The News from Newport News
As soon as you enter Hampton Roads, the city begins to reveal itself. It’s sprawling, muscular and—from the water, at least—somewhat forbidding: a commercial fishing basin, a giant shipyard, an open-air coal pier, a fleet of reserve ships aging on the waterfront. Somewhere—ahh, there—between gray behemoths, are a few downtown office buildings, a narrow park and the barely visible top of a victory arch.
But don’t be put off. Newport News does have accessible marinas, a few lovely spots for dropping anchor, inviting beaches, a vibrant fishing industry, a gorgeous performing arts center and one of the world’s finest maritime museums. And it’s all reachable by water, with a little extra effort—okay, maybe a lot.
There’s history here, as deep as the water just off the shoreline, and it begins with a name. It may well be, as some