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The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Twelve hundred copies of ^Tije Colonial
^tdjttertureof Salem, of which eleven hundred
and seventy are for sale, have been printed
from type and the type distributed.
This copy is Number--l!i_c_U-
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive
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IVIicrosoft Corporation
littp://www.arcliive.org/details/colonialarcliitecOOcousiala
Plate I. — Andrew-SafFord Entrance Porch, 13 Washington Square.
Erected 181 8.
The Colonial
Architecture of Salem
By
Frank Cousins and Phil M. Riley
Illustrated
\\^CiHAU
g^^^S
Boston
Little^ Brown, and Company
IQIQ
Copyright, zgig.
By Little, Brown, and Company.
All rights reserved
Art
Library
(YA
755
Foreword
MUCH has been written about the fine old
architecture of Salem. The most noted
residences and other edifices have often provided
subject material for magazine articles and chapters
in volumes devoted to historic homes and Colonial
furnishings; writers have described their rambles
about the quaint and handsome streets ; anti-
quaries have expatiated on the beautiful wood-carv-
ing, ironwork, brasses, furniture and wall papers ;
architects have exalted the exquisite detail and fine
proportions of the doorways and mantels, and hailed
Salem as among the greatest storehouses of Ameri-
can antiquities ; and the publications of the Essex
Institute and other historical and genealogical
societies have compiled and presented much inter-
esting data regarding important persons, places
and things. This miscellany of subjects has been
treated at random, however, and is widely scattered
through so many forms of literature as to constitute a
voluminous and ill-assorted library in itself.
But Salem architecture is such an important and
many-sided subject as to deserve more ambitious
[v]
A
Foreword
and unified treatment, yet strangely enough no
attempt has ever been made to gather and present
in a single volume in chronological sequence and
logical classification, from the viewpoint of the
home-builder and the architect, the whole array
of Colonial architecture in Salem from its settle-
ment in 1626 to the cessation of Colonial develop-
ment in 18 1 8, exactly a century ago, and the advent
of Greek revival influence shortly afterward.
The hearty welcome and extensive sale accorded
"The Wood-Carver of Salem" in 1916, devoted
as it was to the work of only one man in a single
period between the years 1782 and 181 1, has led
the authors to undertake this larger task and to
present the results of their collaboration in a com-
panion volume. It is believed that the wider scope
and broader appeal of the present book will meet
a still greater demand that has long existed, for
its predecessor merely scratched the surface of
Salem building lore.
In terms of the so-called Colonial style, our
national building heritage, Salem is the architec-
tural center of New England, and to New Eng-
land and Virginia we instinctively accord the high-
est places in our regard as the principal fountains
of American culture and development. But the
architecture of Virginia implies the great estate;
it is neither for the town nor the person of moderate
means. Thus in Salem oftener than elsewhere do
[vi]
Foreword
leading architects and intelligent home-builders find
inspiration for modern adaptation. Indeed, this
fascinating city has become a synonym for the best
in Colonial architecture, especially doorways and
chimney pieces. Variety and the opportunity for
comparison render Salem architecture unique and
especially valuable in that it embraces four dissimilar
types developed in as many distinct periods.
First came the primitive, small, gable-roof cabin
or cottage, and almost simultaneously the larger
peaked-roof or many-gabled houses patterned after
English Elizabethan prototypes. Soon, however,
the growing custom of enlarging gable-roof houses
with a lean-to addition along one side produced
a new and distinctive mass and picturesque contour
of roof line which was prevalent about the time of
the witchcraft delusion of 1692. Early in the
eighteenth century came the gambrel-roof type,
adapted from the French of Mansard, but with
characteristics, in most Salem instances as else-
where throughout New England, so unlike similar
structures about New York and in the South as to
impart decided local color. Following the Revolu-
tion, Salem architecture reached the pinnacle of
its development in the square three-story house.
Until about 18 10 most square houses were of wood,
but thereafter brick construction increased and in
18 18, after which year the architectural decadence
began to manifest itself, brick houses prevailed.
[vii]
Foreword
The fourth period therefore consists of two divisions
so cleariy marked by the difference in constructive
materials as almost to be designated as separate
periods. In none of these four periods do Salem
houses aspire to the manorial splendor of the South,
but each house type frankly interprets the refine-
ment, the domestic spirit and simple dignity of
the people, both in the prosperous period of brick
construction and the earlier days when the meager
comforts of the wooden cottage sufficed.
Strictly speaking, the first two periods constitute
the only truly Colonial houses in Salem, but the
custom everywhere is to place in the Colonial cate-
gory all buildings with Renaissance detail up to
the beginning of the so-called Greek revival. This
is logical and proper, inasmuch as the structures
erected immediately preceding and following the
Revolution represent direct developments of their
simpler predecessors and hence are very closely
related to them. Such a broad interpretation of
the meaning of the word Colonial seems especially
appropriate with regard to Salem architecture because
it did not attain the full measure of its development
until after the Revolution.
The word Provincial has been suggested as a
more accurate substitute for Colonial, the argu-
ment being that little worthy of serious architectural
consideration to-day was erected in America before
the Provincial period in our history. On this basis
[ viii ]
Foreword
those splendid houses built during the first three or
four decades of our national life might well be called
Federal. But the word matters far less than its
meaning, provided the latter be well understood.
The term Colonial has long since received the stamp
of popular approval and become a familiar byword,
while the architecture it designates, very largely
because of its very comprehensiveness and varied
local color, expresses our national spirit as nearly
as we have been able to give it expression. Indeed,
it is so inseparably associated with our glorious
history, and so inexhaustible in its possibilities for
modem adaptation, that there appears to be no
prospect that it will be supplanted as the American
national style.
So great is the wealth of subject material in
Salem that much of genuine merit has of necessity
been omitted from these pages. Exigencies of
space obliged the choice to be restricted to the
best and most typical examples in each period, first
preference being given to architectural excellence
and second to historic interest. No attempt has
been made to tell the complete story of Salem archi-
tecture ; the aim has been rather to tell the story of
Colonial architecture in Salem. The work covers
the four periods from 1628 to 1818, aggregating 190
years, and this explains the omission of several
prominent public buildings not of Colonial char-
acter and erected since the latter date. The omission
[ix]
J
Foreword
of a few well-known Colonial houses in what is
commonly understood to be the Greater Salem of
to-day, such as the Page Tavern in Danvers, for
example, is accounted for by the fact that several
adjacent communities, once parts of Salem, were
not parts of that town at the time the houses in
question were erected, Marblehead being set oif
in 1648, Beverly in 1668, Danvers in 1752, while
Peabody was set oflF from Danvers in 1855.
Mr. Cousins, in gathering and preparing the
illustrations, and Mr. Riley, in writing the text,
owe much to the generous assistance of Mr. John
Robinson, of the Peabody Museum, who offered
many helpful suggestions and furnished much of
the historical data.
Frank Cousins and Phil M. Riley.
April i, 1919
[x]
Contents
Foreword
I. The Gable and Peaked-roof House
II. The Lean-to House ....
III. The Gambrel-roof House
IV. The Square Three-story Wood House
V. The Square Three-jstory Brick House
VI. Doorways and Porches .
VII. Windows and Window Frames
VIII. Interior Wood Finish
IX. Halls and Stairways
X. Mantels and Chimney Pieces
XI. Public Buildings
XII. Salem Architecture To-day
Index
PAGE
V
I
i8
34
59
85
105
131
143
167
184
211
236
259
[:^i]
List of Plates
I. Andrew Safford Entrance Porch, 13 Washing-
ton Square Frontispiece
PAGE
II. Sarah Prince Osburn House, Danvers; Re-
tire Becket House 4
III. Deliverance Parkman House. From an Old
Sketch in the Essex Institute; Governor
Bradstreet Mansion. From a Painting at
the Essex Institute 5
IV. The House of the Seven Gables .... 10
V. Parlor of the House of the Seven Gables,
showing Buffet; Stairway of the House
of the Seven Gables II
VI. Philip English House ; Lewis Hunt House . . 14
VII. The Pickering House; Rebecca Nurse
House • • 15
VIII. Rea-Putnam-Fowler House, Danvers; Maria
Goodhue House, Danvers . . . . 18
IX. John Ward House 19
X. The Old Bakery; Detail of Old Bakery
Overhang 22
XI. The Narbonne House; Rear of the Nar-
bonne House 23
[ xiii ]
List of Plates
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.
XXII.
XXIII.
XXIV.
XXV.
XXVI.
Front Room of the Narbonne House; Man-
tel and China Closet, Narbonne
House
George Jacobs House, Danversport; Judge
Samuel Holten House, Danvers
Isaac Goodale House, Peabody; John Wal
cott House, Danvers
John Waters House ; Wheatland House
Babbidge House ; Jeffrey Lang House
Senator Benjamin Goodhue House; Clark-
Morgan House
Diman House ; The Witch House
General Israel Putnam's Birthplace,
vers ; Thomas Ruck House
Dan
Nathaniel Hawthorne's Birthplace; Haw-
thorne's Home from 1828 to 1832
Eighteenth Century Addition to the Put-
nam House; the Room in which
General Israel Putnam was Born
26
27
30
31
32
33
38
39
44
45
Lindall-Barnard-Andrews House ; Derby-
Ward House 50
Garden of the Ropes' Memorial ; Ropes'
Memorial
Richard Derby House; Gambrel Gable
and Chimneys, Richard Derby House
51
54
Cabot-Endicott-Low House; Lindall-Gibbs-
Osgood House 55
Benjamin Pickman Mansion as it Looked
Prior to 1850; "The Lindens",
Danvers .
[xiv]
58
List of Plates
XXVII. Pickman-Derby-Brookhouse Estate; The
Stearns House
XXVIII. Hosmer-Townsend-Waters House and
Boardman House; Simon Forrester
House
XXIX. Captain Edward Allen House; Briggs-
Whipple House ...
XXX. Aaron Waite House; George M
Whipple House
XXXI. Timothy Orne House; Peabody-Ran-
toul House ....
XXXII. Cook-Oliver House; Crowninshield
Devereux-Waters House
XXXIII. Birthplace of General Frederick W
Lander; Home of Samuel Mcln-
tire
59
62
63
66
67
70
71
XXXIV. The House where Hawthorne achieved
Fame, 14 Mall Street; Paved
Courtyard between Pierce-Johon-
not-Nichols House and Barn . . 76
XXXV. Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols House; One-
story Wingj Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols House 77
XXXVI. The "Grimshawe" House; Haw-
thorne's Residence in 1846 and
1847 82
XXXVII. Gardner-White-Pingree House; Dodge-
Shreve House 83
XXXVIII. The "Studio"; , Mansfield-Bolles
House 86
XXXIX. Peabody-Silsbee House; Hodges-Peele-
West House . . . . • 87
[xv]
List of Plates
PAGE
XL. Baldwin-Lyman House; Pickman-Shreve-
Little House 90
XLL Andrew-Safford House; Loring-Emmer-
ton House 91
XLIL Mack and Stone Houses; Silsbee-Mott
House 96
XLHL Hoffman-Simpson House; AUen-Osgood-
Huntington Houses .... 97
XLIV. Chestnut Street Showing Philip Little
Doorway; Gardner and Thompson
Houses loo
XLV. Weir House Doorway; Thomas Poynton
Doorway lOl
XLVL Meek House Doorway; Pickman-Shreve-
Little Side Entrance .... 104
XLVH. Inclosed Porch at 23 Summer Street;
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols Doorway and
Gateposts 105
XLVHL Boardman House Inclosed Porch; Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols Inclosed Porch . . 108
XLIX. Stearns House Doorway; Whipple House
Inclosed Porch 109
L. Entrance Porch, Home for Aged Women;
Cook-Oliver Entrance Porch . . . 112
LI. Entrance Porch of the Kimball House;
Peabody-Silsbee Entrance Porch . .113
LII. Salem Club Entrance Porch; Veranda of
the Saltonstall-Tuckerman House . .116
LIII. Ropes' Memorial Doorway and Gateposts ;
Double Entrance Porch, 38 and 40
Chestnut Street 117
[xvi ]
List of Plates
LIV. Baldwin-Lyman Entrance Porch; Pick-
man-Shreve-Little Entrance Porch . 120
LV. Dodge-Shreve Inclosed Porch; Barstow-
West Elliptical Entrance Porch . .121
LVI. Gardner-White-Pingree Elliptical En-
trance Porch; Tucker-Rice Elliptical
Entrance Porch 124
LVII. BoUes House Doorway; Abbot House
Doorway 125
LVHI. Lindall-Barnard-Andrews Doorway and
Gateposts ; Richard Derby Door-
way 128
LIX. Nathan C. Osgood Window; Witch
House Window 129
LX. Architectural Relics at the Essex In-
stitute. Casement Sash from Buffum
House; Diamond Sash of Later
Origin, with Bull's-eye Lights; Win-
dow Head from the Elias Hasket
Derby Mansion . • . . .132
LXI. Stephen W. Phillips Window; Narbonne
House Window . . . . -133
LXII. Hoffman-Simpson Window . . . .136
LXIII. Richard Derby Window; Thompson
House Window 137
LXIV. Charles Sanders Window Head; Pickman-
Shreve-Little Window Head; Pea-
body-Silsbee Window Head; Dodge-
Shreve Window Head . . . .140
LXV. Cook-Oliver Window; Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols Window 14^
[ xvii ]
List of Plates
LXVI.
LXVII.
LXVIII.
LXIX.
LXX.
LXXI.
LXXII.
LXXIII.
LXXIV.
LXXV.
A Chamber in the Cook-Oliver House;
Paneled Wall, Parlor at "The Lin-
dens ", Danvers 142
Doorway in the Second Floor Hall, An-
drew-Safford House; China Closet,
Captain Edward Allen House . . 143
Paneled Wall, Richard Derby House;
Embrasured Windows and Seats of
the Same Room ..... 146
Wainscot and Surbase, Derby-Crownin-
shield-Rogers House; Dado, Sur-
base, and Skirting, Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols House 147
East Front Chamber, Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols House; Plaster Cornice
and Frieze, Derby-Crowninshield-
Rogers House 150
West or Georgian Parlor, Pierce-Jo-
honnot-Nichols House ; Embra-
sured Windows and Seats of the
Same Room ...... 151
Mantel and Side of Room, Putnam-
Hanson House; Mantel and Side of
Room, Pitman House .... 154
Dining Room, Cook-Oliver House; Pri-
vate Dining Room, Salem Club
ISS
Doorway in the Crowninshield-Dev-
ereux-Waters House; Doorway in
the Cook-Oliver House, Taken from
the Elias Hasket Derby House . 158
East or Adam Parlor, Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols House ; Embrasured ; ■ Win-
dows of the Same Room ....
[ xviii ]
159
List of Plates
LXXVI.
LXXVII.
LXXVIII.
LXXIX.
LXXX.
LXXXI.
LXXXII.
LXXXIII.
LXXXIV.
LXXXV.
LXXXVI.
Detail of Doorway, Adam Parlor,
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols House .
Georgian Embrasured Window-Detail ;
Adam Embrasured Window Detail,
Showing Shutters, > Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols House
Plaster Centerpiece, Ceiling of the An-
drew-Safford Parlor; Third Floor
Chamber, Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
House ......
Doorway in the Parlor of the Andrew-
Safford House; Doorway in the
Home for Aged Women
Stairway in the Samuel Mclntire
House; Stairway in the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols Side Hall
Stairway in the Hosmer-Townsend-
Waters House; Newel and Balus-
trade, Simon Forrester Stairway .
Stairway in the
Allen House
Captain Edward
"Winder" in the David P. Waters
House; "Winder" in the Derby-
Crowninshield-Rogers House
Hall and Stairway, Lindall-Barnard-
Andrews House; Stairway in the
Cook-Oliver House ....
Hall and Stairway, "The Lindens";
Stairway Detail, "The Lin-
dens"
Palladian Window,
Nichols House ;
dow, "The Lindens'
[ xix]
Pierce-Johonnot-
Palladian Win-
162
163
164
i6s
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
List of Plates
LXXXVII.
LXXXVIII.
LXXXIX.
xc.
XCI.
XCII.
XCIII.
XCIV.
xcv.
XCVI.
