What kind of story are you writing? I would love to get a copy of it, if you don't mind, when you are finished. My father is from there and I still have a lot of family in Portsmouth and surrounding areas. I usually make it there five or six times a year, I spent many Labor Days as a kid at the River Days Festival. They all speak very fondly of Portsmouth but are saddened by its decline the past few decades. I would love for the city to have a rebirth of sorts in the future...
Well, I'd rather not say too much about my story, but I will say it takes place during the Civil War. And yeah, I can tell Portsmouth has alot of decay, it is sad, because I can tell it must have been thriving earlier on. But maybe there is hope for it yet. ^_^