Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
Italy • 9 days, 8 nights
Flavors of Italy: Roman Carbonara, Florentine Steak & Venetian Cocktails
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The exterior of the Hall of Records.
Atlas Obscura Mailbag: Urban Exploration, Illegal Carvings, and Repeat Vacations
1 day ago
Biosphere 2 campus (2016)
Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
2 days ago
Places like Forest Grove linger on the edge of wilderness and civilization.
Listening for Echoes of the Forest Grove Sound
2 days ago
Longwood House, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final years.
The Longwood House: Napoleon Bonaparte’s Beautiful Prison
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Virginia Norfolk Mary Hardy MacArthur Memorial

Mary Hardy MacArthur Memorial

The childhood home of the famous general's mother is now a small, walled garden.

Norfolk, Virginia

Added By
John Evans
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  evansjm / Atlas Obscura User
  evansjm / Atlas Obscura User
  evansjm / Atlas Obscura User
  sdjohnsonnt / Atlas Obscura User
  sdjohnsonnt / Atlas Obscura User
Memorial marker   blimpcaptain / Atlas Obscura User
  evansjm / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The mother of General Douglas MacArthur, who commanded American forces in the Pacific during World War II, grew up in a Virginian estate called Riveredge. After it fell into disrepair, it was turned into a memorial built from brick from the once-elegant home.

Mary Pickney Hardy was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and became Mary Pickney MacArthur when she married Arthur MacArthur Jr. at Riveredge. As MacArthur Jr. had fought for the Union in the Civil War, it caused a stir in the Southern town, and two of Hardy's brothers are said to have not attended. Since his father was a military man who lived where he was ordered to, young MacArthur did not grow up in Norfolk, but he remained attached to the city (he once interrupted a speaker at a public event to say that "It was intended that I should be born in Norfolk") and spoke at a dedication ceremony for the Mary Hardy MacArthur Memorial in 1951.

Today, the park and memorial is in need of repair, and remains obscure even as Norfolk is the site of the MacArthur Memorial that hosts the general's papers and gravesite. It's a curious landmark within the historic Berkeley neighborhood.

Related Tags

History Memorials Gardens World War Ii Plants Military

Community Contributors

Added By

evansjm

Edited By

blimpcaptain, sdjohnsonnt

  • blimpcaptain
  • sdjohnsonnt

Published

September 4, 2020

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.macarthurmemorial.org/214/MacArthurs-Family-Roots
  • https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-01-NK85
  • https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/122-0824_Berkley_North_HD_2000_Final_Nomination.pdf
Mary Hardy MacArthur Memorial
226 South Main Street
Norfolk, Virginia
United States
36.837241, -76.281103
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Cannonball in Saint Paul's Episcopal Church

Norfolk, Virginia

miles away

Lightship Portsmouth Museum

Portsmouth, Virginia

miles away

Hog Island Lighthouse First Order Fresnel Lens

Portsmouth, Virginia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Norfolk

Norfolk

Virginia

Places 8

Nearby Places

Cannonball in Saint Paul's Episcopal Church

Norfolk, Virginia

miles away

Lightship Portsmouth Museum

Portsmouth, Virginia

miles away

Hog Island Lighthouse First Order Fresnel Lens

Portsmouth, Virginia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Norfolk

Norfolk

Virginia

Places 8

Related Places

  • Corporal Chas Ippel on the right, died on July 26, 1863.

    Arlington, Virginia

    Headstone-Eating Trees

    The rogue roots are gradually consuming some of the historic marble grave markers.

  • Japanese lake with stone lantern. (Wikimedia Commons)

    Cowra, Australia

    Japanese War Cemetery and Garden

    Final resting place for hundreds of prisoners of war.

  • Mahatma Gandhi (Fredda Brilliant, 1968).

    London, England

    Peace Garden at Tavistock Square

    A quiet, semi-secret square with statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Virginia Woolf, and a conscientious objectors stone.

  • Tea-house view.

    Pasadena, California

    Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden

    A rare surviving example of a pre-WWII Japanese garden, restored after years of neglect.

  • Singapore in use, pulling a passenger train.

    Rutland, England

    The Singapore

    A locomotive that was captured as a prisoner of war is now recognized as a WWII memorial.

  • The Frederick Law Olmsted designed Emerald Necklace at The Fenway Victory Gardens.

    Boston, Massachusetts

    Fenway Victory Gardens

    One of the last remaining World War II Victory Gardens in the U.S. is quietly growing across from Fenway Park.

  • The Isaac Knight Memorial in Evansville.

    Evansville, Indiana

    Isaac Knight Memorial

    A tribute to a 13-year-old boy who was kidnapped in 1793 and escaped over two years later.

  • The building where Otto Weidt made brushes and hid Jews

    Berlin, Germany

    Otto Weidt's Workshop for the Blind

    A brush maker used his factory to protect blind Jews from the Gestapo.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.