Norfolk Features

Norfolk is a major military center. With Portsmouth (directly across the Elizabeth River, housing the Norfolk Naval Shipyard), it forms an extensive naval complex. The headquarters of the 5th Naval District, the Atlantic Fleet, the 2nd Fleet, and the Allied Command Transformation are at Sewell's Point. The Norfolk Navy Base is the largest naval base in the United States and includes a naval air station and other facilities. Several vessels of the Navy have been named USS Norfolk after the city. The battleship USS Wisconsin is berthed at the Nauticus National Maritime Center.

General Douglas MacArthur is buried in the city; there is a small museum for him, and a major shopping mall across the street from his burial site is named for him. The city is home to Old Dominion University, Eastern Virginia Medical School, and Norfolk State University (fifth largest black university in America); Virginia Wesleyan College, a private liberal arts college, lies within Norfolk City limits. The city's public school system comprises 5 high schools, 8 middle schools, 34 elementary schools, and 9 special-purpose/preschools. In 1996 Granby High School became the only school in Norfolk to offer the International Baccalaureate Program curriculum to incoming freshmen. Norfolk Public Schools recently received a 2005 National Academic Award for having one of the most outstanding public school systems in the nation. Norfolk Academy, founded in 1728, is the city's oldest private school.

Norfolk Southern Corporation, a Fortune 500 company and fourth largest railroad line in America has its headquarters in downtown Norfolk. The international headquarters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are located on the city's waterfront just to the west of downtown.

Waterside is a popular festival marketplace attraction. Other tourist destinations include the Virginia Zoo, the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Norfolk Botanical Garden, Nauticus, and the Ghent historic district.