...

closed by neighboring

in 2008 were each built in the 1920s. These were considered locally prime examples of this situation. In 2007, the new

(HRTA) was formed under a controversial state law to levy various additional taxes to generate funding for major regional transportation projects, including a long-sought and costly additional crossing of the harbor of Hampton Roads (The Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel, and the James River Bridge are the existing crossings). As of March 2008, although its projects were considered to be needed, the agency's future was in some question while its controversial sources of funding were being reconsidered in light of a Virginia Supreme Court decision. TugboatNorfolkVA

Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, located in Newport News, and Norfolk International Airport, in Norfolk, both cater to passengers from Hampton Roads. The primary airport for the Virginia Peninsula is the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport. The Airport experienced a 4th year of record, double-digit growth through 2011, making it one of the fastest growing airports in the country. In 2012 however, the airport lost its biggest carrier and has seen massive declines in passenger service, culminating in layoffs of police officers and many other staff. Norfolk International Airport , serves the region. The airport is located near Chesapeake Bay, along the city limits of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Seven airlines provide nonstop services to twenty five destinations. ORF had 3,703,664 passengers take off or land at its facility and 68,778,934 pounds of cargo were processed through its facilities. The Hampton Roads Executive Airport (KPVG), located on US460/US58, is the state's 3rd busiest General Aviation airport and hosts the largest number of general aviation aircraft of any Virginia airport. The airport offers flight training, avionics services, as well as major and minor airframe and powerplant repairs. There is also a sit-down restaurant in the terminal. The Chesapeake Regional Airport (KCPK) provides similar general aviation services and is located in the city of Chesapeake. Additionally, many local general aviation pilots fly from the nearby Suffolk (KSFQ), Wakefield (KAKQ) and Franklin (KFKN) airports. Amtrak serves the region with Northeast Regional trains to its Norfolk,

and Newport News stations. The lines run west to

then north to Washington, D.C. and major cities north to Boston. Connecting buses are available between the Norfolk and Newport News stations and from both stations to Virginia Beach. A high-speed rail connection at Richmond to both the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

and the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor are also under study.

Intercity bus An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...

service is provided by

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...

(Carolina Trailways) with bus stations in Newport News, Hampton, and Norfolk. Transportation within Hampton Roads is served by a regional bus service, Hampton Roads Transit. Local routes serving Williamsburg, James City County, and upper York County is operated by

Williamsburg Area Transit Authority Williamsburg Area Transit Authority (WATA) is a multi-jurisdiction transportation agency providing transit bus and ADA Paratransit services in the City of Williamsburg, James City County, York County in the Historic Triangle area and Surry Co ...

. A light rail service known as The Tide was constructed in Norfolk. It began service in August 2011. Operated by Hampton Roads Transit, it is the first light rail service in the state. It is projected to have a daily ridership of between 7,130 and 11,400 passengers a day. There has also been a light rail study in the Hampton – Newport News areas. In the 2016 election, a referendum was on the ballot in Virginia Beach to kill the planned, and mainly state-funded extension of the Tide to the commercial center of Virginia Beach and ultimately to the oceanfront. The ballot initiative won, cancelling the project. The transit authority and the state were left with new light rail cars and major infrastructure for the extension to be disposed of. There are no further plans for light rail mass transit initiatives within Virginia Beach. I-64 sign, Hampton Roads

The Hampton Roads area has an extensive network of

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

s, including the Interstate 64, the major east–west route to and from the area, and its spurs and bypasses of I-264,

I-464 Interstate 464 (I-464) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Virginia. The highway runs from U.S. Route 17 (US 17) and State Route 168 (SR 168) in Chesapeake north to I-264 in Norfolk. I-464 connects two major ...

, I-564, and

I-664 Interstate 664 (I-664) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Virginia. The Interstate runs from Interstate 64 in Virginia, I-64 and Interstate 264 (Virginia), I-264 in Chesapeake, Virginia, Chesapeake north to I-64 in Hamp ...

. The Hampton Roads Beltway extends on a long loop through the region, crossing the harbor on two toll-free bridge–tunnel facilities. These crossings are the

between Phoebus in Hampton and Willoughby Spit in Norfolk and the

between Newport News and Suffolk. The Beltway connects with another Interstate highway and three arterial U.S. Highways at

Bower's Hill Bower's Hill is a community located in the independent city of Chesapeake, Virginia (formerly Norfolk County) in the United States. It is located in the South Hampton Roads region at the northeastern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp, an area consi ...

near the northeastern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp. Other major east–west routes are

U.S. Route 58 U.S. Route 58 (US 58) is an east–west U.S. Highway that runs for from U.S. Route 25E just northwest of Harrogate, Tennessee, to U.S. Route 60 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Until 1996, when the Cumberland Gap Tunnel opened, US 58 ran only ...

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as Pacific Avenue, in the ...

, and

U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 (US 460) is a spur route of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles (1,054 km) from Norfolk, Virginia, at its parent route U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky, intersecting its parent route once ...

. The major north–south routes are

U.S. Route 13 U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 (I-95) just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to US 1 in the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville. ...

and

U.S. Route 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, with ...