Hall and Stairway, Cabot-Endicott-
Low House; Stair Ends and
Landing, . Cabot-End icott-Low
House 173
Hand-carved Newel, Rear Hall, "The
Lindens"; Corkscrew Spiral
Newel, Richard Derby House . . 176
Pickman-Derby-Brookhouse Hall and
Stairway; Stairway in the Bab-
bldge - Crowninshield - Bowker
House 177
Stairway in the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
House ; Chippendale Balustrade,
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols House . 178
Inside of Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols Front
Door; Inside of Richard Derby
Front Door 179
Elliptical Arched Doorway in the Salem
Club ; Elliptical Arches, Hall of the
Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers House . 182
Hall and Stairway in the Hoffman-Simp-
son House ; Hall and Stairway of the
Salem Club 183
Detail of Chimney Piece, West Parlor,
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols House ;
Corner Section of the Same . . 186
Chamber Mantel, "The Lindens"; Man-
tel in the Captain Edward Allen
House 187
Adam Chimney Piece, East Parlor, Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols House ; Dining
Room Chimney Piece, "The Lin-
dens ", Danvers .... 188
[xx]
List of Plates
XCVII. East Front Chamber Mantel, Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols House; Corner Section of the
Same ....... 189
XCVIII. Corner Section of Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
Chimney Piece ; Corner Section of Cook-
Oliver Mantel 192
XCIX. Fireplace in a Third Floor Chamber, Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols House; Mantel in a
Chamber of the Cook-Oliver House . 193
C. Mantel Detail, Hamilton Hall ; Chamber
Mantel Details, Derby-Crowninshield-
Rogers House
CI. Mantel in a Chamber of the Cook-Oliver
House; Mantel in the West Chamber,
Peabody-Silsbee House ....
CH. Detail of Mantel in the Kimball House
CHI. Northwest Parlor Mantel, Hosmer-Town-
send-Waters House; Mantel from the
Old Registry of Deeds Building
CIV. Parlor Mantel, Home for Aged Women;
Front Parlor Mantel, Woman's Friend
Society • 204
CV. Mantel in the Crowninshield-Devereux-
Waters House; Parlor Mantel, Lindall-
Barnard-Andrews House
CVI. Parlor Mantel and Scenic Wall Paper, Cook-
Oliver House
CVII. Fireplace in the Crowninshield-Devereux-
Waters House; Mantel in the David P.
Waters Reception Room
CVIII. Woman's Friend Society; Tucker-Rice
House, now the Father Mathew
Society
[ xxi ]
196
197
200
201
205
208
209
212
Liist of Plates
CIX. Bertram Home for Aged Men; Mack In-
dustrial School 213
ex. The Assembly Hall 216
CXI. Home for Aged Women; Former Salem
Cadet Armory 217
CXII. The Old Courthouse of 1785; Interior of
Washington Hall 220
CXIII. Hamilton Hall; Fireplaces, Vaulted and
Groined Ceiling, Hamilton Hall . .221
CXIV. The Old South Church . . . .226
CXV. The Market House ; The Salem Club . . 227
CXVI. Elias Hasket Derby Mansion; Salem
Custom House 232
CXVII. Old Latin Grammar and English High
School; Detail of the Same . .233
CXVIII. George A. Morrill House; Home of Mrs.
L. E. Noyes 236
CXIX. Doorway Detail, George A. Morrill
House; Doorway Detail, T. Irving
Fenno House ..... 237
CXX. Residence of Henry M. Bachelder; Semi-
detached House of S. W. Phillips . . 240
CXXI. Doorway Detail, Francis A. Seaman
House; Doorway Detail, B. Parker
Babbidge House 241
CXXII. Residence of Francis A. Seaman; Resi-
dence of B. Parker Babbidge , . 244
CXXIII. George W. Fuller Doorway; Alan Bouve
Doorway 245
CXXIV. Lancelot Gibson House; Residence of
George L. Hooper .... 250
[ xxii ]
List of Plates
PAOB
CXXV. Peabody Building; Doorway Detail,
Salem News Office, Peabody Build-
ing .. . 251
I
^ CXXVI. Salem Masonic Temple .... 254
CXXVII. The Salem Athenaeum; Salem Police
Station 255
[ xxiii ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
CHAPTER I
THE GABLE AND PEAKED-ROOF HOUSE
IN Salem, as in most other early settled com-
munities of America, some at least of the first
houses were probably log cabins ; simple, gable-
roof structures a single story or at most a story and
a half in height. According to tradition the first
dwelling erected on the soil of old Naumkeag by
the "planters" under the Sheffield patent in 1626
was for their leader, Roger Conant, but its character
is not recorded. Little is definitely known about
the pioneer architecture of those days, but its primi-
tive character rendered it virtually without interest
to the architect or prospective home-builder of the
present time.
Such rustic makeshifts were of short duration,
however. When Governor John Endecott arrived
in 1628, as the representative of the Dorchester
Company, he brought with him skilled men of all
trades, and the work of the builders among them
continued along the general lines of their previous
[I]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
training. It was inevitable that aggressive men of
the resolution necessary to venture the dangers and
hardships of the new world should soon aspire to
replace former comforts in the freer atmosphere of
their new surroundings. Being home-loving British
people who had emigrated for no lack of love for
their native land, but merely to wring a livelihood
from New England lands and waters unmolested
by the obnoxious acts of the king, it was natural
that their early architecture should have been
patterned after that of the mother country, for in
England more than in any other land have the ideals
of what a home and home life implies been realized.
And such was indeed the case, though the transla-
tion to wood, the most plentiful and easily obtain-
able building material, so altered characteristic
appearance as almost to conceal the origin and vir-
tually to create new house types. We are thus
reminded that as early as the sixteenth century wood
ceased to be a building material of moderate cost
in England. The more pretentious manor houses,
churches and public buildings were being erected
of quarried stone ; Flemish brickwork had influenced
the last phase of Gothic in England, and most or-
dinary buildings were still of half-timber work filled
in between with rubble masonry or plaster on oak
laths.
Salem began its architectural history during the
transition period in England from Early to Classic
[2l
The Gable and Peaked- Roof House
Renaissance, so that two influences were almost
simultaneous in American building. That one really-
preceded the other, however, and was of short dura-
tion seems to be proved conclusively by the scarcity
of examples extant as compared with the abundance
of houses of every later type. The first Salem houses
of note, therefore, were patterned after the Eliza-
bethan and Jacobean types developed during the
periods 1558-1603 and 1603-1625, when some of
the Tudor characteristics of Perpendicular, the
last phase of English Gothic, were combined with
classic orders and ornament considerably modified
and subordinately used. The English classic, or
so-called Georgian, was adopted a few years after-
ward, and, as will appear in later chapters, took
unto itself American characteristics no less distinctive
than those adapted from earlier sources.
Thus the transplanting of the rambling Eliza-
bethan dwelling and its construction entirely of
wood gave us the little less picturesque many-
gabled houses of Salem which have been immor-
talized by Nathaniel Hawthorne in "The House of
the Seven Gables." Many, probably most of these
quaint houses were not originally built in their final
condition, but like their British prototypes repre-
sented the result of successive additions to meet
the needs of growing families and other require-
ments. The beginning was usually a simple gable-
roof structure, such as the Robert Prince farmhouse
[3]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
in Danvers, and the Becket cottage In Salem proper,
from which wings and second-story gables were thrown
out as occasion demanded.
Aside from their historic associations these two
houses are in several respects of unique architectural
interest. Their roofs may never have been covered
with thatch, yet the pitch is sufficiently steep to have
made thatch shed water. Although both houses
were built during the period when thatch was much
used in Salem, many contemporary shingled roofs
perpetuated the thatch tradition through equal
steepness of pitch. It is a matter of record, however,
that until 1660 most Salem dwellings were mere
cottages having roofs of thatch, cut on the Beverly
shore of the harbor, and catted wooden chimneys
composed of sticks with ends laid over one another
at right angles and plastered with clay. Fires were
the inevitable sequence of the employment of such
combustible materials, and in 163 1 Governor Dudley
wrote the following regarding the formal fire order :
"For the prevention whereof in our new towne,
intended this somer to bee builded, wee haue ordered
that noe man there shall build his chimney with
wood, nor cover his house with thatch, which was
readily assented vnto, for that diverse other howses
haue beene burned since our arrivall (the fire allwaies
begininge in the woodden chimneys) and some wig-
wams, which haue taken fire in the roofs covered
with thatch or boughs."
[4]
Plate II. — Sarah Prince Osburn House, Danvers. Erected about
1656 ; Retire Becket House, 5 Becket Street.
Erected soon after 1655.
Plate III. — Deliverance Parkman House. From an Old Sketch in
the Essex Institute ; Governor Bradstreet Mansion.
From a Painting at the Essex Institute.
The Gable and Peaked-Roof House
This scare soon passed, and on December 20, 1636,
the governor's order was revoked at the instance of
the townspeople. However, it had served in a meas-
ure to curb the tendency of the time and to encourage
more substantial building, despite the fact that the
use of thatch continued for half a century, especially
for outbuildings. On the better houses, erected after
1660, shingles were used as a roof covering, and
occasionally tiles, which were made in Salem as early
as 1629. Bricks began to be used for the chimneys,
and sometimes were also laid upon their narrow sides
between the timbers and joists, plastered with clay
inside and out, and covered externally with clap-
boards, at first more accurately termed clayboards,
since their mission was to protect the clay from being
washed away by heavy rains.
The Danvers farmhouse previously referred to was
built by Robert Prince about 1656, on what is now
Maple Street, about one mile northwest of Danvers
Square. As seen at the left, the house formerly had
an overhang, but in the course of subsequent repairs
this has been nearly obliterated.
After Prince's death his widow, Sarah, continued to
live in it, and later married Alexander Osburn. Os-
burn came from Ireland and was one of the so-called
Redemptioners ; that is, one who procured his pas-
sage to America by selling his services for a stipulated
time. It appears that Sarah Prince bought Osburn's
time of the man he was serving, hired him to work on
[5]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
her own farm, and eventually married him. In
1692, bedridden and of unbalanced mind, Sarah
Prince Osburn was one of the three original victims
of the witchcraft delusion, and died in Boston jail
while awaiting trial. The house remained in the
possession of the descendants of Robert Prince until
the opening of the nineteenth century, and is now
the farmhouse attached to St. John's Normal College,
a Catholic institution.
The house at Number 11 Becket Street appeals
strongly to the imagination as having been for six
generations the home of the Beckets, a family of
shipwrights who played an important part in the up-
building of Salem's merchant marine. Among the
famous vessels built by Retire Becket, the foremost
designer of the family, and who occupied the house
for many years, were the merchant ships Active,
Recovery, Margaret, Mount Vernon, and the fourth
America, the latter being converted into a privateer
in 1812 ; the brigantine Becket and Cleopatra's Barge,
Captain George Crownlnshield's pleasure yacht.
Architecturally this house interests the student not
only because of its steep-pitched roof, suggestive of
thatch, but because of the overhang of the second
story, a frequent characteristic of Salem's seven-
teenth-century dwellings. This jutting of the upper
story of early Colonial houses a foot or two beyond
the lower has sometimes been said to have provided
gun apertures, after the manner of a blockhouse, for
[6]
The Gable and Peaked-Roof House
fighting hostile Indians. It is improbable, however,
that this construction was ever so used in Salem, for
the Indians of the locality were friendly. The idea
is of much earlier origin, and as it was characteristic
of the Elizabethan house, its manifestations in
America, like the many steep-pitched shingled roofs,
were for the most part mere persistence of British
traditions. The overhang of some of the fifteenth
and sixteenth century houses of England is said to
have been sufficient to provide shelter from the rain
before the introduction of umbrellas ; but this was
probably incidental to the more essential protection
they afforded against the disintegration of the custom-
ary plastered walls of the time. Thus developed
the characteristic penthouse roof at the second-floor
level of the ledge-stone houses of Germantown and
eastern Pennsylvania the walls of which at first were
laid up in clay.
Lime for making more permanent mortar was far
from plentiful for many years after America was first
settled. For a time the rooms were plastered with
clay mixed with straw, and no attempt was made to
conceal the hewn beams of the ceiling. Later, in
more expensive houses, a lime made of shells was used
and mixed with cattle hair, sand and chalk. We
read that one of the commissions of Thomas Graves,
who came to Salem in 1629, consisted in "fynding out
sorts of lime stone and materials for building." In
1663, referring to the builders of Salem, John Josselyn
[7l
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
wrote of the absence of stone that would "run to
lime, of which they have great want." Not many
years later, however, an abundant supply was found
in Pennsylvania, and supplies were brought to Salem
by ship, not only for plastering but for whitewashing
the plastered walls occasionally, as was the custom
until the advent of wall papers about the middle of
the eighteenth century or later. However, the fact
that in 1724 it was "ordered that muscles shall not
be used for making lime or any thing else, except for
food and bait to catch fish" indicates that shell lime
was still in use at the time.
According to the records, in April, 1655, John
Becket, a shipwright and the head of the family,
bought of Samuel Archer, a Salem carpenter, "one
dwelling house and three acres of land behind it, be
it more or less, for the sum of sixteen pounds." The
dwelling referred to may not have been the present
Becket house, but that the latter was erected about
this time or a few years later is indicated by its
seventeenth-century character. A complete model
of the house, made by Daniel C. Becket, Retire
Becket's nephew, now reposes in the Essex Institute,
and indicates to what extent the original structure
has been altered.
In the days when this old house commanded a view
of the harbor and the distant Marblehead shore, it
was nearly double its present length. In 1850, an
undivided half of the estate being sold to Stephen
[8]
The Gahle and Peaked- Roof House
C. Phillips, the building was literally cut in half, the
front portion remaining on the original site and the
rear being converted into a barn which stands some-
what back from its original location. Thus the
inclosed entrance porch, formerly at the center of the
front, is now at the rear end, while the present large
outbuilding is of more recent origin. The huge
chimney was removed and a third story provided by
raising the roof several feet, but the overhang was
retained. In 1857 the front portion of the house also
passed out of the Becket family, and in 1916 the
house was purchased for preservation by Miss Caro-
line O. Emmerton, the guiding influence of the House
of the Seven Gables Settlement Association, and will
be completely restored.
Among the earliest seventeenth-century many-
gabled structures of which we have any accurate
knowledge was the so-called Governor Brads treet
house which, until taken down in 1753, occupied the
present site of the museum building of the Essex
Institute at Number 136 Essex Street. The house
was built by Emanuel Downing the barrister, prob-
ably in 1638, the year he settled in Salem, and, as
shown by an old painting preserved in the Essex
Institute, was a typical Elizabethan house, con-
structed of wood. One notices at once the character-
istic doorway with fanciful, latticed, flanking towers
reminiscent of feudal days, the diamond-paned
casement windows, and the large ornamental-
[9]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
topped chimney stacks and finials at the peak of
each gable.
Emanuel Downing married Governor John Win-
throp's daughter, Lucy, and it was for their son, Sir
George Downing, the English soldier and diplomatist,
that Downing Street, London, now a synonym for the
official residence of the Prime Minister, was named.
Later, Downing College, Cambridge, England, was
named for Sir George's grandson, the third baronet.
Emanuel Downing's daughter, Ann, married Captain
Joseph Gardner, the "Fighting Joe" of King Philip's
War, and it was from this very house that he set
forth to the "Great Swamp Fight" in 1675, where he
met his death. His widow married Simon Brad-
street, the last Colonial governor of Massachusetts
under the first charter, who occupied the house in his
old age and died there March 27, 1697, at the age of
ninety-four. After her death in 171 3 the old man-
sion was used for a time as a tavern under the " Sign
of the Globe", and later it was for several years
the home estate of the Bowditch family, of which
Nathaniel Bowditch the mathematician was the most
eminent member.
On this site, in a handsome three-story square
mansion designed by Samuel Mclntire in 1790 for
Congressman Nathan Read, William Hickling Pres-
cott, the historian known throughout the world for
his "Conquest of Mexico", "Conquest of Peru" and
other historical works, was born May 4, 1796. In
[10]
The Gable and Peaked-Roof House
1799 the house became the residence of Captain
Joseph Peabody, a wealthy merchant prominent in
the Calcutta trade, and in 1856, after the death of his
widow, it was razed to make way the following year
for the erection of the building now occupied by the
museum of the Essex Institute.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's day several many-
gabled houses were still standing, but aside from that
immortalized by him in "The House of the Seven
Gables" none remains but the remodeled Pickering
house. Notable among those that have been taken
down were the Deliverance Parkman house, erected
about 1673 and razed in 1835, which stood on the
northeast corner of Essex and North streets ; the
Philip English house on the corner of Essex and
English streets, erected in 1685 and razed in 1833 ;
and the Lewis Hunt house on the northwest corner
of Washington and Lynde streets, erected about 1698
and razed in 1863. The two former are shown by
sketches preserved at the Essex Institute, while the
latter remained long enough to be permanently
recorded by photography.
All were drawn upon largely by Hawthorne in his
writings. The Deliverance Parkman house was
referred to by him In his "Notes" as the one
"wherein one of the ancestors of the present occu-
pants used to practice alchemy", and is brought into
the story of "Peter Goldthwaite's Treasure", first
published in "The Token" of 1838 and reprinted in
[ II ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
"Twice Told Tales." He described it as "one of
those rusty, moss-grown, many-peaked wooden houses
which are scattered about the streets of our elder
towns, with a beetle-browed second story projecting
over the foundation, as if it frowned at the novelty
around it." The similarity of this story to consider-
ably elaborated portions of "The House of the Seven
Gables" is obvious, and indicates that the house of
this romantic name was not an existing dwelling
accurately described, but represented a composite
of several many-gabled houses of Salem together with
generous additions from Hawthorne's vivid im-
agination.
