Becoming Portsmouth

At midcentury, two federal urban renewal projects in the gritty, blue-collar navy town of Portsmouth decimated two neighborhoods. But in the 1970s and '80s--thanks to an influx of artisans, chefs and entrepreneurs--the Port City emerged as a beacon of arts, culinary excellence and preservation. Iconoclast Jay Smith opened the Press Room, the celebrated music club. A group of concerned citizens saved the Music Hall, the last of Portsmouth's vaudeville theaters. And a Dutch family opened the Euro-