. There are also two other tunnels in the area, the Midtown Tunnel, and the Downtown Tunnel joining Portsmouth and Norfolk, as well as the -long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a toll facility which links the region with Virginia's

which carries US 13. The original Downtown Tunnel in conjunction with the Berkley Bridge were considered a single bridge and tunnel complex when completed in 1952, perhaps stimulating the innovative bridge-tunnel design using

man-made island An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those tha ...

s when the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel was planned, first opening in 1957. The

George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge The George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge (known locally as simply the Coleman Bridge) is a double swing bridge that spans the York River between Yorktown and Gloucester Point, in the United States state of Virginia. It connects the Peninsula and ...

is a major toll bridge connecting U.S. Highway 17 on the

at Yorktown with Virginia's Middle Peninsula region. Another major crossing of waterways is the James River Bridge, carrying US 17 US 258, and SR 32 from Newport News to Isle of Wight County. The region is notable in that it has 2 types of public transport services via ferries. A passenger ferry is operated on the Elizabeth River between downtown areas of Norfolk and Portsmouth by HRT. The Jamestown Ferry (also known as the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry) is an automobile ferry system on the

connecting Jamestown in

with Scotland in Surry County. It carries State Route 31. Operated by VDOT, it is the only 24-hour state-run ferry operation in Virginia and has over 90 employees. It operates four ferryboats, the ''Pocahontas'', the ''Williamsburg'', the ''Surry'', and the ''Virginia''. The facility is toll-free.

Demographics

According to the 2010 Census, the overall racial composition of Hampton Roads was as follows: * White or Caucasian: 59.6% * Black or African American: 31.3% * American Indian: 0.4% *

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

: 3.5% * Some other race: 1.7% *

Two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many culture ...

: 3.4% In addition, 5.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 57.2% of the population were of

non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...

background.

Culture

The area is most often associated with the larger

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. People who have grown up in the Hampton Roads area have a unique Tidewater accent which sounds different from a stereotypical Southern accent. Vowels have a longer pronunciation than in a regular southern accent.

Flag

In 1998, a flag representing the Hampton Roads region was adopted. The design of the flag was created by a contest. The winner, sixteen-year-old Andrew J. Wall of Frank W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach, raised the new regional flag for the first time on the mast of a ship moored in the harbor. As conceived by student Andrew Wall and embellished by the selection committee, his flag is highly symbolic: :The ring of sixteen white stars stands for the cities and counties that comprise the region of Hampton Roads. The blue upper panel refers to the sea and sky, recalling the first European settlers at Jamestown in 1607, the first battle between ironclad ships in 1862, the importance of shipbuilding and ship repair in the area, as well as maritime commerce, fishing, recreational boating, and the major military and government installations around the area's shores. Agriculture, the environment, tourism, industry, and a healthy quality of life are suggested by the lower panel of green. The wavy white central band with three crests suggests past, present, and future. The wave also recalls the surf and sand dunes of the area as seen from the sea. Water is the central theme. It touches all the components and binds them together.

Sites of interest

Parks and recreation

The

Norfolk Botanical Garden The Norfolk Botanical Garden (158 acres) is a botanical garden with arboretum located at 6700 Azalea Garden Road, Norfolk, Virginia. History The Norfolk Botanical Garden was founded through the collaboration between Norfolk City Manager Thoma ...

, opened in 1939, is a botanical garden and

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

located near the Norfolk International Airport. It is open year-round. The Virginia Zoological Park, opened in 1900, is a zoo with hundreds of animals on display, including the critically endangered Siberian tiger and threatened

white rhino The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum'') is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists ...

First Landing State Park First Landing State Park (formerly Seashore State Park) offers recreational opportunities at Cape Henry in the independent city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. As the first planned state park of Virginia, First Landing is listed on the National Re ...

and

False Cape State Park False Cape State Park is a state park located on the Currituck Banks Peninsula, a barrier spit between the Back Bay of the Currituck Sound and the Atlantic Ocean, within the city of Virginia Beach, adjacent to the state border with North Carol ...

are both located in coastal areas in Virginia Beach. Both offer camping facilities, cabins, and outdoor recreation activities in addition to nature and history tours. First Landing is the site of

while False Cape is located at the southeastern end of Virginia Beach.

Newport News Park Newport News Park, in Newport News, Virginia, is the largest park in the system of municipal parks maintained by the Newport News Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. At 8,065 acres (32.63 km²), it is one of largest city-run parks ...

is located in the northern part of the city of Newport News. The city's golf course also lies within the park along with camping and outdoor activities. There are over of trails in the Newport News Park complex. The park has a 5.3-mile (8.5-km) multi-use bike path. The park offers bicycle and helmet rental, and requires helmet use by children under 14. Newport News Park also offers an archery range, disc golf course, and an "aeromodel flying field" for remote-controlled aircraft, complete with a runway. The region also has amusement parks which attract tourists and locals alike. The Virginia Beach Oceanfront has

Atlantic Fun Park The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

(formerly called "Virginia Beach Amusement Park"). Virginia Beach also has

Ocean Breeze Waterpark The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the worl ...

, Shipwreck Golf, and

Motor World An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

which were formerly combined into one as "Ocean Breeze Fun Park". As separate parks, they provide miniature golf, go-karts, water slides, pools, climbing wall, paintball area, and kiddie rides. Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA are the major theme parks in Williamsburg.