Although no single homestead actually comprised
the giant elm tree, the shop, Clifford's chamber, the
arched window and the secret closet behind the
portrait, the old house at Number 54 Turner Street
known as "The House of the Seven Gables" was so
intimately associated with the story, of that name,
and, in fact, with Hawthorne's whole literary career,
as to have justified the appellation. Like many
quaint dwellings of the period, it was gradually
enlarged, the oldest part probably being that seen
in the right-hand portion of the accompanying
illustration, which shows the restored house as it
stands to-day. The lean-to, however, while it is
typical and enhances the general picturesqueness,
is of recent origin. Indoors, also, successive alter-
ations were made, and the elaborate woodwork of
[12]
The Gable and Peaked^ Roof House
the parlor is of later date than the house. Some-
what before 1891 the big, old-fashioned chimney-
stack in the original part of the house was removed,
and from it was taken a fireback dated 1669, probably
the date of erection.
For many years this house was occupied by the
Ingersoll family, relatives of the Hawthornes. Na-
thaniel Hawthorne was a frequent visitor and received
much of his literary inspiration there. In those days
the house boasted only four or five gables, but Haw-
thorne's cousin, Miss Susan Ingersoll, is said to
have told him that it formerly had seven and to
have shown him beams and mortises in the attic
to prove the statement. Upon coming down the
winding stairs, so the story goes, Hawthorne remarked
abstractedly, "House of Seven Gables — that sounds
well", and as the novel of that name appeared soon
afterward the incident is thought to have determined
his choice of a title. That he had the romance well
in hand before naming it is indicated by a letter to an
old friend not long before the date of publication, in
which he wrote :
" I am beginning to puzzle myself for a title for the
book. The scene of it is in one of the old projecting-
storied houses familiar to me in Salem. ... I
think of such titles as 'The House of Seven Gables,'
there being that number of gable ends to the old
shanty; or 'Seven Gabled House,' or simply, 'The
Seven Gables.'"
[13]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
The inspiration for that delightful collection of
children's stories called "Grandfather's Chair" is
also said to have resulted from a suggestion by Miss
Ingersoll. During one of his visits, Hawthorne
complained dejectedly that he had written himself
out, whereupon Miss Ingersoll remarked, pointing
to an old armchair long in the family, "Nat, why
don't you write about this old chair ? There must
be many stories connected with it." This chair may
still be seen in its accustomed place in the old house.
The episode of the picture of the dead judge seen
through the window, which every reader of "The
House of the Seven Gables" will recall, was ap-
parently developed from another visit to the Turner
Street house. One day an adopted son of Miss
Ingersoll fell asleep in his chair in the south parlor
where he could be seen through an entryway by any
passer-by who happened to look in at the low win-
dow. Hawthorne, approaching the house, startled
by his friend's motionless attitude and confused by
the half shadow and cross lights, awoke him, ex-
claiming, "Good Heavens, Horace, I thought you
were dead." The window in question is supposed to
have been the lookout occupied by the toll gatherer
of the Marblehead ferry which left the foot of Turner
Street two centuries ago.
It was Horace Ingersoll who told Hawthorne the
story of the Acadian lovers, as recounted in the
first volume of his "Notes." This story was the
[14]
Plate VI. — Philip English House. Erected in 1685. Razed 1833 ;
Lewis Hunt House. Erected about 1698. Razed 1863.
Plate VII. — The Pickering House, i8 Broad Street, Erected 1660.
Remodeled 1841 ; Rebecca Nurse House, Tapleyville.
Erected about 1636.
The Gable and Peaked- Roof House
basis of Longfellow's classic * 'Evangeline", and an
account of the connection of the novelist and his
friend with the poem is to be found in the second
volume of the "Life of Longfellow" by Samuel
Longfellow.
Through the generosity and active encouragement
of Miss Caroline O. Emmerton in 1909, this inter-
esting old house of so many pleasant associations
was restored throughout to practically its former
character, and entirety, and made the center of a
philanthropic neighborhood settlement. As in earlier
days its many-paned windows now look out upon the
harbor, for the seaman's "Bethel" which for many
years stood in front of it has been removed to the rear
and altered for settlement needs. To this estate also
was brought the quaint "Old Bakery", formerly at
Number 23 Washington Street, and likewise com-
pletely restored. Indeed, visitors find this group of
buildings one of the most interesting attractions of
Salem.
Joseph Everett Chandler, the architect in charge,
is to be congratulated upon the success of his work,
for it perpetuates a picturesque and disappearing
type of our early architecture and is delightfully
characteristic, even though perhaps conforming more
nearly to the description of Hawthorne's fancy than
the original house ever did. Mr. Chandler found the
mortised beams shown to Hawthorne, and the two
missing gables were added accordingly. He also
[IS]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
discovered that the original overhang of the southern
gable, with second-story posts extending below the
supporting girt and terminating in turned drops, had
been boarded down to conceal it, and this false
structure was promptly removed. Hawthorne also
detailed minutely a rough-cast ornament under the
eaves that was probably never a feature of this
house. Rather it appears to have been an accurate
description of an ornament which was taken from the
Colonel William Browne mansion, afterward the
Sun Tavern, when William Gray, Jr., one of Salem's
greatest merchants, razed it to make way for his own
more modern residence. Hawthorne had doubtless
noticed this in the Essex Historical Society collec-
tion, and it may still be seen to-day in the Essex
Institute.
The Pickering house at Number i8 Broad Street,
frequently said to be the oldest dwelling now re-
maining in Salem proper, stands on land granted to
John Pickering, one of the first settlers, in 1637, and
has ever since been owned and occupied by his lineal
descendants. It was erected in 1660, as shown by
the date on the fireback, now preserved at the Essex
Institute, and which was cast by Elisha Jenks of
Saugus, the first iron founder in the colonies. The
several gables and steep front pitch of the roof sug-
gest the thatched Elizabethan house, while the
broader, flatter pitch of the rear indicates a subse-
quent lean-to addition. Unfortunately the house
[16]
The Gable and Peaked-Roof House
lost much of its former interest and charm as a result
of extensive alterations in 1841, when the fanciful
wood trim and flamboyant fence of the Victorian
period were added.
Colonel Timothy Pickering, soldier, statesman and
the most illustrious member of his family, was born
in this house in 1745. From the first armed resist-
ance to British tyranny at the North Bridge two
months before Paul Revere's immortal ride until after
the surrender by Cornwallis he was conspicuous in
the Continental army. He fought in the battles of
Germantown and Brandywine, and as a colonel and
adjutant-general served his country well. Later,
he was elected a representative and senator, and at
different times held the portfolios of Postmaster-
general, Secretary of War and Secretary of State
in Washington's cabinet. His son was John Picker-
ing, LL.D., the Greek lexicographer and famous
linguist, who lived for many years in the house at
Number 18 Chestnut Street which Nathaniel Haw-
thorne occupied for about sixteen months in 1846-
1847-
[17I
CHAPTER II
THE LEAN-TO HOUSE
WITH the passing of thatch, roofs were some-
what less steeply pitched, and with the
waning of Elizabethan influences in design, newer
conceptions gradually supplanted the rambling, many-
gabled dwellings of former years. Builders sought
to enlarge the ground floor rather than garret space,
and frequently accomplished this in Salem and
neighboring colonies by placing a lean-to or shed with
a single-pitched roof against one wall of the larger
gable-roof structure. Many existing houses were
enlarged in this manner and in erecting new dwellings
the lean-to was frequently built as one with the main
house. While the lean-to was joined to the house in
several ways and positions, it was oftenest formed by
a downward continuation of the back side of the main
roof at the same pitch, with the result that this snug
cottage of angular contour and long sweep of roof line
has become a strikingly characteristic type of the early
domestic architecture of New England.
Picturesque in mass and outline, its facade re-
lieved by an inclosed porch of later date with gable
roof and small oval side windows, the Rea-Putnam-
[i8]
I^L
Plate VIII. — Rea-Putnam-Fowler House, Danvers. Erected
before 1692; Maria Goodhue House, North Street, Danvers.
Erected 1690. Burned 1899.
V
00
W
c/3
3
O
c
O
X
<
Oh
The Lean-to House
Fowler house in Danvers is perhaps the most at-
tractive and best-preserved example extant. It is
supposed to have been built and occupied by Daniel
Rea, the original immigrant of that name, who came
to Salem from Plymouth in 1632 and later was
granted the tract of land on which the house stands.
His daughter Bethia's husband was Captain Thomas
Lothrop, who, with many of his men, " the flower of
Essex", was massacred September 18, 1675, in the
fight with King Philip and his Indian warriors. In
1692 this house was owned by Daniel Rea, a grand-
son of the first Daniel, and many years afterward
came into the possession of Captain Edmund Put-
nam, who led his company of "minute men" in that
memorable opening fight of the Revolution on April
I9j 1775- It was later occupied by Honorable Elias
Putnam and more recently for many years by
Augustus Fowler.
Another house of generally similar character,
though presenting interesting variations in fenes-
tration and having the front entrance to one side of
the center, after the frequent manner of the time,
is the Bishop-Nurse house located in Tapleyville,
which attained historic interest as the home of
Rebecca Nurse, one of the martyrs of the witchcraft
delusion of 1692. It was built and occupied by
Townsend Bishop upon a grant of three hundred
acres made to him January 11, 1636. Later it
passed through the hands of Henry Chickering to
[19]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Governor John Endecott, as part of his thousand-
acre estate, of which "Orchard Farm" and the
"Governor's Plain" were parts. From the governor
the place passed into the possession of his son, John
Endecott, Jr., and on his death to his wife Elizabeth.
She afterward married Reverend James Allen of the
First Church, Boston, and he eventually deeded it
to Francis Nurse, whose wife Rebecca was hanged
as a witch July 19, 1692, by order of the judges and
contrary to the verdict of the jury. A woman of
exemplary character, she bore the ordeal of her trial
nobly and as her chief defense uttered the heroic
statement, " I can say before my Eternal Father I am
innocent, and God will clear my innocency."
Two other houses of almost identical lean-to
arrangement deserve a record here, although space
does not permit the illustration of both. Before its
destruction by fire in 1899, the so-called Maria
Goodhue house, a shingled structure on North
Street, Danvers, interested students of architecture
by reason of the unusual plaster coving under the
front eaves and the large, nicely worked chimney
stack of Tudor origin. Benjamin Putnam, grandson
of John Putnam, the patriarch of the Putnam family,
holder of many civil and military offices and a deacon
of the First Church, built it in 1690.
Numbers 27 and 29 Daniels Street, the early child-
hood home of Honorable Nathaniel Silsbee, United
States senator from 1826 to 1835, presents an ex-
[20]
The Lean-to House
ceptlonal example of the large three-story lean-to,
with foreshortened upper windows, after the manner
of the square mansions of a later day.
Coming as these lean-to cottages did, simultane-
ously with the last of the Elizabethan houses, it was
natural that they should in some instances continue
certain features of their predecessors, such as the
overhanging second story, usually confined to one
or two opposite sides rather than circling the entire
structure. The transitional character of such build-
ings is best shown by the old John Ward house. In
the accompanying illustration it is seen as it stood
for many years on the original site at Number 38 St.
Peter Street where it had been built in 1684 by John
Ward. For a time a bakery business was conducted
there, the lean-to providing the shop. This house
must originally have rested on the ground, the brick
cellar wall seen in the photograph probably having
been put under because of a change of grade in the
street and court on which it stood. Brickwork did
not become a feature of Salem architecture until the
eighteenth century, the first brick house having been
built there in 1700 and later taken down. It will be
noticed that the lean-to takes a flatter pitch than the
roof of the main house, which is steep enough to have
been thatched, and this difl'erence in a continuous
roof suggests the probability of a subsequent addition.
The John Ward house now stands in the garden at
the rear of the Essex Institute among old-fashioned
[21]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
flowers that are only names to many, and has been
restored as nearly as possible to Its presumable
pristine appearance. Mortises and boarding were
found for peaked windows In the front of the roof,
indicating that the structure had at an early date
been remodeled to conform to the prevailing mode.
These peaked windows antedated the dormer, and
their reconstruction with diamond-paned, leaded,
casement sashes throughout the main house has
resulted In an enhanced air of Puritan qualntness.
The front door Is of primitive batten construction
with wide, vertical boards on the outside and hori-
zontal boards Inside nailed to them. It has an old
English lock with ponderous key. Every detail of
the restoration was carefully worked out In com-
parison with the large and varied collection of
antiques in the museum of the Essex Institute, and
the resources of the Institute were also drawn upon
generously to furnish the house throughout In an
appropriate manner, with the result that visitors find
it a veritable treasure house of relics of bygone days.
Downstairs there are two main rooms, and a
kitchen to the right of a small entry and well-designed
winding stairway. Above, there are two chambers.
The attic is unfinished and contains many interesting
old "castaways." Summer beams cross the ceilings,
carrying the lighter floor joists, about five inches in
diameter and hewn nearly square in section. The
lean-to includes an apothecary shop modeled upon
[22]
Plate X —The Old Bakery, formerly at 25 Washington Street.
Erected 1683; Detail of Old Bakery Overhang.
Plate XI. — The Narbonne House, 71 Essex Street. Erected
before 1671; Rear of the Narbonne House.
The Lean-to House
that of Doctor William Webb and containing goods
owned by him and two contemporaries, a Salem
"cent shop" where young folks might buy books,
cookies, candies and the like, and a weave room, all
fully furnished in the period of 1830.
Like the original houses of this and the earlier
period the restored John Ward house is not painted,
either inside or out, and the clapboarding long since
took on the weather-beaten effect of age. Red was
the first color used for house painting in America, per-
haps because of the prevalence of brickwork for the
better buildings in England, whence the paint was
imported. It is doubtful whether white or yellow
was the next to follow. These three are the accepted
colors for Colonial architecture.
Unique among the overhangs on Salem buildings,
the Old Bakery attracts notice chiefly because of the
heavy oaken supporting girders or summer beams,
with their chamfered edges and ends carved to the
form of simple ornamental brackets. Here, indeed,
one sees embellishment of genuine sincerity, added
not for itself but to improve the appearance of
structural necessities. The oaken corner posts are
shouldered, the spaces between the studding are
filled with bricks laid up in clay, and laths split from
the log were found in the plastering of the attic stair-
way. This building, erected in 1683 by Benjamin
Hooper, was originally a one-room cottage with the
overhang extending along its entire front, the large
[23]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
chimney then having been at the eastern end. Like
the John Ward house it probably rested on the ground
originally, the high brick foundation having been put
under it at the time the grade of Washington Street
was lowered. For many years it stood as shown by
the accompanying illustration at Number 23 Wash-
ington Street, until in 191 1, at the instance of Miss
Caroline O. Emmerton, it was moved to the garden of
"The House of the Seven Gables" and thoroughly
restored.
The two-story wooden building seen beyond It at
the left was erected In 1784 by the town of Salem for
the Centre Grammar School, and there in 1840 the
late Honorable Joseph Hodges Choate, the eminent
lawyer and diplomat, who served as United States
ambassador to Great Britain from 1899 to 1905, went
to school, Abner Brooks being master.
Often a lean-to roof joined the main house several
inches below the gable roof, suggesting the curb of the
gambrel roof, except that the pitch of the two was
usually identical, any difference being a flatter lower
slope as opposed to the steeper slope of the gambrel
type. The lateral division of the building thus
formed recalls church architecture to a degree, the
lean-to having the same relation to the main house,
in respect to exterior appearance, that an aisle has to
the nave. An especially interesting case in point is
presented by the Narbonne house, Number 71 Essex
Street, erected before 1671. The steeply pitched
1 24]
The Lean-to House
roof, the large chimney stack and the many-paned
windows are all characteristic of the period, while
the Dutch door in the lean-to was formerly the en-
trance to another "cent shop", a Salem institution of
a century ago which inspired a bit of vivid description
in Hawthorne's "House of the Seven Gables."
A study of the rear of this house will prove as
interesting as of the front. The original structure
boasted only one room to each floor besides the shop
in the lean-to. When more rooms were needed the
gambrel roof had come into fashion and was chosen
for the addition, the lean-to being extended and its
single-pitch roof being run up to the curb of the
gambrel to form one of those curious combinations
of which only a few remain in Essex County.
The lower front room is probably the best pre-
served interior of this period in Salem. Accompany-
ing photographs show clearly the hand-hewn framing
along the floor and ceiling, the chamfered corner posts
and exposed summer beams across the ceiling. The
two-panel door with its wrought-iron latch, the three-
part window shutters with six-pointed star openings
and strap hinges, the simple mantel, paneling and
corner buffet of later date, all have a quaint appeal
no less than the many antiques of worth among the
furnishings. As one stands in this ancient, low-
studded room, fancy wanders back to the time of its
building and readily pictures it before its walls had
been papered or its floor had known other coverings
[25]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
than light blue sand from the beaches of Gloucester
and Ipswich scattered upon it in circular and spotted
patterns in lieu of rugs, following the customary
Monday scouring. We are thus reminded that such
was the policy of the governors under the first charter,
Endecott and Bradstreet, to exclude "luxuries" for
the most part, that not until after this charter was
annulled in 1686 did the refinements, as distinguished
from the meager necessities, of home life find much
encouragement. The door at the second landing
leading to the attic still has its old latch string,
probably the only remaining example of this primitive
fixture in Salem.
