Hampton Roads is overflowing with historic gems. Following are a few off-site options that reflect the past.
- Mariners’ Museum (757.596.2222; www.mariner.org) in Newport News is the largest maritime museum in North America. The facility includes the USS Monitor Center, which was completed in 2007. The ship was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the U.S. Navy. The ship fought its first battle against the Confederate ironclad ship, the CSS Virginia, in the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862.
- The Attucks Theatre (757.622.4763; www.attuckstheatre.org) in Norfolk got its name from Crispus Attucks, an African American man who was the first American patriot to lose his life in the Boston Massacre in 1770. The facility has unique spaces for meetings, banquets and receptions.
- Visitors can learn about explorer John Smith, Blackbeard the pirate and America’s first astronauts (Hampton is the founding site of NASA, after all) at the Hampton History Museum (757.727.1610; www.hampton.va.us). Its Great Hall Meeting Room accommodates 150.
- Norfolk’s Hermitage Museum & Gardens (757.423.2052; www.hermitagefoundation.org) is an early 20th century historic house and museum that also includes formal gardens, wetlands and views of the Lafayette River.
- Fort Story Officers’ Club (757.425.6631) is a U.S. Army base and historic site in Virginia Beach. Beach parties, luncheons and meetings can be held in this unusual setting that incorporates Cape Henry Landing, where the first settlers touched shore. The James Room handles 50, while the Squire Room accommodates more than 200. The Colonial Room hosts up to 150 people.
