Our annual Twilight Tour returns on Friday, August 8 from 4pm to 8pm. One ticket gets you into twelve historic sites which will be open after hours with special tours and exhibitions.

For this special event, the Wentworth-Gardner house will be illuminated by candlelight to show off the home’s exquisite 18th century woodwork. Experience high-style Georgian architecture the way it was intended to be seen!

Participating sites:

• Albacore Park, 569 Submarine Way
  National Historic Landmark site home to the experimental submarine, USS Albacore (AGSS-569).  The park features a museum, gift shop, and memorial garden, and self-guided tours through the submarine.

• Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, 222 Court Street: Visit the small exhibition "Honoring Ona Judge Staines," which features images, objects, and interpretive panels exploring her life and legacy. Learn about the Trail’s process for designing a new commemorative mural and ongoing efforts to fund its installation.

• The Gundalow Company, Prescott Park on Water Street:
  Experience a river cruise aboard an 1880s Gundalow reproduction and learn about the region’s maritime heritage. With a Twilight Tour ticket, book any regular Harbor or Sunset Sail on the Gundalow in Portsmouth, NH for $10 off regular admission. (not open on 8/8; ticket used for discount for another scheduled date)

• Historic New England’s Governor John Langdon House, 143 Pleasant Street:
  Explore the home and learn about the revolutionary spirit and patriotic actions of John Langdon, a three-term governor of New Hampshire, a Revolutionary leader, and a signer of the United States Constitution.

• Historic New England’s Rundlet-May House, 364 Middle Street:
  Tour the first floor and explore the revolutionary technologies and sumptuous decor of the Rundlet-May family’s showhouse.

• Historic New England’s Jackson House, 76 Northwest Street:
  Explore the oldest surviving English timber frame home in New Hampshire and learn how the site inspired a groundbreaking historic preservation philosophy.

• Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden, 154 Market Street:
  Visit this Georgian mansion built in 1763 by the Moffatt family, which later became home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence and two signers of the 1779 Petition of Freedom.

• Portsmouth Historical Society’s John Paul Jones House, 43 Middle Street:
  Tour the John Paul Jones House to explore the crucial decisions American colonists faced regarding liberty, independence, and democracy, with Revolutionary-era artifacts, including those related to Washington, Lafayette, George III, and John Paul Jones, on display.

• Strawbery Banke Museum’s William Pitt Tavern, 14 Hancock Street:
  Explore the William Pitt Tavern, the colonial tavern built in 1766 by John Stavers, which was a key stop for the Flying Stage Coach between Portsmouth and Boston, and a gathering place for both Patriots and Loyalists. (Pitt Tavern is only SB building open on 8/8)

• Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion, 375 Little Harbor Road:
  Discover this mid-eighteenth-century home of Royal Governor Benning Wentworth, where Wentworth’s widow entertained George Washington for tea in 1789.

• Wentworth-Gardner House, 50 Mechanic Street:
  Visit what is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture and the former home of the influential Wentworth Family.

• The Warner House, 150 Daniel Street:
  Explore the first floor, where tours will highlight the Loyalist side of the American Revolution, offering insights into what Jonathan Warner, a member of the Royal Council, thought about the unrest in Portsmouth in the years leading up to the Revolution.

Please note this is a self-guided walking tour. Visitors may plan their own route and are responsible for their own transportation.

Each Twilight Tour ticket is valid for one admission to the participating sites on the night of the Twilight Tour. Tickets are valid for the balance of the 2025 season for admission to most of the sites if visitors are unable to tour the night of the event. ​Each site reserves the right to determine their own discount.  Please check with each site for details. Proceeds benefit the member sites of the Portsmouth Historic Sites Associates.

To purchase tickets go to portsmouthhistoric.org/events!