Several old houses still standing illustrate the fre-
quent though unattractive custom of extending the
lean-to far enough beyond one end of the main house
to permit a side door facing front and opening into
the rear part of the dwelling. While this arrange-
ment known as a "jut-by" furnished a little ad-
ditional room, though no obvious advantage over a
door in the end of the lean-to like that of the Rea-
Putnam-Fowler house, it was gained at the expense
of angular, almost ugly severity. The George Jacobs
house, Danversport, still standing in the fields east
of Gardner's Hill, shows this and also the strange
occasional location of the front door well to one side
of the center with pairs of windows widely spaced on
one side and near together on the other. It was
probably built by Richard Waters early in the
[26]
Plate XII. — Front Room of the Narbonne House; Mantel and
China Closet, Narbonne House.
f^'^'
Plate XIII. — George Jacobs House, Danversport. Erected before
1658; Judge Samuel Holton House, Danvers. Erected about 1650.
The Lean-to House
seventeenth century and in 1658 was conveyed to
George Jacobs, Sr. From this house the aged man,
over eighty years old, was taken away and jailed,
tried for witchcraft, condemned, and finally exe-
cuted on Gallows Hill, August 19, 1692, in the pres-
ence of Reverend Cotton Mather, minister of the Old
North Church, Boston. A painting by Matterson
depicting the trial of George Jacobs may be seen in
the picture gallery of the Essex Institute. His
words, "Well, burn me or hang me, I will stand in the
truth of Christ," indicated that he was a good and
brave man who suffered an awful injustice at the
hands of his accusers.
One of the most picturesque dwellings of this
period, with a side door in a "jut-by" lean-to, is the
Goodale house in Peabody. Isaac Goodale erected
this farmhouse on the one hundred acres of land con-
veyed to him in 1 667-1 668 by his father, Robert
Goodale or Goodell, a husbandman, from the 480
acres the latter had acquired by purchase prior to
1653 and including two grants of twenty acres each
from the Town of Salem in or before 1636 and in
1 63 8-1 639. Eight generations of Goodales, all yeo-
men from the second to the sixth generations in-
clusive, have occupied this old house, and not until
191 5 did it pass out of the family, when Jacob Oscar
Goodale sold it to Charles R. Stackpole, of Nahant.
Much like the foregoing, the John Walcott house
near by in Danvers has a "jut-by" lean-to consider-
. [27]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
ably less steeply pitched, the side entrance being
elaborated by a pedimental doorhead. In 1700 this
house and the farm on which it stands belonged to
John Walcott, and in 171 5 it was the homestead of
Zachariah Goodale, of Salem, yeoman. Until 1889
it was owned by members of the Goodale and Pope
families, having been sold in 1753 by David Goodale,
Zachariah's son, to Nathaniel Pope, of Danvers,
yeoman. The place is now owned by Miss Caroline
O. Looney, of Salem, who has expended a large sum
of money in improvements upon the house.
Another house of similar lean-to construction, not
shown here, was the so-called Clark house. Summer
Street, Danvers. This, too, was built early in the
seventeenth century, and while the front entrance
porch is centered there are two windows to each floor
on one side of it and only one on the other side —
another expression of the custom of that period to
let exterior appearance frankly express interior ar-
rangement. During the anxious days of 1692 this
was the home of Joseph Putnam, another grandson
of the first John Putnam and the father of that hero
of the Revolution, General Israel Putnam. Cou-
rageous and outspoken, he did not hesitate to
denounce the witchcraft delusion as such in no
uncertain terms, nor to let it be known that he and
his family were constantly armed and could be
arrested only at the peril of life. Had enough other
men as frankly asserted and as energetically main-
[28]
The Lean-to House
tained their convictions it is doubtful if any exe-
cutions for witchcraft would ever have occurred
either in Salem or Boston.
Rarely was a lean-to placed across the gable end
of the main building as in the case of the Judge
Samuel Hoi ten house, erected about 1650 by Ben-
jamin Holten at the corner of Center and Holten
streets, Danvers Center, and this interesting though
unattractive arrangement, wherever found, was
usually a subsequent addition. In fact, the sagged
portion of the main house at the left gives the im-
pression that the whole of it as it now stands was not
erected at one time, but that two constructions of
similar character are represented. Colonial houses
with two front doors, even though occupied by only
one family, are by no means unusual, but this in-
closed porch with its double doors is peculiar, and the
large twenty-paned windows exceptional. As the
birthplace and home of Judge Holten this old house
claims more than passing attention, for this ardent
patriot was one of the most noted men of Essex
County and has a public record to his credit equaled
by few Americans.
Born in 1738, he became a physician by profession,
having studied medicine with Doctor Jonathan
Prince and practiced in both Danvers and Gloucester.
He was a delegate to the Colonial Convention in
1768 ; five years in the Continental Congress, at
times acting as president; a member of the Con-
[29]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
stitutlonal Convention ; two years a congressman ;
five years a senator ; eight years a representative to
the General Court ; twelve years a councillor ; twice
Presidential elector ; thirty-two years a judge of the
Court of Common Pleas, half of the time presiding ;
thirty-five years Judge of the Court of General
Sessions ; fifteen years Chief Justice ; nineteen years
Judge of the Probate Court for Essex County, and
twenty-four years Town Treasurer.
When the gambrel roof came into vogue in the
eighteenth century the lean-to was not altogether
discontinued and several gambrel lean-to houses
with a long rear roof line sloping from the curb down-
ward still remain in Salem. At Number 374 Essex
Street the house erected before 1773, with its simple,
well-proportioned dormers, tall chimneys and English
chimney pots, is a good example. It was, at the time
of his death, the residence of Doctor Henry Wheat-
land, founder of the Essex County Natural History
Society, which in 1848 by union with the Essex
Historical Society was merged into the Essex In-
stitute. As indicated by its Greek revival character,
the entrance porch is of much later date than the
house.
Other notable dwellings of similar character in-
clude the John Waters house. Number 5 Mason
Street; the Jesse Putnam house. Maple Street,
Danvers, erected before 1750 by Deacon Joseph
Putnam ; the birthplace of Senator Benjamin Good-
[30]
Plate XIV. — Isaac Goodale House, Peabody. Erected about
1667-8; John Walcott House, Danvers. Erected before 1700.
Plate XV. — John Waters House, 5 Mason Street. Erected 1800 ;
Wheatland House, 374 Essex Street. Erected before 1773.
The L,ean-to House
hue, erected about 1736 by his father, Benjamin
Goodhue, Sr., at Number 70 Boston Street ; and the
Babbidge-Crowninshield-Bowker house, in the rear of
Number 46 Essex Street, erected before 1700. This
latter house was the birthplace of Captain George
Crowninshield, Honorable Jacob Crowninshield and
Honorable Benjamin W. Crowninshield, three
brothers who rank among Salem's greatest historic
figures, and of whom more will be recorded elsewhere
in these pages. Under its roof also was organized
the Second or East Church, made famous by the long
pastorate of Doctor William Bentley, the historian,
patriot, radical and scholar.
The accompanying photograph shows the western
end of the house as it formerly stood directly upon
the street, the eastern end beyond the front door
having been cut off some fifty years ago and moved
to Grant Street. The western end was recently
removed to the rear of the lot and a modern building
erected on its former site.
The Jeffrey Lang house. Number 371 Essex Street,
erected in 1740, instances an uncommon lean-to
addition with its rafters springing from the eaves
rather than the curb of the gambrel, the rear portion
of the roof therefore being in three distinct planes.
At the time of its purchase and demolition several
years ago by the late Daniel Low, whose estate
adjoined it on the left, this was one of the oldest
gambrel-roof structures in Salem and the huge main
[31]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
chimney, the absence of dormers, the high, narrow,
eighteen-paned original windows and the pedimental
doorway with its heavy paneled wood door, iron
thumb latch and narrow top-light, all speak elo-
quently of those early days. Jeffrey Lang was a
goldsmith, and like most tradesmen of the time had
his shop in the corner of his house in an addition at
the extreme left, probably made soon after the house
was first erected. More recently, probably just be-
fore 1850, the opposite corner room was remodeled
as a variety store and continued as such until
1889. Wider windows were presumably put into the
room above as part of the alterations at the time
this second store was installed. Benjamin J. Lang,
the noted organist, pianist and conductor, is a de-
scendant of Jeffrey Lang.
Without exception these primitive seventeenth-
century dwellings of the early settlers, whether hav-
ing clustered gables or introducing the long, slop-
ing, lean-to roof, reflect the simplicity and frugality
of Puritan life and character. They indicate that
imperative necessities were supplied in the frank-
est, most direct way, with but scant attempts at
embellishment either within or without. Several
of the interiors now contain eighteenth-century
woodwork, and in consequence have lost much of
their former appearance. The exterior wood trim,
however, including corner and verge boards, door
and window casings, still remains as severely plain
[32]
Plate XVI. — Babbidge House, 46 Essex Street. Erected before
1700; Jeffrey Lang House, 371 Essex Street. Erected 1740.
Plate XVII. — Senator Benjamin Goodhue House, 403 Essex Street.
Erected about 1780; Clark-Morgan House, 358 Essex Street.
The Lean-to House
as ever, and so by contrast serves to emphasize the
elaboration of decorative detail which accompanied
the advent of the gambrel-roof house and which
likewise characterized all the Colonial architecture
which followed.
[33]
CHAPTER III
THE GAMBREL-ROOF HOUSE
THE year of the witchcraft delusion in Salem
marked the end of Colonial times in Mas-
sachusetts. In 1686 the first charter was annulled,
and in 1692, after a stormy six years politically,
William III granted to the Province of Massachusetts
a second charter, under which the governor and
lieutenant-governor were appointed by the Crown
and all laws were sent to England for royal approval.
Provincial times covered the period from 1692 to
the days of the Revolution. During these years
the gambrel-roof house was the prevailing style,
at first small and very simple, but toward the middle
of the eighteenth century being developed into
perhaps the largest, handsomest and most distinc-
tive type of American residence.
The gambrel roof represents an evolution of the
seventeenth-century Mansard roof, designed by
the distinguished French architect, Frangois Man-
sard, or Mansart, 1 598-1666, which was extensively
adopted in France and other European countries.
Mansard's roof was devised to make attics avail-
[34]
The Gambrel-Roof House
able for rooms in consequence of a municipal law
limiting the height of front walls in Paris, the idea
being to keep all construction within a semi-circle
about the ends of the lower tie-beam and struck
from a point midway of its length. It is best
described as a hipped curb roof having on all sides
two slopes unequally inclined, the lower slope being
steeper than the upper, hence the terms " French
curb " and " French hip " by which it was fre-
quently designated. From a structural standpoint
it has an advantage over the ordinary gable roof
in that the outward thrust upon the supporting
walls is less, the load coming almost vertically upon
them.
Mansard roofs as such never achieved great
favor in America, although attaining a certain
vogue as very unsatisfactorily interpreted during
the so-called Victorian period of the nineteenth
century. Nevertheless, many of our northern early-
settled communities have a few more pleasing
eighteenth-century examples. The best in Salem,
the residence of Honorable Benjamin Goodhue, the
first United States senator from Essex County, was
burned in the great fire of 1914. Benjamin Good-
hue was born in 1748 at Number 70 Boston Street
in the same house where Doctor Henry Wheatland,
the founder of the Essex Institute, was born in
181 2. He was a friend of Washington, served as
senator from 1796 to 1800 and was one of the com-
[35]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
mission that framed the first revenue laws of the
country. The Clark-Morgan house at Number 368
Essex Street presents somewhat the same appear-
ance from the street, but in reality consists of two
old gambrel-roof structures and a modern flat-roof
building butted together to form a U-shaped ground
plan. In this house half a century ago the Morgan
sisters kept a Dame school such as was so well
described by Eleanor Putnam in her book "Old
Salem."
In the heart of Paris, Mansard roofs were fre-
quently employed on houses built in solid blocks
where the double slope occurred only at the front and
rear. The rebuilding of houses on adjoining lots
occasionally exposed the cross section of this roof
type, and while the French apparently gave it little
thought, American builders who saw it were im-
pressed with its strikingly pleasing outline. Ap-
preciating the value of Mansard construction in
providing extra rooms at small cost without re-
course to an additional story for the building proper,
they also realized that this flat gable arrangement
gave all its advantages at less expense for labor
than was involved by the hipped curb on all four
sides, then customary in the case of single, detached
houses, — its name being derived from the resem-
blance of each side of the gable contour to the
gambrel or hock of a horse.
No recognized rule was followed for the propor-
[36]
The Gambrel-Roof House
tion or pitch, but it was perceived that unless the
roof as a whole were adapted to the general size,
height and character of the house, ungainliness
might result. Local color in the gambrel roof,
therefore, lies in its shape as seen from the end.
In Salem, and elsewhere throughout New England,
the two slopes were usually of about equal width
and medium pitch, as distinguished from the flatter
pitches and wider lower slope of the New York and
New Jersey Dutch roofs, and the steeper pitches
and wider upper slope of the Maryland roofs. Nu-
merous variants of the gambrel roof occur wherever
found, and several in Salem show Dutch influence,
notably the Ropes' Memorial, which will be con-
sidered more fully later. Mrs. Cook's house at
Number i Cambridge Street about opposite the
Ropes' Memorial presents a fine example of modern
carpenter work executed about fifteen years ago,
when the former hipped roof was replaced by the
present perfect gambrel.
While peaked roof and lean-to houses were the
typical dwellings of witchcraft times, the house
that tradition has most intimately identified with
the delusion is now a gambrel-roof structure. This
so-called Witch House at Number 310 Essex Street,
corner of North Street, received its name by reason
of the fact that in it lived Jonathan Corwin, one of
the judges of the witchcraft court, and here he is
said to have held some of the preliminary examina-
[37]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
tlons of the accused. The history of this ancient
dwelling is obscure and a diiference of opinion exists
among those who have investigated the matter
carefully. Authoritative sources of information are
lacking to establish definitely its date of erection
and the continuity of its subsequent record. That
it has undergone alterations and additions since
first built which have changed its exterior appearance
is certain, and that it did hot at first have a gambrel
roof is highly probable.
The overhanging second story indicates the seven-
teenth-century origin of the present structure. This
architectural feature long antedated the gambrel
roof, with which it is very rarely found. The dis-
parity of periods alone would tend to indicate the
gambrel roof as a subsequent alteration were it
not for the more conclusive evidence to this effect
presented by the large front chimney. Whether
this house was built about 1671, as some antiquaries
claim, or at an earlier date, the fact is well established
that in 1675 Jonathan Corwin, one of the witch-
craft judges, bought it of Captain Richard Daven-
port, who, from 1645 to 1665, was commander of
the fort on Castle Island in Boston harbor. That
it was in a primitive or unfinished condition at the
time is indicated by the work Corwin immediately
contracted with Daniel Andrews to do for its im-
provement. This contract, now preserved among
the Corwin papers at the Essex Institute, is an in-
[38]
Plate XVIII. — Diman House, 8 Hardy Street; The Witch
House, corner of Essex and North Streets, as it appeared in 1856.
Plate XIX. — General Israel Putnam's Birthplace, Maple Street,
Dan vers. Erected 1641 ; Thomas Ruck House, 8 Mill Street.
Erected before 1651.
The Gambr el-Roof House
teresting contemporary document little less verbose
than builder's contracts of to-day. It reads as
follows :
Articles and Covenants made, agreed upon, and
confirmed between Mr. Jonathan Corwin, of Salem,
merchant, and Daniel Andrews of Salem, of the
other part, concerning a parcell of worke as fol-
loweth, viz. : Imprimis the said parcell of worke
is to be bestowed in filling, plaistering and finishing
a certain dwelling house bought by the said owner
of Capt. Nath'U Davenport of Boston, and is situ-
ate in Salem aforesaid, towards the west end of
the towne betweene the houses of Rich. Sibley to
the west and Deliverance Parkman on the east;
and is to be performed to these following direc-
tions, viz.
