Built in the era of tall ships and horse-drawn carriages, Norfolk’s nineteenth-century neighborhoods surround Downtown. These neighborhoods feature narrow, often cobbled streets, brick sidewalks, and shallow front yards. A step or two up into the front yard helps to define the front yard as a public-private space just outside of the public right-of-way, while broad, stately porches welcome visitors. Neighborhood building patterns, landscaping and streetscaping work together to create comfortable, intimate neighborhoods