Historic Triangle

The Historic Triangle is located on the Virginia Peninsula and includes the colonial communities of Jamestown,

, and Yorktown. The sites are linked by a scenic roadway, the National Park Service's Colonial Parkway. The Jamestown settlement in the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607, and was considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610. It followed several failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Jamestown served as the capital of the colony of Virginia for 83 years, from 1616 until 1699. Historic Jamestowne is the archaeological site on Jamestown Island and is a cooperative effort by Jamestown National Historic Site (part of Colonial National Historical Park) and Preservation Virginia. Jamestown Settlement, a living history interpretive site, is operated by the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation, a state agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Williamsburg was founded in 1632 as Middle Plantation, a fortified settlement on high ground between the

and York rivers. The city served as the capital of the

from 1699 to 1780 and was the center of political events in Virginia leading to the American Revolution. The College of William & Mary, established in 1693, is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and the only one of the nine colonial colleges located in the South; its alumni include three U.S. presidents as well as many other important figures in the nation's early history. The city's tourism-based economy is driven by Colonial Williamsburg, the restored Historic Area of the city. Modern Williamsburg is also a college town, inhabited in large part by William & Mary students and staff. Yorktown is one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. The town is most famous as the site of the siege and subsequent surrender of General Charles Cornwallis to General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

and the French Fleet during the American Revolutionary War on October 19, 1781. Although the war would last for another year, this British defeat at Yorktown effectively ended the war. Yorktown also figured prominently in the American Civil War (1861–1865), serving as a major port to supply both northern and southern towns, depending upon who held Yorktown at the time. It is the eastern terminus of the Colonial Parkway connecting these locations. Yorktown is also the eastern terminus of the TransAmerica Trail, a bicycle touring route created by the Adventure Cycling Association.

=Peninsula museums

= The Mariners' Museum, founded in 1930 by Archer and

Anna Huntington Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington (March 10, 1876 – October 4, 1973) was an American sculptor who was among New York City's most prominent sculptors in the early 20th century. At a time when very few women were successful artists, she had a thrivi ...

, is an institution dedicated to bringing maritime history to the world. It is currently home to the USS ''Monitor'' Center where 210 tons of artifacts recovered from the USS ''Monitor'' are held, including the gun turret. The museum also consists of a 550-acre park and

the Mariners' Lake The Mariners' Lake is a reservoir which was created as part of the natural park on the grounds of the Mariners' Museum and Park located in the independent city of Newport News in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia. The museum was f ...

, through which is the five-mile Noland Trail. The permanent collection at the museum totals about 32,000 objects, equally divided between works of art and three-dimensional objects. The Mariners' Museum Library and Archive, now located in the Trible Library at Christopher Newport University, consists of over 78,000 books, 800,000 photographs, films and negatives, and over one million archival pieces, making it the largest maritime library in the Western Hemisphere. The

Virginia War Museum The Virginia War Museum is located in Huntington Park on Warwick Blvd., Newport News, Virginia. The museum contains exhibits on American military history from 1775 to the present.Virginia War Museum. "Virginia War Museum" brochure, Winter 2007. ...

covers American military history. The museum's collection includes, weapons, vehicles, artifacts, uniforms and posters from various periods of American history. Highlights of the museum's collection include a section of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

and the outer wall from

Dachau Concentration Camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

. The

Virginia Living Museum The Virginia Living Museum is an open-air museum located in Newport News, Virginia that has many living exhibits of Virginia's indigenous species. The exhibits include aspects of an aquarium, science center, aviary, botanical preserve and plan ...

, first established in 1966, combines the elements of a native wildlife park, science museum, aquarium, botanical preserve, and planetarium. The exhibits are themed on the geographic regions of Virginia, from the Appalachian Mountains to the offshore waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and includes more than 245 different animal species. The

Peninsula Fine Arts Center The Peninsula Fine Arts Center (Pfac) is an art center located in Newport News, Virginia, and is associated with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It is located at 101 Museum Drive on the grounds of the park surrounding the Mariners' Museum and i ...

in Newport News contains a rotating gallery of art exhibits. The center also contains a Studio Art School of private and group instruction for all ages. It maintains a permanent "Hands on For Kids" gallery designed for children and families to interact in what the center describes as "a fun, educational environment that encourages participation with art materials and concepts." The

museum was established in 1868 in the heart of the historic Hampton University campus. The museum is the oldest African American museum in the United States and one of the oldest museums in the State of Virginia. It contains over 9,000 objects, including African American fine arts, traditional African, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Island, and Asian art. The Charles H. Taylor Arts Center is Hampton's public access arts center. It offers a series of changing visual art exhibitions as well as a quarterly schedule of classes, workshops and educational programs. The Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center in SE Newport News contains a community-based art gallery, as well as arts classrooms and the Ella Fitzgerald Theater. The Casemate Museum (where former

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

was imprisoned) is at Fort Monroe in the historic Phoebus area at Old Point Comfort in Hampton. NASA

is in Hampton, the original training ground for the Mercury Seven, Gemini, and Apollo Astronauts. Visitors are able to learn about the region's aviation history at the

Virginia Air and Space Center The Virginia Air and Space Science Center is a museum and educational facility in Hampton, Virginia that also serves as the visitors center for NASA's Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base. The museum also features an IMAX digit ...

in Hampton. Air Power Park is an outdoor on-site display of various aircraft and a space capsule. It is located on Mercury Boulevard at the intersection of LaSalle Blvd, near the AF Base. The Biblical Art Gallery at Ivy Farms Baptist Church is Virginia's largest collection of pre-1900s religious art.