I. The said Daniel Andrews is to dig and build
a cellar as large as the easterly room of said house
will afford (and in the said room according to the
breadthe and lengthe of it) not exceeding six foot
in height; and to underpin the porch and the
remaining part of the house not exceeding three
foot in height; also to underpin the kitchen on the
north side of the house, not exceeding one foot;
the said kitchen being 20 foot long and 18 foot wide ;
and to make steps with stones into the cellar in two
places belonging to the cellar, together with stone
steps up into the porch. 2. For the chimneys he
is to take down the chimneys which are now standing,
and to take and make up of the bricks that are now
in the chimneys and the stones that are in the leanto
cellar that now is, and to rebuild the said chimneys
with five fireplaces, viz., two below and two in the
chambers and one in the garret ; also to build one
chimney in the kitchen, with ovens and a furnace, not
exceeding five feet above the top of the house. 3 . He
is to set the jambs of the two chamber chimneys
[39 1
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
and of the easternmost room below with Dutch
tiles, the said owner finding the tiles ; also to lay all
the hearths belonging to the said house and to point
the cellar and underpinning of sd. house and so
much of the three hearths as are to be laid with
Dutch tiles, the said owner is to find them. 4. As
for lathing and plaistering he is to lath and siele the
4 rooms of the house betwixt the joists overhead
with a coat of lime & haire upon the clay; also
to fill the gable ends of the house with bricks and
to plaister them with clay. 5. To lath and plaister
partitions of the house with clay and lime, and to
fill, lath and plaister them with lime and hair be-
sides ; and to siele and lath them overhead with
lime ; also to fill lath and plaister the kitchen up
to the wall plate on every side. 6. The said Daniel
Andrews is to find lime, bricks, clay, stone, haire,
together with labourers and workmen to help him,
and generally all materials for the efi"ecting and
carrying out of the aforesaide worke, excepte laths
and nailes. 7. The whole work before mentioned
is to be done, finished and performed att or before
the last day of August next following, provided
that said Daniel or any that work with him, be
not lett or hindered for want of the carpenter worke.
8. Lastly in consideration of all the aforesaid worke,
so finished and accomplished as is aforesaid, the
aforesaid owner is to pay or cause to be paid unto
to the said workeman, the summe of fifty pounds
in money current in New England, to be paid at
or before the finishing of the said worke. And for
the true performance of the premises we bind our-
selves each to other, our heyers, executors, and
administrators, firmly by these presents, as witnesse
our hands, this nineteenth day of February, Anno
Domini, 1674-5.
Jonathan Corwin.
Daniel Andrews.
[40]
The Gambrel-Roof House
Doubtless the principal chimney specified in
Section 2 of the contract is the one already referred
to. Not only is it elaborately stacked like those
almost exclusively associated with the earliest
peaked-roof houses in Salem, but the present roof
exposes several inches of the plastered chimney
below the brick corbeling. It is very doubtful if a
chimney built to special order with the idea of im-
provement would have been so constructed as to fail
to bring about a proper meeting of the exposed brick-
work of the chimney shaft with the roof as it existed at
the time. Rather, it is more likely that at some
later time in the eighteenth century the former
gable roof was arbitrarily remodeled to the pre-
vailing gambrel mode regardless of the appearance
of the chimney. There is a tradition that this
alteration took place in 1746.
This house continued in the possession of the
descendants of Jonathan Corwin until sold to Doctor
G. P. Farrington in 1856. The interior and chimney
remain much the same as in 1692, but the exterior
is now defaced by a modern drug store nearly half
the width of the original house and extending from
it to the sidewalk in front. From this store one
passes into the house through an arch in the great
chimney which is about eight by twelve feet at the
first floor.
Architecturally the house at Number 8 Hardy
Street, now remodeled beyond recognition, is of
[41]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
interest chiefly as the only example of the gambrel-
gable overhang remaining in Salem at the time the
accompanying photograph was made. Like many
of the early houses it stood end to the street, yet
the gambrel extending directly along the street
did not conform to the customary arrangement.
The cornice was perhaps the oldest in Salem and
the wide spacing of the dentils recalls the fact
that the primitive cornice was simply an overhang
with the ends of the rafters showing. One notices
the fenestartion immediately, not only because of
the quaint sashes with twenty-four small panes to
each window, but on account of the peculiar spacing
of the windows without attempt at symmetry or
balance. The effect seems to express something
of the ingenuous and stubborn character of those
sturdy people who braved the perils of a virgin
land for the pursuit of religious freedom and personal
liberty. Possibly this thought arises from the fact
that this old house was the home of Reverend James
Diman, pastor of the Second or East Church, from
1737 until 1788, and the predecessor of Reverend
William Bentley, the historian, whose diary has
established so many interesting facts in the history
of Salem.
In its U-shaped arrangement with wings of unequal
length and virtually three gambrel-roof dwellings
in one, the Ruck house. Number 8 Mill Street,
has few if any parallels in American architecture.
[42]
The Gamhr el-Roof House
The oldest part, at the northwest corner where the
large chimney stands, was built by Thomas Ruck
and dates back to before 165 1. Each of the several
subsequent additions, however, has preserved the
high, narrow proportions of the original structure
characteristic of many seventeenth-century build-
ings. In 175 1 the old part was bought by Joseph
Mclntire, a joiner and the father of Samuel Mcln-
tire, the famous architect of Salem, of whom much
more in another chapter. It was during the occu-
pancy of the elder Mclntire that he built the house
next door at the corner of Mill and Norman streets
where Samuel was born on January 16, 1757.
When Joseph Mclntire moved into his new home
in 1754 he sold the old part of the Ruck house to
Samuel Bacon, owner of the new part, and during
the latter's ownership Richard Cranch, a watch-
maker and local justice, occupied it in 1766 and
1767. Cranch and John Adams, afterwards second
President of the United States, married sisters,
and so it happened that, as a young lawyer riding
the eastern circuit, Adams more than once stopped
in the house. In his journal under date of November
3, 1766, he wrote that "Cranch is now in a good
situation for business, near the Court House . . . his
house, fronting on the wharves, the harbor and the
shipping, has a fine prospect before it."
After Cranch moved to Boston in 1767 John Sin-
gleton Copley, the celebrated English artist, became
[ 43 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
a tenant of the house while painting portraits of
leading Salem citizens. To it he brought his infant
son, afterwards Baron Lyndhurst, Lord Chan-
cellor of England. Being in sympathy with the
crown, however, the family left America in 1774.
At Number 27 Union Street stands a cottage
almost devoid of architectural appeal ; a structure
too nearly square to possess charm of proportion
and now still further defaced by an inappropriate
modern door and windows, although inside it has
been changed but little. Its claim to notice lies
in the fact that on the patriotic day of July 4, 1804,
Nathaniel Hawthorne, the famous American novel-
ist, was born in the northwest, or left-hand chamber
of the second story. The house was built in 1680
by one of the several Salem men who have borne the
name of Benjamin Pickman and in 1772 came into
the possession of Hawthorne's grandfather.
Another gambrel-roof cottage in which Haw-
thorne lived from 1828 to 1832 has only slight
architectural value. It was originally built for
Hawthorne's mother by her brother on land ad-
joining the present Manning homestead, but was
afterward sold and moved across the street where
it now stands numbered 26 Dearborn Street. The
upward lift of the roof at the eaves shows the in-
fluence of Dutch work in New York and New
Jersey, while the high position of the dormers just
beneath the curb characterizes frequent New Eng-
[44]
Plate XX. Nathaniel Hawthorne's Birthplace, 21 Union
Street. Erected 1680; Hawthorne's Home from 1828 to 1832.
Platk XXI. — Eighteenth Century Addition to the Putnam House ;
The room in which General Israel Putnam was born.
The Gamhrel-Roof House
land practice. Although simple and attractive in
itself, the pedimental inclosed entrance porch, with
blind-shaded side lights, is on too heavy a scale
to accord with the house.
Located at Number 431 Maple Street, near the
Newburyport Turnpike in Danvers, is the birthplace
of General Israel Putnam, one of the most prom-
inent Revolutionary leaders. It has a peculiar
interest for the student of architecture in that it
combines gable and gambrel roofs and has the
uncommon lean-to across the gable end of the
original main house, the eighteenth-century gambrel-
roof addition being across the other end. The older
part of the house was built by General Putnam's
grandfather. Lieutenant Thomas Putnam, probably
soon after the grant of the fifty acres of land on
which it stands had been made to him in 1641.
Thomas was the son of the immigrant John, one of
the Puttenham family from Aston Abbots, Bucks
County, England. After the death of Thomas and
his wife this ancient house came into the possession
of Joseph, the father of the general. Here many a
Putnam has come into the world and lived, and in
a small room over the inclosed porch on the side,
General Israel Putnam was born January 7, 1718.
This low-studded room with its whitewashed summer
beams, batten doors, primitive fireplace, quaint
wall paper, faded old prints and antique furniture
still retains the atmosphere of bygone days. The
[45]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
eighteenth-century gambrel-roof addition, beyond
the monster willow planted by a Putnam slave, was
erected by Colonel David Putnam, son of Joseph
and a brother of Israel. Exteriorly it differs from
the early type of New England gambrel-roof struc-
ture without dormers only in its inclosed entrance
porch with almost flat balustraded roof, and this
porch was probably a later addition. Within, the
rooms are spacious and have great fireplaces as
indicated by the sturdy chimney.
Here General Putnam lived until his marriage
shortly after which, in 1740, he moved to Connecti-
cut, where he was living at the outbreak of the
Revolution. Upon receiving news of the fighting
at Lexington and Concord he left his plough in the
furrow and hastened to Cambridge, where he was
made a major-general by Washington after the
latter took command of the army. The tale of
how "Old Put" galloped down the stone steps is
still told in Connecticut, and his distinguished
career throughout the war was little less spectacular.
But the Putnams of Massachusetts served their
country quite as gallantly if less conspicuously.
Seventy-five Putnams, more men than from any
other family, responded to the call on April 19,
1775, and it is believed that this family also gave
more men to the Union Army in the Civil War than
did any other.
While, as already recounted, many of the- first
[46]
The Gambrel-Roof House
gambrel-roof houses came into being as additions
to existing gable-roof and lean-to structures, and
were for the most part without dormers and devoid
of architectural embellishment either of doorway
or exterior trim, toward the middle of the eighteenth
century there began to be built original residences
more pretentious than had been the average hitherto.
Merchant shipowners and sea captains were ac-
cumulating fortunes made in trade with the West
Indies, England, France, Holland, Spain and Por-
tugal, large families were the rule, and a more
generous scale of living called for town houses of
ample proportions, with numerous rooms. The in-
fluence of Georgian architecture in the mother
country was beginning to be felt, and it is known
that in those days the New England carpenter-
builders had for ready reference little books of
measured drawings with excellent details. "The
Country Builder's Assistant" by Asher Benjamin
was such a volume. These builder's assistants and
similar publications are the real explanation of the
many charming old Colonial buildings with their
excellent details, and may rightly be regarded as
the fountain head of Colonial design.
The Lindall-Barnard-Andrews house. Number 393
Essex Street, erected in 1747, typifies these spacious
gambrel-roof houses with ranging windows, well-
proportioned pedimental doorways and roofs pierced
by three dormers and two or three great brick
[47]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
chimneys. Built by Timothy Lindall, a man prom-
inent in the political life of Salem and Speaker
of the House of Deputies in 1720 and 1721, this
comfortable old dwelling was in Revolutionary
times the home of the Reverend Thomas Barnard,
pastor of the old North Church, who averted blood-
shed during the first armed resistance to British
tyranny on Sunday, February 26, 1775. Dismiss-
ing his congregation in response to the urgent
summons of a messenger, he hastened to the
North Bridge in the role of peacemaker, and
finally succeeded in persuading the townspeople
to lower the draw and permit the British troops
to cross in their fruitless search for cannon, which,
meantime, had been transferred to a new hiding
place.
The Orne-Ropes house. Number 318 Essex Street,
erected in 1719 and now known as the Ropes' Me-
morial, presents in several respects the most effec-
tive Provincial residence in Salem. It was oc-
cupied by the Ropes family for several generations
and contains a splendid collection of furniture,
family portraits, Nanking china and Russian glass
accumulated by its various owners. In 1768 it
came into the possession of Honorable Nathaniel
Ropes, Judge of the Probate and Superior courts,
and was thereafter occupied by a Nathaniel Ropes
until the death of the fifth Nathaniel in 1893. Judge
Ropes was a loyalist and his death on March 18,
[48]
The Gamhrel-Roof House
1774, was probably hastened by the attack of a
mob of patriots while he lay ill there the previous
day.
Under the wills of Mary Pickman Ropes and
Eliza Orne Ropes, the last owners, the Ropes' Me-
morial was established in 191 2 with an incorporated
board of trustees. An ample maintenance fund
insures the perpetuation of the house and a beautiful
formal garden in the rear, both of which are open
to visitors at frequent stated times from May to
December, thus aifording an exceptional oppor-
tunity to view a typical home of a prosperous family
in the early years of the nineteenth century.
Architecturally the house reflects Dutch influence
in the outline of its gambrel roof; and the balus-
trade about its upper slopes, after the manner of
the decked roofs of a later period, at once draws
attention to a picturesque feature of many of the
later gambrel-roof houses intended to provide
ornamentation of a refined character. This, like
the beautiful recessed Ionic doorway, dating about
1805, was doubtless of more recent date than the
house, although of exceptional simplicity as con-
trasted with the balustrade on the roof of "The
Lindens", for instance. The accompanying photo-
graph shows the house as it originally stood close
to the sidewalk. In 1894, however, it was moved
back many feet and the beautiful fence and carved
gateposts illustrated in the chapter on entrances
[49]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
and doorways were erected. A large L was con-
structed in the rear and other changes were made.
Occasionally the rear half of a gambrel-roof
house was extended several feet beyond the front
half, as had often been the earlier lean-to, forming
a "jut-by" to provide a side door facing front.
The Derby-Ward house, Number 27 Herbert
Street, erected in 1738, is an instance that well
exemplifies the first and plainer type of large gambrel-
roof residences that were built by ship owners and
sea captains with the proceeds of their venturous
sea voyages. The eighteen-paned windows and the
simple boxed cornice are characteristic of the time,
and one notes the returns on the gable ends, which
had not been employed previous to about this date.
The double verge board, a plain narrow strip at
the outside upper edge of the board proper, was the
forerunner of the moldings of later years. Early
cornices had no gutters and the flagstones laid in
the ground below were provided to catch and dis-
tribute the drip. The pedimental, inclosed en-
trance porch, with its pilaster corner treatment and
oval side lights, may have been added at a later
date. As in many other houses of the time a large
chimney rose through the ridge eight or ten feet
from each end, so placed as to locate fireplaces
midway of inside lengthwise walls of the house in
rooms each side of the central hall.
This house was erected in 1738 by Richard Derby,
[so]
Plate XXIL — Lindall-Barnard-Andrews House, 393 Essex Street.
Erected 1747; Derby- Ward House, birthplace of Elias Hasket
Derby. Corner of Herbert and Derby Streets. Erected 1738.
Plate XXIII. — Garden of the Ropes Memorial, 318 Essex Street.
Laid Out 1913; Ropes Memorial, 3 1 8 Essex Street. Erected 1 7 1 9.
The Gambrel-Roof House
a prosperous sea captain and shipowner, delegate
to the Provincial Congress, and the father of Elias
Hasket Derby, Salem's greatest merchant, who was
born here in 1739. Richard Derby owned part of
the cannon sought by Colonel Leslie's troops during
the first armed resistance to British tyranny at the
North Bridge on February 26, 1775, two months
before Paul Revere's immortal ride ; and he it was
who, when importuned to use his influence to have
them given up, boldly replied to Leslie's messenger :
"If he can find them, he may take them." Nor
were they taken, for the Reverend Thomas Barnard
intervened, preventing a serious clash as already
recounted, and General Gage later reported to his
government that he had been misled and that the
guns did not exist. This old house was afterwards
sold by the Derbys, became the residence of Miles
Ward, a prominent citizen, and was occupied by
members of his family as late as 1837.
During Nathaniel Hawthorne's residence near by
in the house at Numbers io|^ and 12 Herbert Street
he was on very friendly terms with the family of
a relative then occupying the Derby-Ward house,
and frequently he ate and slept there in one of the
spacious chambers reserved for him. In this room
and in a little summer house among the lilacs and
syringas, shaded by an old apple tree of the garden,
he wrote some of his earliest stories.
Another gambrel-roof residence built by Richard
[51]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Derby in 1761 at Number 168 Derby Street, and
said by Felt in his "Annals of Salem" to have been
intended for Derby's son, Elias Hasket Derby,
who had been married at about that time, is the
oldest brick house now standing in Salem. The
first brick house of which there is any record, erected
in 1700, was mentioned in 1707 as having been built
for Benjamin Mars ton by George Cabot, a Boston
mason, at the corner of Crombie and Essex streets.
It had freestone capitals on its front corners and
was considered "an elegant edifice for its day",
but after occupying it for a time Marston's wife
persuaded him to have it pulled down because she
supposed it was damp and injurious to health, a
circumstance which for several years created a strong
prejudice in Salem against brick construction.
