Settled more for its economic potential than for any religious freedom it might have provided, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has been a vibrant commercial city for much of its history. Ideally located at the mouth of the resource-rich Piscataqua River and about midway between the bigger Boston and Portland, it takes a back seat to no New England city-especially today when the city buzzes with renewed economic life, a younger generation is discovering its hip pleasures, and cultural life, from galleries to restaurants, attracts thousands of visitors a week. In the apt words of Laura Pope, Portsmouth is "the resilient river city by the sea."

Photographer Nancy Horton has captured the beauty and the funky, gritty liveliness of today's Portsmouth in this latest addition to our "New England Landmarks" series. It's all here, from the salt piles by along the river (highlighted by a glorious setting sun) to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (which, despite its name and association with the city, is actually in Maine). Daily life circulates around historic Market Square; costumed reenactors delight at Strawbery Banke; an impressive array of Georgian homes stand tall on residential streets; Horton even offers a wonderful photo of Portsmouth's own beloved poet Robert Dunn alongside one of his poems.A city of merchants, a little cosmopolis of poets and artists, Portsmouth is truly one of New England's treasures.