=South Hampton Roads

= The

Chrysler Museum of Art The Chrysler Museum of Art is an art museum on the border between downtown and the Ghent district of Norfolk, Virginia. The museum was founded in 1933 as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1971, automotive heir, Walter P. Chrysler Jr. ...

, located in the

Ghent district The Ghent District is a historic neighborhood in Norfolk, Virginia. It comprises Ghent, West Ghent, and Ghent Square. Other portions of surrounding neighborhoods are often attributed to Ghent as an extension of its commerce including Chelsea, Nor ...

of Norfolk, is the region's foremost art museum and is considered by '' The New York Times'' to be the finest in the state. Of particular note is the extensive glass collection and American neoclassical marble sculptures.

Nauticus Nauticus is a maritime-themed science center and museum located on the downtown waterfront in Norfolk, Virginia, also known as the National Maritime Center. History Nauticus was incorporated under the National Maritime Center Authority in Febr ...

, the National Maritime Center, opened on the downtown waterfront in 1994. It features hands-on exhibits, interactive theaters, aquaria, digital high-definition films and an extensive variety of educational programs. Since 2000, Nauticus has been home to the battleship , one of the last battleships to be built in the United States. It served briefly in World War II and later in the Korean and Gulf Wars. The General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

Memorial, located in the 19th-century Norfolk court house and city hall in downtown, contains the tombs of the late General and his wife, a museum and a vast research library, personal belongings (including his famous corncob pipe) and a short film that chronicles the life of the famous General of the Army. Chesapeake Bay from airplane

Also in downtown Norfolk and inside Nauticus is the

Hampton Roads Naval Museum The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is one of ten Navy museums that are operated by the Naval History & Heritage Command. It celebrates the long history of the U.S. Navy in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia and is co-located with Nauticus in downt ...

, an official U.S. Navy museum that focuses on the 220 plus year history of the Navy within the region. The

Children's Museum of Virginia The Children's Museum of Virginia is the largest children's museum in the state of Virginia. It is located in Olde Town Portsmouth at 221 High Street. The museum has a planetarium and two floors of exhibits. Its antique toy and model train colle ...

in Portsmouth has one of the largest collection of model electric trains and other toys. The

in Portsmouth is one of the oldest shipyards and has the first

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

on display. The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (in Suffolk and Chesapeake) is accessed from

. The Suffolk-Nansemond Museum is in the restored

Seaboard Seaboard is a synonym for coastline. It can also refer to: * Seaboard, North Carolina, a small town in the United States * Seaboard, Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in the United States * Seaboard Corporation, an international a ...

and

passenger train station in

. The

Isle of Wight Museum An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

is in Smithfield. The Contemporary Art Center of Virginia located in Virginia Beach features the significant art of our time.

Music and venues

The Hampton Roads region has a thriving music scene, with a heavy concentration thereof in the Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Norfolk areas. Many clubs, venues, and festivals exist within the region, all playing host to a wide variety of musical styles. There are a few hundred bands that play routinely in the region, spanning multiple genres. There are also twenty to thirty musical acts based in the region that perform throughout Hampton Roads and its surrounding areas on a "full-time" basis. In addition, plenty of well known acts have come from the area. Some of the major rock/pop artists include Bruce Hornsby, Gary "U.S." Bonds, Juice Newton,

Mae Mae is an American rock band that formed in Norfolk, Virginia in 2001. The band's name is an acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience", based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at Old Dominion University. Histor ...

, Seven Mary Three, Gene Vincent, Keller Williams, and

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...

. Ella Fitzgerald is the most recognizable jazz musician from the area. Robert Cray and

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atl ...

are both prominent blues and R&B artists.

Tommy Newsom Thomas Penn Newsom (February 25, 1929 – April 28, 2007) was a saxophone player in the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', for which he later became assistant director. Newsom was frequently the band's substitute dir ...

is another famous jazz musician. Many prominent rap and hip hop artists come from the area including Chad Hugo,

Clipse Clipse, also known as The Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, chiefly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Mal ...

, Magoo,

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

Nicole Wray Nicole Monique Wray (born May 2, 1979), also known as Lady Wray, is an American singer and songwriter. Her 1998 debut single "Make It Hot" was certified gold. Early life Nicole Monique Wray was born on May 2, 1979, in Salinas, California, to ...

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

, Quan, Teddy Riley, and Timbaland. The region has a number of venues hosting live music and performances. Several of the larger (in order of maximum seating capacity) are: *

Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach, formerly known as GTE Virginia Beach Amphitheater, is a 20,000-seat outdoor concert venue, located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. History The amphitheater opened in 1996, with 7,500 seats, ...

in Virginia Beach (seating 20,000) * Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk (seating 13,800) *

Hampton Coliseum Hampton Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in Hampton, Virginia. Construction began on May 24, 1968. The venue held its first event on December 1, 1969, with the nearby College of William & Mary playing North Carolina State University in a colle ...

in Hampton (seating 13,800) * Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg (seating 10,175) *

Ted Constant Convocation Center Chartway Arena at the Ted Constant Convocation Center is a , multi-purpose arena in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, on the campus of Old Dominion University. It is operated by Spectra Venue Management. Chartway Arena is part of the University Vi ...

at Old Dominion University in Norfolk (seating 9,500) *

Portsmouth Pavilion The Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion (formerly the nTelos Pavilion and Union Bank & Trust Pavilion) is an outdoor amphitheater in Portsmouth, Virginia, United States. The venue produces and presents a broad spectrum of concerts and events connects ...

in Portsmouth (seating 7,500) * Le Palais Royal Theatre at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in James City County (seating 5,600) * Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News (seating 1,725 and 453 in 2 separate concert halls) * Lake Matoaka Amphitheatre at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg (seating 1,700) * The NorVa in Norfolk (standing 1,500) Dozens of much smaller commercial establishments offer live music and other entertainment such as comedy shows and mystery dinner-theater throughout the region.