Except for the gambrel roof, which never found
favor in England, the Derby house is distinctly of
Georgian character. One notes first of all the classic
doorway with wood detail worked out in the spirit
of carved marble, but the window frames, the closely
spaced molded dentils of the box cornice and the
dormers with gable and segmental roofs interspersed,
all denote the same influence in design. The belief
that a more even distribution of heat from fire-
places was effected by locating them on outside
walls led to the adoption in large houses such as
this of four chimneys in pairs at each end where
they became part of the structural walls, their outer
[52]
The Gambrel-Roof House
sides being flush with them. This picturesque
gable construction soon became a distinctive fea-
ture of the brick Provincial house. A feature of
Georgian brickwork, too, is seen in the projecting
band at the level of the second floor, which, cor-
responding with the water table or projecting under-
pinning, served to emphasize the stories.
Not only is the Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood house,
Number 314 Essex street, erected in 1773, an es-
pecially excellent example of the gambrel-roof house
of wood with single large chimneys symmetrically
placed toward each end, but in its doorways it
presents a particularly successful instance of adap-
tation from the Richard Derby house. The door-
way has the same pedimental head and fluted pi-
lasters and the same rustication of the jambs. It
difl"ers, however, in being a recessed entrance, and
as it is narrower, with a single door, — then being
used for the most part, — the pediment is properly
more steeply pitched.
Brick and stone were little used in New England
as building materials until about the dawn of the
nineteenth century. Few bricks were imported
except in the South. Clay was plentiful in the
North, and even though the product at first was
crude, it answered. Corner boards in the spirit
of marble quoins were frequently employed with
clapboarded walls, however, to give a more
substantial appearance. The Cabot-Endicott-Low
[53]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
house, Number 365 Essex Street, is a notable case
in point. Erected in 1748 by Joseph Cabot after
the design of an English architect, who is also said
to have been the architect of the Benjamin Pickman
house, the "King" Hooper house at Marblehead
and the Hooper-Collins house, now known as "The
Lindens", at Danvers, it remains to-day one of
the finest Provincial residences in New England, al-
though the doorway is of recent origin. Five
closely spaced dormers pierce the roof and light
the upper-floor rooms so that three stories are
available in virtually a two-story house. As was
frequently the case, the gable-roof dormers were
symmetrically placed with the central dormer having
a segmental rather than triangular pediment.
Hipped and lean-to dormers, seen elsewhere, never
won favor in Salem. Here again the paired chimneys
at the ends of the house, in this instance within
the wooden walls, become conspicuous features of
the roof line. The verge boards, the curb or coam-
ing retaining the upper slope of the roof, and the
gutter are all molded, and the door and window
trim throughout shows Georgian influence.
This handsome mansion, noted for its fine interior
woodwork, was for many years the home of Joseph
S. Cabot, mayor of Salem from 1845 to 1848 in-
clusive. Later it was for thirty years the residence
of Honorable William Crowninshield Endicott, a
justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court from
[54]
Plate XXIV. — Richard Derby House, i68 Derby Street. Erected
1761 ; Gambrel Gable and Chimneys, Richard Derby House.
Plate XXV. — Cabot-Endicott-Low House, 365 Essex Street.
Erected 1748; Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood House, 314 Essex Street.
Erected 1773.
The Gambr el-Roof House
1873 to 1882, and Secretary of War in President
Cleveland's cabinet from 1885 to 1889. Here he
entertained that eminent English statesman, the
Right Honorable Joseph Chamberlain, who married
his daughter, Mary, in 1888; also General William
T. Sherman in 1890. More recently, until his
death, the house has been owned and occupied by
Daniel Low, a silversmith of national reputation.
The garden has continued to be one of the most
beautiful in Salem.
The introduction of quoined corners to wood
houses led in a few instances to the adoption as
the wall covering of the facade of siding worked with
beveled edges and vertical scorings, the latter
being so placed as to simulate the bonding of cut
stone, as in the case of the Hooper-Collins house,
at the end of Collins Street, Danvers. Suitable
painting lent realism to the effect, the siding proper
being gray, while the quoins and keyed lintels were
white in the spirit of marble and the bond scorings
also, to approximate the appearance of mortar
joints. An additional elaboration of a refined char-
acter is provided by the pitched gable, with its oval-
topped window, in the lower slope of the roof, the
whole being supported by two well-proportioned
and nicely executed engaged columns of Corinthian
order; also by an ornamental balustrade with
handsomely turned balusters and newels surrounding
the upper slope of the roof. The gable takes the
[55]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
place of a central dormer, often more elaborate
than the others. Of the two dormers each side
of it those with broken segmental pediments have
properly been made the inner pair.
Few Provincial houses in New England contain
so much splendid interior woodwork in as good a
state of preservation. The hall and stairway, il-
lustrated and described in Chapter IX, evidently
inspired the architect of the Jeremiah Lee mansion
in Marblehead, erected in 1768, for the general
scheme is identical, though on a larger scale and
with variations in detail here and there.
This beautiful country residence, which bears a
strong resemblance to the John Hancock mansion
which formerly stood on Beacon Street, Boston,
near the State House, was erected in 1754 by Robert
Hooper, a wealthy Marblehead merchant commonly
called "King" Hooper because of his Tory pro-
clivities. Strictly speaking this house finds no
logical place in a Salem book, as Danvers was set
off from Salem in 1752, but its resemblances to and
close association with two prominent Salem houses
already mentioned seem to permit this single digres-
sion into the architecture of Greater Salem. In
1774 General Thomas Gage occupied this house as
a summer residence just after he had been appointed
Military Governor of the Province of Massachusetts
by the King. In the field opposite during this time
were encamped two companies of Colonel Leslie's
[56]
The Gambrel'Roof House
sixty-fourth British regiment which figured in the
North Bridge episode of February 26, 1775, already
detailed. More recently, as the home of Francis
Peabody, a warm personal friend of the late J.
Pierpont Morgan, the estate has been known as
"The Lindens." It is a singular fact that John
Endecott, the first English governor under the
Colonial charter, and Thomas Gage, the last English
governor under the Provincial charter, should both
have resided in Danvers, and that Endecott once
owned the land upon which both residences were
situated.
The Benjamin Pickman house, in the rear of
Number 165 Essex Street, erected in 1743, was of
very similar character. Although still standing it has
been partly concealed by stores in front of it. The
interior has also been despoiled of its beautiful
woodwork characteristic of pre-Revolutionary tend-
encies and of especial interest because of the carved
and gilded codfish on each stair end, indicating the
source of the owner's wealth. One of these carved
fishes may be seen in the museum of the Essex
Institute, however, and the arch with fluted columns
between that room and the picture gallery was taken
from the Pickman house. About 1800 Samuel
Mclntire added a unique inclosed porch with hand-
carved detail which still remains, although an in-
appropriate modern door has been substituted for
the original.
- [S7l
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Several distinguished men were entertained here,
notably Governor Pownall on October 22, 1757;
Count Castiglioni on June 23, 1784, and Alexander
Hamilton on June 20, 1800.
Among the other gambrel-roof houses still stand-
ing and of interest, either for architectural merit
or historic association, may be mentioned the
Hodges-Webb-Meek house, Number 81 Essex Street,
erected before 1802; the Derby mansion. Number
140 Lafayette Street; the Eden-Brown house,
corner of Broad and Summer streets, erected in
1762; the John Crowninshield house, Essex Street,
opposite Union Street, in which the Reverend
William Bentley, the historian, lived at one time ;
the house in which Nathaniel Bowditch, the eminent
mathematician, was born March 26, 1773, in Kimball
Court to which it was moved from Brown Street;
the house of Lieutenant Benjamin West, erected
in 1753 at the corner of North and Lynde streets,
its original owner being the only Salem man killed
at the battle of Bunker Hill ; the Lindall-Gibbs-
Osgood house. Number 314 Essex Street, erected
in 1773, where Benjamin Thompson, afterward
Count Rumford, commander-in-chief of the Bavarian
army, lived as a boy and made some of his early
experiments. Rumford ovens, invented by this
eminent scientist and author, are to be found in
several of the larger old mansions of Salem, a few
of them even now finding occasional use.
[58]
Plate XXVI. Benjamin Pickman Mansion as it looked prior
to 1850. Erected 1 750. From an Old Lithograph; "The
Lindens," Collins Street, Danvers. Erected 1754.
/U^y-^y^ /j y_.^/L y^; ^ :^h.<Ju^ ^ ^
(<^>>^i^
^
Plate XXVIl. — Piclcman-Derby-Brookhouse Estate, 70 Wash-
ington Street. Erected 1764. Razed J 915 ; Stearns House,
384 Essex Street. Erected 1776.
CHAPTER IV
THE SQUARE THREE-STORY WOOD HOUSE
WITH the entrance of Massachusetts Into
statehood in 1780, the year previous to
the British defeat at Yorktown, which practically
ended the Revolutionary War, another change oc-
curred in the domestic architecture of Salem. During
the early years of the Commonwealth the square
three-story wood house with its foreshortened third
story became the prevailing Salem residence. At
first of wood with clapboarded walls, or occasionally
with rusticated boarding to simulate cut stone,
and later of brick with granite trim, this type of
Salem town house persisted until shortly after 1818,
at about which time the spirit of the Greek Revival
supplanted Colonial building traditions, and houses
began to resemble the temples of ancient Hellas.
Nothing quite like these substantial square man-
sions occurs In American domestic architecture
outside of New England, and nowhere In such number
and perfection as in Salem, for they exhibit the
ablest skill of our early native wood-carvers In its
very flower. Strictly speaking they are only remotely
Colonial, but reflect the broad outlook, the optimistic
[59]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
spirit and the excellent taste of the early years of the
republic.
Devoid of that picturesqueness of mass and
outline which had given distinction to the peaked-
roof lean-to and gambrel-roof houses of earlier
times, these post-Revolutionary mansions never-
theless surpassed them all in refinement of orna-
mental detail. They possessed a certain appealing
architectural stateliness, and as large town houses
on sites necessarily somewhat restricted in area
they were eminently practical. Square, boxlike
structures, as a whole monotonous by reason of
their broad, high facades, low-pitched, inconspicuous
hip roofs and many ranging windows, they were
notable for the elegance of their interior woodwork
rather than general outward appearance, and in this
respect attained the pinnacle of achievement in the
woodworkers' art of Salem. Here and there, how-
ever, the remarkable craftsmanship of the time
asserted itself upon the exterior, and occasionally
genuine distinction and even rare beauty were
imparted to these unprepossessing structures through
the agency of entrance porches and gateways, door
and window heads, pilasters and quoined corner
treatments, balustraded belvederes and deck roofs.
For the most part these mansions were built by
merchants or ship captains, since they or their
families felt the need of an elevated place from which
to watch for the return of the latest "venture." The
[60]
The Square Three- Story Wood House
belvedere was but a modification of the cupola, that
feature so common to the early architecture of New-
England seacoast towns, while the deck roof, sur-
rounded by a balustrade along the eaves of the
entire main house, followed the adoption of very flat
hip roofs and the better appreciation of the balus-
trade as an architectural embellishment.
Probably the best example of the cupola in Salem
still exists, although the Pickman-Derby-Brookhouse
mansion at Number 70 Washington Street, on the
roof of which it originally stood, was razed in 191 5
to make way for the new Masonic Temple referred
to at length in Chapter XII. This house was built
in 1764, for Benjamin Pickman, Jr., a wealthy
merchant, replacing the large wooden house of the
Reverend Nicholas Noyes, pastor of the First Church
at the time of the witchcraft delusion and very
rabid in the witch trials of 1692. Later it became
the residence of Elias Hasket Derby, who occupied
it during the best years of his life until, in 1799 and
shortly before his death, he moved into his eighty-
thousand-dollar mansion designed by Mclntire and
to which further reference is made in Chapter XI.
John Rogers the sculptor was born in this house,
October 30, 1829. Although the house was of brick,
Mclntire added a front of rusticated boarding,
heavy Ionic corner pilasters, the balustrade of the
roof, the cupola and the stable, all of wood, during
Derby's occupancy. When the buildings were razed
[61]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
in 191 5, the cupola was moved to the garden of the
Essex Institute, where it may now be seen. Its
sculptured eagle is an exact copy of the original,
hand carved by Mclntire and now preserved at the
Brookhouse estate in Marblehead. On the arched
ceiling of the cupola a fresco by Corne depicted the
several vessels of the Derby fleet, and in the blind
of one of the windows a hole was left through which
a telescope could be pointed to watch for ships.
The festooned drapery on the stable was transferred
by Mr. John Robinson, director of the Peabody
Museum, to the stable adjoining his residence at
Number 18 Summer Street.
While the houses of this period are commonly
referred to as being square, three-story structures,
fully as many were of oblong shape, some with a
long, others with a short side fronting on the street.
As a rule an L at the rear, or rarely a wing at the
side, provided the service rooms. Hipped roofs,
with or without a surrounding belvedere, prevailed,
yet there is here and there to be seen a house having
a broad, low-pitched gable roof above a third story,
with foreshortened windows and otherwise conforming
to the early Federal type of Salem. Like the Stearns
house, at Number 384 Essex Street, erected in 1776,
most of such houses were built during the Revolu-
tion and represent a transitional stage rather than a
distinct type ; they were the forerunners of the hip
roof.
[62]
ii=l 131 ii
I5I4- IP uii
M" III I MB
QB ly iui
Plate XXVIII. — Hosmer-Townsend-Waters House and Board-
man House, 80 and 82 Washington Square East. Erected
1795 and 1785 respectively, Simon Forrester House,
Derby Street. Erected before 1800.
Plate XXIX. — Captain Edward Allen House, 125 Derby Street.
Erected 1780; Briggs-Whipple House, 38 Forrester Street.
Erected about 1800.
The Square Three-Story Wood House
Exteriorly the Stearns house is notable chiefly for
the handsome Doric porch added by Mclntire in
1785, and which is referred to in detail in Chapter
VI. This was the residence of Major, afterward
Colonel Joseph Sprague, who was related by mar-
riage to the Stearns family, members of which have
occupied the house and have kept it in good order
since Colonel Sprague's death in 1808.
Colonel Sprague, then a major, participated con-
spicuously in the first armed resistance to British
tyranny at the North Bridge on Sunday, February
26, 1775, when Colonel Leslie's British troops were
foiled in their search for cannon, which leading men
in Salem had in hiding.
The house at the corner of Derby Street and
Hodges Court, erected before 1800 by Simon For-
rester, a wealthy sea captain, retains many details
of the Provincial period, although generally Federal
in its characteristics. One remarks at once the
absolutely symmetrical arrangement of the facade
and the location of two chimneys at each end of the
house, as was the case in so many gambrel-roof
dwellings. More steeply pitched than many hip-roof
constructions, the roof of the Forrester house boasts
neither belvedere nor balustrade. The quoined
corners of the clapboarded walls recall the more
pretentious wooden gambrel-roof mansions. The
paneling of the door was evidently inspired by that of
the Richard Derby house, but the Doric porch is
[63]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
typical of the Federal period, although exceptional
in its square columns.
A rare example of the square — nearly cubical —
dwelling with its hip roof rising to a single great
chimney in the exact center is to be seen in the
Hosmer-Townsend- Waters house, Number 80 Wash-
ington Square, designed for Captain Joseph Hosmer
by Mclntire in 1795. It contains much fine interior
woodwork and is famous for its wistaria-clad, in-
closed side porch referred to again in Chapter VI.
This house was long the home of Henry FitzGilbert
Waters, author of "John Harvard and His An-
cestry", "An Examination into the English Ancestry
of George Washington" and many papers devoted
to the genealogy of prominent Salem families.
Mr. Waters is said to have had the best private
collection of rare Colonial furniture in New
England.
To the left in the accompanying photograph is
to be seen the Boardman house at Number 82
Washington Square East, with its handsome in-
closed porch and gateway, to which further reference
is made in Chapter VI. By the beauty of its propor-
tions and detail this house attracted the attention of
George Washington when visiting Salem in 1789.
It was then new, having been erected in 1785, and
was offered for Washington's use. Captain Boardman
stood in the front doorway when Washington passed
by on his way to breakfast with his old friend George
[64]
The Square Three-Story Wood House
Cabot at Beverly and overheard Washington's
query, "How do you build such handsome houses ?"
The Captain Edward Allen house, Number 125
Derby Street, erected in 1780, Is an example of an
oblong house with a single great chimney centrally
located. Otherwise the structure greatly resembles
the Simon Forrester house, except for the different
sash arrangement of the foreshortened third-story
windows and the broader Inclosed porch.
Two more houses on corner sites, with attractive
though simple Colonial fences, and resembling the
Hosmer-Townsend-Waters house more or less nearly,
are of interest not so much for individual architectural
merit as for their frank simplicity and appearance
of substantial comfort. Each forms a typical picture
redolent of the spirit of early Federal days In Salem.
Both have interesting doorways, which are alluded
to In Chapter VI.
