Norfolk is an independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Norfolk had a population of 238,005, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, and the 94th-largest city in the nation. Norfolk holds a strategic position as the historical, urban, financial, and cultural center of the Hampton Roads region, which has more than 1.8 million inhabitants and is the 37th-largest metropolitan area in the US, with ten cities.
Roanoke is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located in Southwest Virginia along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains, approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of the Virginia–North Carolina border and 250 miles (400 km) southwest of Washington, D.C., along Interstate 81. At the 2020 census, Roanoke's population was 100,011, making it the largest city in Virginia west of the state capital Richmond. It is the principal municipality of the Roanoke metropolitan area, which had a 2020 population of 315,251.
Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is the 9th-most populous city in Virginia and is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
Princeton, is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 5,872 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bluefield micropolitan area. The city hosts the Princeton WhistlePigs baseball club of the Appalachian League.
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The company operates 19,420 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia, and has rights in Canada over the Albany to Montréal route of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City. Norfolk Southern Railway is the leading subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Corporation.
The Crescent is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak in the eastern United States. It operates over a 1,377 miles (2,216 km) route between Pennsylvania Station in New York City and Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans as train numbers 19 and 20. Major service stops outside the Northeast Corridor include Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; and Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Southern Railway was a class 1 railroad based in the Southern United States between 1894 and 1982, when it merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) to form the Norfolk Southern Railway. The railroad was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894.
The Roanoke Shops is a railroad workshop and maintenance facility in Roanoke, Virginia. Between 1884 and 1953, the shops produced 447 steam locomotives, all for the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). The Roanoke Shops build the N&W's famous Big Three class steam locomotives; the 4-8-4 class J, the 2-6-6-4 class A, and the 2-8-8-2 class Y6. In late 1953, the Shops built their final steam locomotive, making it last standard gauge steam locomotive built for revenue service in the United States. In 2020, N&W's successor, Norfolk Southern abandoned the Shops and Genesis Rail Services acquired the property in July 2023.
The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constructed to join the Macon and Western Railroad at Macon, Georgia, in the United States, and run to Savannah. This created a rail link from Chattanooga, on the Tennessee River, to seaports on the Atlantic Ocean. It took from 1837 to 1843 to build the railroad from Savannah to the eastern bank of the Ocmulgee River at Macon; a bridge into the city was not built until 1851.
Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts, it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, state, and federal government facilities; Georgia State University; sporting venues; and most of Atlanta's tourist attractions. It measures approximately four square miles, and had 26.850 residents as of 2017. Similar to other central business districts in the United States, it has recently undergone a transformation that includes the construction of new condos and lofts, renovation of historic buildings, and arrival of new residents and businesses.
Citizens and Southern National Bank (C&S) began as a Georgia institution that expanded into South Carolina, Florida and into other states via mergers. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia; it was the largest bank in the Southeast for much of the 20th century. C&S merged with Sovran Bank in 1990 to form C&S/Sovran in hopes of fending off a hostile takeover attempt by NCNB Corporation. Only a year later, however, C&S/Sovran merged with NCNB to form NationsBank, which forms the core of today's Bank of America.
The Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) is a museum devoted to the topic of transportation located in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, US.
Sovran Bank was a US-based regional bank that operated in Virginia between 1983 and 1990, and was the leading subsidiary of Sovran Financial Corporation. It was itself a product of a merger between First & Merchants Bank of Richmond and Virginia National Bankshares of Norfolk, both of which could trace back their history to the 1860s. In 1990, it was merged with Citizens & Southern National Bank to form C&S/Sovran Corp., which in turn merged with NCNB to form NationsBank which became Bank of America in 1998.
Since Norfolk serves as the commercial and cultural center for the geographical region of Hampton Roads, it can be difficult to separate the economic characteristics of Norfolk, from that of the region as a whole. The waterways which almost completely surround the Hampton Roads region also play an important part in the local economy. As a strategic location at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, its protected deep water channels serve as major arteries for the import and export of goods from across the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, and international destinations, as well as being the location of the world's largest naval base.
Downtown is the central business district of Roanoke, Virginia, United States. Located geographically at the center of the city, Downtown began its development with the completion of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad in 1882. Today the Downtown core is noted as the center of business for the Roanoke Valley and Southwest Virginia, the Roanoke City Market, the Roanoke Downtown Historic District and many other attractions and amenities.
Dominion Tower is one of the distinctive and recognizable features of Downtown Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Once the tallest building in the Hampton Roads metro area, it is now the tallest building in the City of Norfolk, having been surpassed by the mid-2000s construction of the Armada Hoffler Tower and Westin Virginia Beach Town Center tower in neighboring Virginia Beach. The 26 story tower was named after the state of Virginia's nickname: "The Old Dominion". The tower's completion and opening took place in 1987. Today, various corporations have offices in the building.
Icon Norfolk in Downtown Norfolk, Virginia, United States, was the tallest building in Virginia from 1967-1971, when it was surpassed in height by Richmond City Hall. Constructed as a bank building, it was converted in the late 2010s to apartments and given its current name.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Norfolk, Virginia, United States.
The United Order of Tents is an organization for African-American churchwomen founded in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1867 by Annetta M. Lane and Harriet R. Taylor. There are chapters across the United States. It is a secret society, with parts of membership and organizing only shared with members. It is the oldest benefit society for black women in the United States. At its height, national membership reached approximately 50,000 women.
TowneBank is a bank headquartered in Suffolk, Virginia with 44 branches in Virginia and North Carolina. They have owned the naming rights to TowneBank Stadium and TowneBank Tower at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium since 2019.