Other notable Hampton Roads "firsts"

America's first free public schools, the Syms and Eaton free schools (later combined as

Syms-Eaton Academy The Syms-Eaton Academy was America's first free public school. Also known as Syms-Eaton Free School, the school was established in Hampton, Virginia, in 1634. It began as the Syms School, through the donation of of land and eight cows for "a free ...

), were established in Hampton in 1634 and 1659 respectively. The Syms-Eaton Academy was later renamed Hampton Academy and in 1852 became part of the public school system, thus Hampton High School lays claim to being the oldest public school in the United States. The trust fund created from the Syms and Eaton donations has remained intact since the 17th century and was incorporated into support for the Hampton public school system. In 1957, the

was the first bridge–tunnel complex in the world, to be followed by the area's much longer Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel in 1963. This was followed by the

in 1992.

Education

Hampton Roads' individual cities and counties administer their own K-12 education for their localities. In addition to public education, area residents have many private and religious school options. The area also has a number of higher education options for area residents. Some offer only associates and technical degrees and certificates, while others award advanced degrees, including doctorates. Some are publicly funded, but the region also has a number of private and for-profit colleges. Additionally, a number of universities have established satellite campuses in the region.

Higher education

Public universities: The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg was founded in 1693 and has served as the second oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Old Dominion University, founded as the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary in 1930, became an independent institution in 1962 and now offers degrees in 68 undergraduate and 95 (60 masters/35 doctoral) graduate degree programs. Norfolk's

Eastern Virginia Medical School Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) is a public medical school in Norfolk, Virginia. Founded by grassroots efforts in the Southeastern part of Virginia known as Hampton Roads, EVMS is not affiliated with an undergraduate institution and co ...

, founded as a community medical school by the surrounding jurisdictions in 1973, is noted for its research into reproductive medicine and is located in the region's major medical complex in the

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 a ...

is the largest majority black university in Virginia and offers degrees in a wide variety of liberal arts. Christopher Newport University serves as a public university and is located in Newport News. Private universities: Regent University, a private university founded by Christian evangelist, television host and leader Pat Robertson, has historically focused on graduate education but is attempting to establish an undergraduate program as well. Atlantic University, associated with the Edgar Cayce organization's

Association for Research and Enlightenment The Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.), also known as Edgar Cayce's A.R.E., is a non-profit organization founded in 1931 by clairvoyant Edgar Cayce to explore spirituality, holistic health, and other psychic topics, as well as pr ...

(ARE), offers instruction in New Age subjects and an M.A. in Transpersonal Studies. Virginia Wesleyan University is a small private liberal arts college on the border of Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

, a private

HBCU Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

university, has a long history serving Hampton. Universities with satellite campuses: Several universities based outside Hampton Roads offer a limited selection of classes in the area. Virginia Tech and University of Virginia have established a joint teaching center in Newport News. George Washington University and

Averett University , established = , type = Private university , endowment = $21.3 million (2019) , staff = , faculty = 270 , president = Tiffany M. Franks , principal = , rector = , chance ...

also maintain campuses there.

Troy State University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

, Florida International University, and Saint Leo University offer classes, primarily connected to one or more of the area's military bases. University consortia: The

National Institute of Aerospace The National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) is a non-profit research and graduate education institute headquartered in Hampton, Virginia, near NASA's Langley Research Center. NIA was formed in 2002 by a consortium of research universities. NIA perfo ...

(NIA) is a consortium of member universities: Georgia Tech,

North Carolina A&T North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...

, North Carolina State, Old Dominion University, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, the College of William and Mary, and Christopher Newport University. Their unique approach allows students pursuing M.S. and PhD degrees the opportunity to take classes from any member university taught at the institute. Technical education: Crimdell

Area residents also have options for training for technical professions. The Apprentice School was founded in 1919 and offers four/five-year programs in mechanical and technical fields associated with the shipbuilding industry. Graduates from the Apprentice School go on to work at the Newport News Shipbuilding. Technology-focused ECPI University has campuses in Virginia Beach and Newport News while ITT Technical Institute has a campus in Norfolk.

Bryant & Stratton College Bryant & Stratton College (BSC) is a private for-profit college with campuses in New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as an online campus. Founded in 1854, the college offers associate degree programs at all campuses and bachelor's ...

has campuses in

Virginia Beach Town Center Virginia Beach Town Center is a group of offices, hotels, stores, and restaurants in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Location The Virginia Beach Town Center is located in the Central Business District of Virginia Beach acro ...

and

. The Culinary Institute of Virginia is located in Norfolk.