The Briggs-Whipple house. Number 38 Forrester
Street, erected before 1800, was the home of Enos
Briggs, one of the principal master shipbuilders of
Massachusetts. Briggs came to Salem In 1790,
previous to which he had followed his occupation on
the North River In Plymouth County. After super-
intending the erection of two ships at the head of
Derby wharf, he launched one of them sideways as
a matter of novelty which drew a great crowd. This
was on May 3, 1791, and on the eighteenth of the
same month he launched the Grand Turk, a ship of
[65]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
564 tons, the^second of that name owned by Elias
Hasket Derby and said to have been the largest ship
intended for merchant service ever built in Salem.
Briggs then established his own yard in South
Salem near Stage Point. There he continued in
business until 1817, two years previous to his death,
building fifty-one vessels aggregating 11,500 tons,
including the famous frigate Essex.
The George M. Whipple house at Number 2
Andover Street, erected in 1804, interests the student
of architecture chiefly for the unusual location of the
front doorway to one side of the center. Such an
arrangement in seventeenth-century houses is by no
means infrequent, but in the square houses of this
period is rarely seen. The inclosed porch and Pal-
ladian window above are modern.
Until about 1902, when it was razed, there stood
at Number 376 Essex Street the handsome residence
of Aaron Waite, of Pierce and Waite, a firm of pros-
perous merchants and shipowners. Waite's partner,
Jerathmel Pierce, in 1782 erected, after plans by
Mclntire, the so-called Nichols house at Number 80
Federal Street, now commonly spoken of as the
finest old wooden house in New England. The Aaron
Waite house was erected in 1 789-1 790 and has been
accredited to Daniel Bancroft, the architect and
builder who constructed the court-house of 1785
designed by Mclntire.
The photograph shows well a characteristic estate
[66]
Plate XXX. — Aaron Waite House, 376 Essex Street. Erected
1789-1790 ; George M. Whipple House, 2 Andover Street.
Erected 1804.
Platk XXXI. — Timothy Orne House, 266 Essex Street. Erected
1761 ; Peabody-Rantoul House, 19 Chestnut Street.
Erected 1810.
The Square Three-Story Wood House
of the time, a square main house standing directly
on the street, with stately gateposts and picket fence
at each side of the lot to accommodate a stable at
the rear adjoining the L of the house, the stable
door being architecturally treated, and the side door
of the house also serving as a carriage entrance. As
in the case of the Boardman house, the hip roof rises
to a balustraded belvedere, and one notices the
growing custom of locating chimneys only where
needed without regard for exterior appearance.
While quoined corners were still frequently em-
ployed with clapboarded walls, rusticated boarding
to simulate cut stone, which had enjoyed a certain
vogue during Provincial times, rarely found favor
with those who built square three-story houses. The
Timothy Orne house at Number 266 Essex Street,
however, was erected in 1761 while Provincial
influences were at their height, and although in
general design and arrangement the house was
rather ahead of its time, in finish it was not unlike
several gambrel-roof structures of Essex County. The
two large chimney stacks symmetrically located are
characteristic of the earlier period, and the deck
roof with its slender ornamental palings and posts
differs from most arrangements on hip-roofed houses
in that the balustrade is placed neither near the
ridge nor the eaves, but about midway between them.
Timothy Orne was one of the leading merchants
of Salem just before the Revolution. His leanings
[671
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
at times seemed to favor the Crown, and Felt in his
"Annals of Salem" relates that an old letter, dated
November i8, 1775, tells how Orne was taken in
the evening from a house in School Street and
threatened with being tarred and feathered for
some expression not sufficiently anti-royal, but was
released by the Committee of Safety.
Deck roofs such as that of the Orne house and other
dwellings in Salem undoubtedly induced Mr. William
G. Rantoul, the eminent Boston architect, to em-
bellish his residence at Number 19 Chestnut Street
in the course of alterations about 1905, by adding a
balustrade, located, however, at the eaves as on the
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols house. Both posts and
palings accord with older Salem work, yet possess a
certain individuality, particularly the palings which,
unlike most others, comprise two pleasing patterns
in alternation. New and attractive window frames
with architrave casings of typically Salem pattern
were added at the same time, while the Doric porch
and door with glass lights in the two upper panels
were copied from that of the Goss-Osgood house at
Number 15 Chestnut Street. Of broad street frontage
but no great depth, this is one of the many three-
story wood houses of this period that are oblong
rather than square and depend on a two-story L in
the rear for several rooms. It was erected in 18 10
by the Reverend Charles Cleveland, great-uncle of
President Cleveland, and deputy collector of the
[68]
The Square Three- Story Wood House
port of Salem from 1789 to 1802, who lived to within
a few days of a complete century.
A house of virtually the same general character,
though lacking the decked roof and pleasing fenestra-
tion of the Rantoul residence, is the birthplace of
General Frederick W. Lander at Number 5 Barton
Square, erected about 1800. Here the third-story
windows are smaller and the intended effect of fore-
shortening was not achieved, the high-studded
rooms with windows of normal height on the two
lower floors leaving too broad, unbroken wall spaces.
The six-pane upper windows do not possess the
pleasing scale of the more common nine-paned fore-
shortened windows. The side entrance and veranda
are of more recent date than the house proper.
A brave officer with an enviable record in the
government service, both before and during the
Civil War, General Lander was one of Salem's most
honored men. Being a civil engineer by profession
he was employed by the government to report on
the feasibility of a transcontinental railway to the
Pacific Coast, and he later constructed the great
overland wagon road which made the construction
of the railway possible. Prospecting in those pioneer
days was fraught with many dangers, and on one
surveying expedition, undertaken at his own expense,
he was the only member of the party to return alive.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 he was in
Texas on a secret mission for the government, but
[69]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
escaped with great difficulty with important advices.
He was thereupon made a brigadier-general and soon
afterward assigned to a command on the upper
Potomac. In the battle of Ball's Bluff on October 21,
1 861, he was shot in the leg. The wound had not
healed when he reported for duty to General Hancock
in January, 1862, and his death followed early in
March, being announced in a special order by General
McClellan. His body was brought to Salem where
it lay in state at the City Hall and was buried with
honors unequaled since the funeral of Captain
Lawrence and Lieutenant Ludlow of the Chesapeake
who were killed in the memorable engagement with
the Shannon in 181 3 off the port of Salem.
Occasionally where an ample site permitted, a
wing extended to one side of the main house along
the street, instead of an L projecting from the rear,
and thus by greatly elongating the oblong arrange-
ment reduced in a measure the apparent height of a
three-story structure. A notable example was the
Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters house at Number
74 Washington Square East, as it appeared prior to
1892 and as shown by the accompanying illustration.
A hip-roofed dwelling, three stories high and of the
utmost simplicity, the elliptical porch over the front
doorway with its heavy Tuscan columns and the
inclosed porch of the three-story wing afford the only
architectural embellishments, aside from the neces-
sary windows, to break the great expanse of the
[70]
MICV-
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Plate XXXIL — Cook-Oliver House, 142 Federal Street.
Erected 1804; Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters House,
72 Washington Square East. Erected 1805.
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The Square Three- Story Wood House
facade. The fence with its small square posts, light
molded rails and base, and unique jig-sawed member
between each five square pickets, is of simple grace
and provides an effective foil for the severity of the
house itself.
The house was erected in 1805, after plans by
Samuel Mclntire, for Clifford Crowninshield, a
merchant who accumulated considerable wealth by
many daring ventures at sea. It is interesting to
recall that the Minerva, owned by him and Nathaniel
West, was the first Salem vessel to circumnavigate
the globe. After Mr. Crowninshield's death in 1809,
his wife having died and there being no children, the
house was occupied by Captain James Devereux,
who had married Mr. Crowninshield's sister Sarah in
1792. It was Captain Devereux who commanded the
ship Franklin of Boston, the first American vessel
to trade with Japan, half a century before commercial
intercourse was opened between the island empire of
the Far East and the United States. His ship was
also among the first to engage in the Mocha trade,
the records showing that in 1808 the Franklin brought
from there a cargo of 532,365 pounds of coffee,
consigned to Joseph Peabody, on which a duty of
$26,618.25 was paid. In 1846 Captain Devereux
died and the house was occupied by Captain William
Dean Waters, whose wife Abigail was a daughter
of Captain Devereux. On the death of Captain
Waters in 1880 it was inherited by his son William
[71]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Crowninshleld Waters, who sold it in 1892. Up to
that time the structure had remained unchanged,
but the new owner, Zina Goodell, changed the
main part of it from an oblong house with three
rooms on each floor to a square house with four
rooms on each floor by moving the wing around
to the rear and about doubling the depth of the
building.
Residences arranged like the Crowninshield-
Devereux house as it was originally built, but stand-
ing end to the street on a deep lot of narrow street
frontage, the service wing extending straight back
from the rear end of the main house, were frequently
erected, and many still remain. Although of quaint
simplicity yet only slight architectural pretension,
none of these holds more of interest than the modest
gable-roof house at Number 3 1 Summer Street which
was the home of Samuel Mclntire, the eminent
architect and wood-carver, whose life and work
have been so completely detailed and illustrated in a
previous book by the present authors entitled "The
Wood-Carver of Salem."
Of a family of carvers, joiners and housewrights,
whose skill descended through several generations,
Mclntire stands forth as the genius among them.
In his father's shop he learned the trade of carpenter
and joiner, and, as the result of persistent applica-
tion with his tools and of cultivating his inherent
sense of design through diligent study of the classic
[721
The Square Three-Story Wood House
masters, he not only became probably the most
highly skilled American wood-carver of his time,
but the most eminent architect of the city most
widely known for the rare beauty of its Colonial
residences and public buildings.
For thirty years, until his death in 1811, Salem
architecture was dominated by this man whose name
in the annals of New England building ranks second
only to that of Charles Bulfinch, architect of the
Massachusetts State House. During that period
most of the finer residences and several public
edifices were designed by him. Working at a time
when virtually all the large houses in New England
were being built three stories high and square or
oblong, he naturally followed the tendency of the
time, but obtained considerable individuality by
variation of the floor plan, particularly by alteration
of the relation between the main houses and the L,
where the latter existed. And what the style lacked
in picturesqueness of line and mass he supplied in
variety of embellishment, as seen in the beautiful
detail of his doorways, porches, windows, cornices,
deck roofs, belvederes and occasional pilaster treat-
ment of the fa9ade. He was also especially successful
in cleverly foreshortening the third story, with nearly
square windows to reduce the apparent total height
of the structure, the effect being due to nice propor-
tions carefully determined.
That Mclntire's achievements are incomparably
[73]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
more pleasing than similar contemporaneous work
elsewhere in America is due to his skill with tools,
inherent good taste, keen sense of proportion and
native ingenuity. Unlike many American builders
who took their inspiration chiefly if not wholly from
Georgian work, Mclntire, like Jones, Wren, Gibbons,
and the brothers Adam, went back to original
sources and adapted directly from the Greek and
Roman classics, with modifications and innovations
of his own, the result being that his designs are more
chaste, original and imaginative. His detail, in its
freedom, refinement, lightness and graceful dignity,
presents a more domestic, personal, direct and al-
together charming interpretation of Renaissance
motives and therefore more useful suggestions for
present-day work. Indeed, his doorways, chimney
pieces and other wood trim have furnished the in-
spiration for more of the best modern Colonial houses
than has the work of any other early American
architect, and a consideration of these sources brings
his name frequently into the pages that follow.
Many of Mclntire's plans and a few of his tools are
preserved at the Essex Institute, and an examination
of the incomplete character of the former and the
crudity of the latter redoubles one's admiration for
the nicety of the work he accomplished with their
aid. In 1793 Mclntire entered a design for the
national capitol at Washington in the first architec-
tural competition ever held in America. His plans,
[74]
The Square Three-Story Wood House
preserved by the Maryland Historical Society, com-
pare favorably with the other submitted plans, and
had he lived it is likely that, after the death of
William Thornton in 1827, he would have been asso-
ciated with B. H. Latrobe and Charles Bulfinch in
the modification and construction of the design
chosen.
After he had become established in his career
Mclntire bought the modest house at Number 31
Summer Street which had been erected in 1780,
and in the yard at the rear located his shop, where
much of the wood finish and fine carving for houses
designed by him was prepared. During his brief
career he was too busy to build himself a house
such as he might have -desired, and it is not known
to what extent he improved the Summer Street
house, if at all. Although of the utmost simplicity,
the mantels and other wood trim resemble his work
and possess a certain pleasing distinction. The front
room on the third floor was his music room, and the
coved ceiling under the gable roof was probably his
own idea. Here he had his best furniture, an organ
and other musical instruments on which he was an
accomplished performer, and here he spent his
leisure hours and entertained his friends.
Turning now to specific examples of Mclntire's
genius as an architect, the Cook-Oliver house,
Number 142 Federal Street, compares favorably
with anything in Salem. A stately mansion, standing
175]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
in the shade of giant trees, its beautiful entrance
porch, fence and gateposts at once attract the eye.
As recounted in Chapters VI and XI they were
hand-tooled by Mclntire, together with much of the
interior finish, for the Elias Hasket Derby mansion
formerly on the site of the Market House, and were
removed to their present location soon after 1804,
previous to the complete razing of the Derby mansion
in 1815. The house at Number 142 Federal Street
was built after plans by Mclntire and under his
direction for Captain Samuel Cook, a master mariner.
Although erected in 1804, the house was from eight
to eleven years in the building because of unsuccess-
ful voyages which rendered the expense of faster
work a burden. The need for economy perhaps
accounts for the use of much woodwork from the
Derby mansion. However that may be, its employ-
ment transformed what had been planned as an
ordinary house into one of exceptional charm and
distinction and preserved some of Mclntire's most
notable personal handicraft.
In more recent years this house was occupied
until his death in 1885 by Captain Cook's son-in-law,
General Henry Kemble Oliver, the famous composer
and musician, and here he wrote the music for
"Federal Street" and several other well-known
church hymns. General Oliver was at various times
one of the early mayors of Lawrence, treasurer of
her great cotton mills. Adjutant General and State
[76]
Plate XXXIV. — The house where Hawthorne achieved fame,
14 Mall Street; Paved Courtyard between Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols House and Barn.
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The Square Three-Story Wood House
Treasurer of Massachusetts, and Mayor of Salem
in his eightieth year.
Like most residences of the time the Cook-Oliver
house is a square structure, three stories high, with
a two-story L at the rear jutting by on one side of
the main house far enough to permit a side door.
The third story of the main house is foreshortened,
with almost square, nine-paned windows to reduce
the apparent total height and the roof was originally
decked with a surrounding balustrade and reached
through a scuttle. All walls are clapboarded, except
for the flat boarding of the "jut-by" and the eastern
wall of the main house, which is of brick, afi"ording,
before its neighbor was built, greater protection
against the northeast storms off the sea.
Several refined and attractive architectural features
relieve the severity of line inevitable in a square
building. Most important of these, the porch and
doorway are treated in Chapter VI. Windows with
molded architrave casings range absolutely on all
elevations, the second-story window frames being
elaborated by the addition of beautiful hand-carved
beads. A heavy cornice with large molded modillions
adorns the eaves, and a broad, horizontal belt of
vertical-fluted wood finish at the level of the second
floor and porch cornice extends across the entire
facade and serves to tie the porch to the house as a
whole.
Of the many mansions designed by Mclntire,
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
most of which still stand in excellent condition,
thanks to Salem thrift and the durability of white
pine, the Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols house at Number
80 Federal Street is looked upon as the principal
monument to his genius. His masterpiece was
probably the Elias Hasket Derby mansion which
formerly stood on the site of the present Market
House and to which detailed reference is made in
Chapter XL To-day, however, the Pierce- Johonnot-
Nichols house is the architectural gem of old Salem,
and is commonly spoken of as the finest wooden
Colonial house in New England.
While it boasts no important association with
historic events in national affairs, the pathos of its
romantic memories makes direct appeal to all.
Erected in 1782, and its last interior woodwork
completed in 1801, it was the pride and joy of
Jerathmel Pierce, a wealthy East India merchant.
Here were centered all his life interests, for a path
led from the inclosed porch directly to the wharf
and warehouse on the North River, then a navigable
stream, where his ships came laden with spices and
fabrics from the Orient. The gradual completion of
the house, room by room, and the development of
the terraced garden were objects of his daily attention
while still in constant touch with his business. In
1826, however, financial adversity deprived him
and his son-in-law, George Nichols, of their fortunes,
and in consequence the house was sold in 1827 to
[78]
The Square Three-Story JVood House
George Johonnot, an old friend of both families.
Mr. Pierce, then in his eightieth year, could not bear
so great a shock ; only once after going to live with
his son-in-law in the famous old Tontine Block did
he look at the mansion which had formerly been his,
and shortly afterward he died. During the year
1839 both Mr. and Mrs. Johonnot died, and it was
discovered that the house had been willed by them
to George Nichols and his wife to be held in trust
for their four daughters. Thus the estate came back
into the family, and the son-in-law was enabled to
pass his declining years in the house where he married
his first wife and where his second wife, Betsy Pierce,
was born. After relinquishing active management
of his business upon the verge of seventy in favor of
two of his sons, he devoted himself to the care of the
beautiful garden at the back of the house which
even to-day retains much of its former charm.
