Seacoast

Living in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Historic port city on the Piscataqua River with a compact, walkable downtown.

Portsmouth overview

Portsmouth is a coastal city on the Piscataqua River in Rockingham County, settled in 1623 and incorporated as a city in 1849. Its downtown is one of the most intact historic commercial districts in northern New England, with brick blocks, wharves and colonial-era residential streets within walking distance of one another.

The city functions as the commercial center of the New Hampshire Seacoast, with a working port, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard across the river in Kittery, Maine, and the Pease International Tradeport occupying the former Air Force base on the city's western edge.

Homes and housing

Housing stock includes Georgian, Federal and Colonial Revival properties in the South End and Christian Shore, nineteenth-century multifamily buildings, mid-century construction toward the outer neighborhoods, and downtown condominium inventory.

Neighborhoods

Recognized areas include the South End, the West End, Atlantic Heights, Christian Shore, Elwyn Park and the Islington Creek area.

Lifestyle and recreation

Prescott Park, Strawbery Banke Museum, the Music Hall, the working waterfront and a dense concentration of independent restaurants and retail define daily life in the downtown core.