The Art Institute of Virginia Beach The Art Institutes (AI) are a collection of private for-profit art schools in the United States. Since 2019, the schools have been owned by Education Principle Foundation (aka Colbeck Foundation), a non-profit that also owns South Univers ...

offers programs in the media arts, design and culinary arts fields. Two-year colleges: Three institutions in the Virginia Community College System offer affordable higher education options for area residents.

Tidewater Community College Tidewater Community College (TCC) is a public community college in South Hampton Roads, Virginia, with campuses in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach. It is part of the Virginia Community College System and is accredit ...

in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth,

Paul D. Camp Community College Paul D. Camp Community College (PDCCC) is a public community college in Franklin, Virginia. Founded in 1970, it is one of 23 schools in the Virginia Community College System. The college is named after a local advocate of education, who, along ...

in Suffolk, Franklin, and Smithfield, and

Virginia Peninsula Community College Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC) is a public community college with two campuses in Virginia, one in Hampton and the other in James City County. It also has two education centers The Southeast Higher Education Center in Newport News a ...

in Hampton and Williamsburg offer two-year degrees and specialized training programs.

Religious education

Bible training schools include Hampton University and Regent University, but also Canaan Theological College & Seminary, Bethel College and Victory Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Hampton, Tabernacle Baptist Bible College & Theological Seminary, Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Virginia Beach, Providence Bible College & Theological Seminary in Norfolk and the Hampton Roads campus of the John Leland Center for Theological Studies.

Media

Newspapers

Three daily newspapers serve Hampton Roads: '' The Virginian-Pilot'' in the Southside, the '' Daily Press'' on the Peninsula, and the six days a week ''

Suffolk News-Herald The ''Suffolk News-Herald'' is a newspaper serving Suffolk, Virginia, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North Ameri ...

'' that serves Suffolk and Franklin. Smaller publications include the Williamsburg-James City County area's twice-weekly '' Virginia Gazette'' (the state's oldest newspaper), the ''

New Journal and Guide The ''New Journal and Guide'' is a regional weekly newspaper based in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads area. The weekly focuses on local and national African-American news, sports, and issues and has been in circulation since 19 ...

'', and ''

Inside Business ''For the business newspaper based in the United States, see Inside Business (newspaper)'' ''Inside Business'' was an Australian television program broadcast on ABC1. Making its debut on 4 August 2002, it presented analysis of the financial worl ...

'', the area's only business newspaper. Newspapers serving the Hampton Roads area include: * '' Daily Press'' – Newport News * '' The Virginian-Pilot'' – Norfolk * ''

'' –

* ''

The Flat Hat ''The Flat Hat'' is the official student newspaper at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. It prints Tuesdays during the College's academic year. It began printing twice-weekly in 2007; since its inception in 1911, ''The Fl ...

'' – student newspaper of the College of William & Mary * ''

'' – Norfolk (business news) * ''The

'' – Norfolk * ''

Tidewater News ''Tidewater News'' is a newspaper based in Franklin, Virginia covering Franklin, Southampton County and Isle of Wight County Isle of Wight County is a county located in the Hampton Roads region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It was named afte ...

'' –

* '' The Virginia Gazette'' –

Magazines

''Coastal Virginia Magazine'' is one of the region's city and lifestyle magazine. The publication is published eight times a year and covers all of Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore of Virginia. ''Coastal Virginia Magazine'' was formerly known as ''Hampton Roads Magazine''. ''Hampton Roads Times'' serves as an online magazine for the region. ''Suffolk Living Magazine'' is another of the region's city and lifestyle magazines. The publication is published four times a year and covers the City of Suffolk. Suffolk Publications also produces Virginia-Carolina Boomers, a regional guide for Boomers in the area, which comes out twice a year.

Television

The Hampton Roads designated market area (DMA) is the 42nd largest in the U.S. with 712,790 homes (0.64% of the total U.S.).Holmes, Gary.
Nielsen Reports 1.1% increase in U.S. Television Households for the 2006–2007 Season
." Nielsen Media Research. September 23, 2006. Retrieved on September 28, 2007. The major network television affiliates are

WTKR-TV WTKR (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by E. W. Scripps Company alongside Portsmouth-licensed CW affiliate WGNT (channel 27). ...

3 ( CBS),

WAVY WAVY-TV (channel 10) is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Virginia Beach–licensed Fox affiliate WVBT (chann ...

10 ( NBC), WVEC-TV 13 (

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

), WGNT 27 ( CW),

WTVZ WTVZ-TV (channel 33) is a television station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains studios on Clearfield Avenue in Vi ...

33 ( MyNetworkTV), WVBT 43 (

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

), and WPXV 49 ( Ion Television). WHRO-TV 15 serves as the region's primary member station of the

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

(PBS); WUND 2 – an Edenton, North Carolina-based satellite of PBS North Carolina, a state network of PBS member stations owned by the University of North Carolina – serves as a secondary PBS outlet for the area. Area residents also can receive independent stations, such as WSKY broadcasting on channel 4 from the Outer Banks of North Carolina,

WGBS-LD WGBS-LD, virtual channel 7 ( VHF digital channel 12), is a low-powered Retro TV- affiliated television station licensed to Carrollton, Virginia, United States and serving the Greater Hampton Roads area. The station is owned by Joan Wright. Di ...

broadcasting on channel 11 from Hampton, and WTPC 21, a TBN affiliate out of Virginia Beach. Cable television service in most Hampton Roads localities is provided by

Cox Communications Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...

. Suffolk, Franklin, Isle of Wight, and Southampton are served by Charter Communications. Verizon FiOS service is currently available in parts of the region and continues to expand, offering a non-satellite alternative to Cox. DirecTV and

Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...

are also popular as an alternative to cable television.

Radio

Norfolk is served by a variety of radio stations on the FM and AM dials, with towers located around the Hampton Roads area. These cater to many different interests, including news, talk radio, and sports, as well as an eclectic mix of musical interests.

Sports

The

Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC Combined Statistical Area Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic O ...

is the largest statistical area in the United States without a professional sports franchise in one of the five major North American sports leagues (

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

, MLB,

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, MLS).

Team sports

Norfolk serves as home to two professional franchises, the Norfolk Tides of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

and the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL. The Tides play at Harbor Park, seating 12,067 and opened in 1993. The Admirals play at Norfolk Scope Arena, seating 8,725 or 13,800 festival seating, which opened in 1971. Hampton Roads was formerly home to the

ABA ABA may refer to: Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, United States * Asahi Broadcasting Aomori, Japanese television station * Australian Broadcasting Authority Education * Académie des Beaux- ...

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

, alternating between Norfolk and Hampton, as well as Richmond and Roanoke. The Squires folded in 1976, after the league merged with the

Lionsbridge FC Lionsbridge Football Club, or Lionsbridge FC, is an American soccer club based on the Virginia Peninsula, which comprises the cities of Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson, and York and James City counties. The club was founded in 2017, and play in ...

competes in USL League Two, the top pre-professional men's soccer league in North America. The club began play in 2018 and was named USL League Two Franchise of the Year in 2019. They play home games on the campus of Christopher Newport University. The Peninsula Pilots play in the Coastal Plain League, a summer baseball league. The Pilots play in Hampton at

War Memorial Stadium War Memorial Stadium may refer to: * Ada War Memorial Stadium, in Ada, Ohio, also known as ''War Memorial Stadium'' * War Memorial Stadium (Arkansas), Little Rock, Arkansas * War Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas) (former official name 1924–1947), ...

seating 5,125 and opened in 1948. On the collegiate level, four Division I programs—two on the Southside and two on the Peninsula—field teams in many sports, including football, basketball, and baseball; three currently play football in the second-tier FCS, while ODU recently moved up to the FBS football. The Southside boasts the Old Dominion Monarchs and the Norfolk State Spartans, both in Norfolk, while the Peninsula features the William & Mary Tribe in Williamsburg and Hampton Pirates in Hampton. W&M is a member of the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

. Norfolk State and Hampton, both historically black institutions, compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. ODU joined

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

, an FBS football conference, as a full FBS member in 2015. The area also has two Division III programs, one in each subregion—the

Virginia Wesleyan Marlins The Virginia Wesleyan Marlins sports teams are known as the Marlins. The university plays in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. Men's sports include bas ...

on the border of Virginia Beach and Norfolk, and the Christopher Newport University Captains in Newport News. The Captains sponsor fourteen sports and currently compete in the

USA South Athletic Conference The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member schools are located in North Carolina and Virginia. H ...

, but will move to the

Capital Athletic Conference The Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C; officially stylized as Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference), formerly named Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member i ...

in July 2013. Virginia Beach serves as home to one soccer team, the

Hampton Roads Piranhas Hampton Roads Piranhas was an American women's soccer team, founded in 1995. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Atlantic Divisio ...

, a women's team in the W-League, as the Virginia Beach Piranhas dissolved in 2014. The Piranhas play at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The Virginia Beach Sportsplex, seating 11,541 and opened in 1999, contains the central training site for the U.S. women's national field hockey team. The Sportsplex was expanded to accommodate the Virginia Destroyers, a franchise in the United Football League which relocated from Orlando. The Destroyers played in Virginia Beach from 2011 to 2012, and won the 2011 league championship. The

North American Sand Soccer Championships North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

, a

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand. Whilst football has been played informally on beaches, the introduction of ''beach soccer'' was an a ...

tournament, is held annually on the beach in Virginia Beach. The

Norfolk Nighthawks The Norfolk Nighthawks are a now-defunct charter member of the AF2. They played their home games at The Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. After a very impressive inaugural season, the Nighthawks never made it back to the playoffs and ...

were a charter member of the Arena Football League's minor league,

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

. They ceased operations in 2003 after their fourth season. Also, the Virginia Beach Mariners of soccer's USL First Division were active from 1994 until 2006. Hampton Roads is from the nearest major sports teams in Washington, D.C. and Raleigh, North Carolina. Another significant issue with the area as a sports market is internal transportation. The metropolitan area is split into two distinct

parts Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Armi Pärt (born 1991), Estonian handballer * Arvo Pärt (born 1935), Estonian classical composer *Brian Part (born 1962), American child actor *Dealtry Charles Part (1882–1961), sheriff (1926–1927) a ...

by its eponymous harbor; as of 2012, the harbor has only three widely separated road crossings (the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, and James River Bridge), each with two lanes of traffic in each direction. In addition, the area has two other major tunnels, plus several drawbridges on key highway corridors. Hampton Roads previously hosted a successful franchise in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

, although it was never a full-time home for that team. Its highest-ranking teams as of 2015 are the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL, the Norfolk Tides of the IL, and

of USL League Two. Virginia is also the most populous state without a major league team playing within its borders, though its northern reaches are served by the Washington clubs — two of which, the NHL's

Capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

and NFL's Washington Commanders, have their operational headquarters and practice facilities in Virginia. Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder, through a separate company, owns two radio stations, WXTG and WXTG-FM, in the Norfolk market. The Hampton Roads television market is ranked

42nd 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

in the U.S. There have been several failed projects to attract major league teams to Hampton Roads: * In 1997, Norfolk presented a proposal to bring an expansion hockey team to Hampton Roads, but that initiative failed. The team was going to be called the

Hampton Roads Rhinos The Hampton Roads Rhinos were a potential National Hockey League expansion team that was to begin play in the late-1990s in Norfolk, Virginia. The franchise would have been under the ownership of George Shinn and play in a proposed $142 million a ...

. * In 2002, Norfolk presented a proposal to bring the Charlotte Hornets basketball team to southeastern Virginia, but New Orleans won the bid for the team, renaming it the New Orleans Hornets. * In 2004, Norfolk presented a proposal to bring the Montreal Expos baseball team to the metro area, but Washington, D.C. won the bid for the team, renaming it the Washington Nationals. * In 2012, there were talks of the Sacramento Kings of the NBA moving to a proposed new arena in Virginia Beach near the Oceanfront.

Individual sports

The

, seating 10,761 to 13,800 festival seating, hosts the annual Virginia Duals wrestling events, and the annual Hampton Jazz Festival. The arena opened in 1970 and has previously hosted

basketball along with

and

preseason exhibition games. Virginia Beach is home to the

East Coast Surfing Championships The East Coast Surfing Championships (ECSC) is an annual surfing contest held in Virginia Beach, Virginia on the oceanfront, and is one of the United States Surfing Federation’s major amateur events. The ECSC stretches over a four-day period ever ...

, an annual contest of more than 100 of the world's top professional surfers and an estimated 400 amateur surfers. This is North America's oldest surfing contest, and features combined cash prizes of $40,000. Langley Speedway in Hampton, seating 6,500, hosts stock car races every weekend during spring, summer, and early fall. The Kingsmill Championship, an event on the LPGA Tour, is contested annually on Mother's Day weekend at Kingsmill Resort near Williamsburg. In 1998, 2001, 2006, 2010, and 2015 the

Hampton Roads Sports Commission Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales * Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

hosted the AAU Junior Olympics.

Professional wrestling

Hampton Roads has hosted many professional wrestling events throughout the years. The Norfolk Scope has served as the site of these events, including Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's

Destination X Destination X is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event held by Impact Wrestling currently in the month of August. The event primarily revolves around the X-Division, the 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010 events had Ultimate X matches. It w ...

, World Championship Wrestling's

Starrcade (1988) Starrcade '88: True Gritt was the sixth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner. It was the first Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), ...

World War 3 1995 World War 3 (1995) was the inaugural World War 3 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on November 26, 1995, from the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia. Seven match ...

and

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, and WWF/WWE's The Great American Bash (2004) and the 2011

Slammy Awards The Slammy Awards is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers and other individuals within WWE, such as commentators and managers. Introduced in 1986, there have been 13 edi ...

. Norfolk Scope was also the site of an infamous episode of WCW Monday Nitro, where several members of the World Wrestling Federation stable D-Generation X literally drove a tank to the entryway of the Scope, thus "invading" the competition. The Hampton Coliseum has also hosted many events, including ''

RAW Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'', in April 1998, August 2005, May 2007, January 2008, and July 2011, as well as ''

SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

'' and for '' ECW on Sci Fi'' in December 2006. In January 2008, WWE broadcast its first television show taped in

high definition High definition or HD may refer to: Visual technologies *HD DVD, discontinued optical disc format *HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format *HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tape * HiDef, 24 frames-pe ...

from Hampton, Virginia. The Hampton Roads area is also home to at least one professional wrestling promotion,

Vanguard Championship Wrestling The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

, which holds events throughout the region, and has a weekly television show on the local Fox affiliate.

References

Sources

External links

Hampton Roads Planning District Commission

Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization

Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission

Hampton Roads Chamber

Hampton Roads Sports Commission

Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance

Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance

Hampton Roads Sanitation District

Hampton Roads Housing Consortium

Norfolk City Historical Society
contains essays

– Norfolk Public Library

{{Authority control Bodies of water of Virginia James River (Virginia) Ports and harbors of Virginia Regions of Virginia Roadsteads Northeast megalopolis

Etymology

Definitions

Counties and independent cities

In Virginia

In North Carolina

Evolution of Hampton Roads

Combined Statistical Area

Geography

History

17th–19th centuries

20th century

Colonial Williamsburg

Government

U.S. Military

Economy

Federal impact

Commercial growth

America's first region

Transportation

Demographics

Culture

Flag

Sites of interest

Parks and recreation

Historic Triangle

=Peninsula museums

=South Hampton Roads

Music and venues

Other notable Hampton Roads "firsts"

Education

Higher education

Religious education

Media

Newspapers

Magazines

Television

Radio

Sports

Team sports

Individual sports

Professional wrestling

See also

References

Sources

External links