Thus architects, antiquaries, lovers of romance
and Colonial art rejoice that in 191 7 the house was
purchased by the Essex Institute for permanent
preservation as a magnificent specimen of the
residence of a Salem merchant and ship owner during
the period of great commercial prosperity following
the Revolution.
As a whole the greater depth, breadth and fore-
shortened third story of the Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols
house give it a mass much more pleasing than the
average square Salem house. Its particular distinc-
[791
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
tion, however, lies in the classic balustrades of
the low, decked, hip roof and belvedere, whence
arriving ships might be watched for, and the at-
tractive embellishment of the fluted pilaster treat-
ment at the corners, a free use of the Doric order,
which does much to mitigate the severity in shape
of a square house. The Doric spirit also pervades
the entrance porch at the front and the inclosed
porch at the side doorway, which in pleasing propor-
tion and delicate detail are the equal of any to be
found in New England. The fence and charming
urn-topped gateposts framing the doorway vista
harmonize well with these porches ; the posts,
reproductions of the originals, are especially well
formed as to proper height and classic outline, the
urns being the originals and carved out of solid
blocks of wood. The window treatment, both of caps
and casings, is one of effective simplicity, and the
dark-painted doors with panels well spaced are
equipped with quaint brass hardware, including
one of the handsomest knockers in Salem. At the
rear of the house the stable and various outbuildings
range about a brick-paved court and form a picture
of remarkable picturesqueness. Whereas the gable
ends of the outbuildings are embellished with keyed
round arches, the one-story wing of the house on the
opposite side of the court consists of a series of broad
doors under elliptical fanlights somewhat after the
manner of a colonnade. This device, reflecting the
[80]
The Square Three-Story Wood House
Adam influence which dominates the treatment
of the eastern rooms of the house, presents a motive
of exceptional charm for modern adaptation where a
glazed sun porch is desired. Indoors Mclntire found
ample opportunity to display his best efforts as a
designer and wood-carver, and much of the splendid
woodwork and several magnificent mantels and
chimney pieces are treated in succeeding chapters
devoted to those subjects.
Houses of every principal period of Salem archi-
tecture are more or less directly associated with
Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the so-called three-story
square type is no exception. At various times
Hawthorne occupied five different places of residence
in Salem, and many other old dwellings, such as the
Grimshawe house, were among his favorite haunts
or were described by him in his books.
For about sixteen months in 1846 and 1847, while
serving as surveyor of the Port of Salem and Beverly,
Hawthorne occupied the house at Number 18 Chest-
nut Street. Like many others it was oblong rather
than square and stood end to the street with
a wing projecting from the opposite end. Three
stories high and hip roofed, it afforded a comfortable
home of the time, yet without special architectural
distinction, and was considerably altered during the
Victorian decadence, the treatment of the former
principal entrance at the side on Botts Court and the
addition of the present front entrance with bay
[81]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
windows above being most unfortunate. It was
during the early months of Hawthorne's occupancy
that his son Julian was born in Boston at the home
of his father-in-law, Doctor Nathaniel Peabody.
Little of his important literary work was done
in the house, yet his remarkably retiring disposition
led him to live here in seclusion as much as ever.
To avoid callers whom he did not wish to meet, he
would steal out of the back door, which opened on
the narrow court running between Chestnut and
Essex streets, and remain as long as necessary in
the house of his friend Doctor Benjamin F. Browne
at the other end of the court.
It was in his last Salem residence at Number 14
Mall Street that Hawthorne ^achieved fame, although
this house proved to be not a place of joy as he had
anticipated, but rather one of sorrow. Here he
lived from the autumn of 1847 until he moved to
Lenox in 1850, and in his study on the third floor
overlooking the street he wrote "The Scarlet Letter"
under the severe pressure of dismissal from office and
financial distress, and interrupted by his mother's
death in 1849 and his own serious illness. A change
in the administration at Washington brought a new
appointee as Surveyor of the Port, and to his Mall
Street home he came to tell his wife that he had been
turned out of office. "Very well," said she, "now
you can write your romance." And in response to
his query as to what they should live on meantime
[82]
Plate XXXVI. — The " Grimshawe " House, 53 Charter Street.
Erected about 1780; Hawthorne's Residence in 1846 and
1847, 18 Chestnut Street.
Plate XXXVII. — Gardner-White-Pingree House, 128 Essex
Street. Erected 18 lO; Dodge-Shreve House, 29 Chestnut
Street. Erected 18 17.
The Square Three- Story Wood House
she showed him in a bureau drawer the gold she had
saved from portions of his salary which he had given
her occasionally.
It was in "a chamber over the sitting-room"
early in 1850 that James T. Fields, the Boston
publisher, found the despondent Hawthorne "hover-
ing near a stove", and induced him to submit his
manuscript of "The Scarlet Letter" for a reading.
In "Yesterdays With Authors" Fields tells of
Hawthorne's great reluctance, repeated refusals and
grave fears that the book would be a failure, also of
his own enthusiasm as he read this powerful romance,
and of its immediate publication and complete
success.
The Mall Street house is also oblong and stands
end to the street with a wing in the rear. It is three
stories high, hip roofed, and like many others its
broad, picturesque "front" door opens upon a yard
with trees at one side of the lot. Both house and
surroundings remain substantially as when Haw-
thorne left them.
Another end-to-the-street house, though of much
broader frontage and having an inclosed entrance
porch on the street, is inseparably associated with
Hawthorne and his writings. This so-called "Grim-
shawe" house, erected about 1780 at Number 53
Charter Street, adjoining the Charter Street Burial
Ground, was the scene of Hawthorne's courtship
and happiest hours, for it was the home of his child-
[83]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
hood playmate, Sophia Amelia Peabody, the daughter
of Doctor Nathaniel Peabody of Boston, whom he
married in the summer of 1842. Externally the
"Grimshawe" house has changed but little in form,
but an unfortunate fire in 1915 burned out the
interior, and the structure was then remodeled
as a lodging house, the inclosed porch described in
the first chapter of "Dr. Grimshawe's Secret" being
removed for preservation to the garden of the Essex
Institute.
[84]
CHAPTER V
THE SQUARE THREE-STORY BRICK HOUSE
THE common adoption of brick construction
for most of the better residences during the
first decade of the nineteenth century considerably
broadened the scope of the three-story square house.
While the general mass, roof lines and ornamental
features continued substantially unchanged, except
that the Ionic and especially the Corinthian orders
replaced the Doric and Tuscan which had prevailed
in former years, brickwork contributed numerous
desirable characteristics not possessed by clap-
boarded walls. Foremost among them should be
mentioned its permanence and fireproof qualities
which are responsible for the preservation of so many
of these splendid century-old homes in almost as good
condition as when they were erected^ But this is by
no means all : brickwork clothed these boxlike houses
with that delightful warmth of color, that charming
texture of the bonding, that enlivening contrast of
marble lintels and sills, mortar joints and white-
painted wood trim against a red background, and
that satisfying appearance of certain comfort and
[85]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
intrinsic worth which wood construction, however
honest and attractive, cannot convey.
On a foundation of large cut-granite blocks the
brickwork was for the most part laid up in Flemish
bond with headers and stretchers in alternation in
the same course. The Richard Derby house, erected
in 1 761, the oldest brick house now standing in
Salem, has this bonding, and it was generally em-
ployed until about 1816 and 18 17 when longitudinal
or running bond began to be used, as in the Dodge-
Shreve and Silsbee-Mott houses. Very likely in
some of these latter houses transverse or tie courses
exist, but are concealed, as in the walls of the East
India Marine Hall. While making alterations in
this building in 1885 it was found that every eighth
course consisted of special square bricks eight by
eight by two inches, having the outward appearance
of stretchers but the strength of headers in the wall.
The brickwork of the Pickman-Shreve-Little house
is laid up in running bond with every eighth course
consisting of ordinary headers to form a transverse
tie course.
Several of the many old brick houses still standing
in Salem are the work of Mclntire, and are alluded
to either here or in Chapter XL Most of them
obviously owe much to the influence of his genius.
They are scattered through Derby, Essex and Chest-
nut streets and about Washington Square; the
mansions of Chestnut Street, however, are especially
[86]
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Plate XXXIX. — Peabody-Silsbee House, 360 Essex Street.
Erected 1797; Hodges-Peele-West House, 12 Chestnut Street.
Erected 1804.
The Square Three-Story Brick House
notable. This broad thoroughfare, bordered by
giant elms through which stately residences and
welcoming doorways are everywhere to be seen,
presents a favorite picture of the days of Salem's
former greatness that lingers long in the memory
of every visitor. Indeed, it has been spoken of as the
finest architectural street in America, and who cares
to deny it ? The accompanying illustration was
made from a point in front of Number lo Chestnut
Street, the residence of Philip Little, the artist.
This house was erected in 1804, but the gateposts
are modern, yet Colonial in spirit.
A few more oblong houses were erected during this
final period of Colonial architecture in Salem, now
and then one being located end to the street; but
generally speaking the nineteenth-century Colonial
mansions of brick were very nearly square
with service wings at the rear, sometimes centrally
located, or again jutting by the main house at one
side.
Of the end-to-the-street houses perhaps the Mans-
field-Bolles house at Number 8 Chestnut Street best
deserves mention here. It is in brick about what
Hawthorne's Mall Street residence was in wood. Its
chief distinctions lie in its doorway of graceful
simplicity and the unusual gambrel-roofed wing
of wood at the rear end. Unlike most brick houses
of importance in Salem, aside from "The Studio",
referred to later in this chapter, its windows boast
[87]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
no lintels, but have molded architrave frames of
wood let into the reveals of the brickwork. Built
originally as a two-story house, possibly with a
gambrel roof, a third story was added about 1825
or 1830 by Deacon John Stone, and the brickwork
has since been painted a slate-gray color.
Before its enlargement David Asby kept a shoe
store here, and about 1814 the house was occupied
by John Thayer. In more recent times it was for
many years the residence of the Reverend E. C.
BoUes, formerly pastor of the Universalist Church
and now the "grand old man" of Tufts College.
Although advanced in years and blind, Professor
BoUes still holds his chair, and the boys delight to
attend his lectures. He it was who in 1886 with
William P. Upham and John Robinson made the
famous set of witchcraft photographs, the negatives
of which are now held by the Essex Institute.
Of the oblong mansions of brick with an L in the
rear none is more worthy of detailed attention than
the Gardner-White-Pingree house. Number 128 Essex
,' Street, of which Samuel Mclntire was the architect
in 1 810. It was probably Mclntire's last important
work and may not have been completed before his
death. It is considered by many to be his best brick
house and contains beautiful interior woodwork.
Exteriorly, by the ingenious use of broad, slightly
projecting bands of white marble at the second- and
third-floor levels Mclntire at once relieved the
[88]
The Square Three-Story Brick House
severity of so high a facade and exaggerated the
horizontal effect. These bands, together with the
sills and keyed flat-arch lintels of the many ranging
windows, assist materially in creating a seemingly
broader frontage, and so, like the foreshortened
third-story windows, tend to reduce the apparent
total height. The handsome balustrade of the decked
roof, consisting of classic turned balusters between
pedestals at regular intervals, also assists to ac-
complish the same purpose aside from its ornamental
value. Instead of increasing the apparent height, it
has the very contrary effect, and by locating the
solid roof line somewhat below the absolute top of
the structure causes the whole mass to look lower.
The elliptical porch and doorway, one of the best in
Salem, is treated in detail in the following chapter.
Another brick residence designed by Mclntire,
and one of his best achievements, is the Peabody-
Silsbee house at Number 380 Essex Street, erected
in 1797. Historically it is of interest as the birthplace
alike of the late Francis Peabody, a close personal
friend of the late J. Pierpont Morgan, and of S.
Endicott Peabody, one of the trustees of George
Peabody, the London banker for whom Peabody,
Massachusetts, was named. Although a square
house with several wings and subsequent additions,
this and the Gardner-White-Pingree house have
certain characteristics in common, the resemblances
being emphasized, perhaps, by the fact that in recent
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
years the brickwork of both houses has been painted
a slate-gray color. Except for the foreshortened
third-story windows the fenestration is virtually
the same, notably the lintels. The balustrades of
the decked roofs are also much the same, the more
steeply pitched hip roof of the Peabody-Silsbee
house, however, being elaborated by a surmounting
belvedere of spacious area. Whereas the cornice
under the eaves of the Gardner-White-Pingree house
conforms fairly closely to the conventional Corinthian
order, that of the Peabody-Silsbee house bears the
stamp of Mclntire's originality. A ball molding, a
veritable triumph of hand carving, replaces the
usual dentil course, yet gives the same scale, while
the under side of the corona is ornamented with
square clusters of balls at regular intervals after the
manner of the mutules of the Doric order. The
Doric porch, with its delicate suggestions of Adam
influence, is alluded to at length in the following
chapter. As on many old Salem estates a stable
in the rear of the grounds is in complete accord with
the house, as all outbuildings should be.
Another square, gray-painted brick house of this
period that charms the eye by the unaffected simplic-
ity of its facade, with plain marble lintels and the
play of light and shadow cast upon it by a great,
spreading elm, is the residence of Arthur W. West,
Number 12 Chestnut Street, first owned and oc-
cupied by Captain Jonathan Hodges. Built originally
[90]
Plate XL„ — Baldwin-Lyman House, 92 Washington Square
East. Erected 18 18; Pickman-Shreve-Little House,
27 Chestnut Street. Erected 18 16.
Plate XLI. — Andrew-Safford House, 13 Washington Square.
Erected 1818; Loring-Emmerton House, 328 Essex Street.
Erected 181 8.
The Square Three- Story Brick House
In 1804 for two families, It was converted to a single
house by Wlllard Peele in 1845. At that time the
present doorway and probably the porch were added,
for both show the influence of the Greek revival
in the heavier columns, the detail of the capitals,
the oblong transom and the absence of leaded glass
In the side lights. The bracket-like modlllions of the
cornice are also unusual In houses erected as early
as 1804. The handsome wrought-Iron fence and
stair balustrades compare favorably with the best
on Chestnut Street, and the stable in the rear,
architecturally embellished after the manner of the
time, completes a domestic picture that never fails
to elicit the admiration of all who see it.
The Baldwin-Lyman house at Number 92 Washing-
ton Square East, although erected in 1818, retains
several of the characteristics of earlier days, notably
the symmetrical arrangement of four tall chimneys
In pairs at each end and the ornamental picket
fence with architectural gateposts which had proved
such an effective feature of the gambrel-roof and
square wood houses. The doorway, to which reference
is made in the following chapter, reflects the designs
of earlier years in the simplicity of its glasswork.
Much of the pristine charm of the fenestration has
been lost through the substitution of four-paned
windows for the original twelve-paned windows which
gave such a pleasing scale to the facade.
Palladian windows, which had formerly only
[91]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
graced stairway landings at the rear of the house,
now began to be employed above entrance porches
to elaborate the facade and lend added charm to
the second-floor hall. In this connection two spacious
mansions standing side by side form an interesting
comparison. Except for their rear wings the Pick-
man-Shreve-Little house, Number 27 Chestnut
Street, erected in 1816, and the Dodge-Shreve house,
next to it at Number 29 Chestnut Street, are sub-
stantially the same in mass. Both are square, three
stories in height, their hip roofs surmounted by large
belvederes with classic balustrades and corner
pedestals, and their heavy cornices embellished with
modillions, elaborate in their fine-scale detail.
It is in the ornamental details of the fa9ade that
these structures differ chiefly, the Pickman-Shreve-
Little house being, generally speaking, the simpler
of the two. The nicely carved keyed lintels with
their central vertical bead of diminishing spheres,
perhaps suggested by the lintels of the Mack and
Stone houses, are in striking contrast to the more
elaborate lintels of the Dodge-Shreve house with a
variation of the Grecian fret motive for each floor.
These lintels have frequently been copied in modem
work.
Both doorways and the Corinthian entrance
porches have much in common and represent super-
lative achievements in the use of this order in Salem
architecture. While the balustrade above the Dodge-
[92]
The Square Three-Story Brick House
Shreve porch enriches it somewhat, and so definitely
embraces the Palladian window above it as virtually
to render porch and window complements of a single
architectural feature, the Pickman-Shreve-Little
porch has long held the distinction of being the best
hand-carved wood Corinthian porch in America.
It is as near perfection in detail and proportion as
anything that has yet been achieved in wood. Both
entrances are enhanced in charm by delightful
wrought-iron hand rails and fences, also leaded
glass work of graceful pattern, differing principally
in the side lights. As in the case of the porches, so
the Palladian window of the Pickman-Shreve-Little
house is simpler in detail than that of the Dodge-
Shreve house, and unlike the latter has above it a
semicircular fanlight in place of the usual Georgian
window. Attractive as this is in itself, its use in this
location fails to please as does the simpler oblong
window. Detailed consideration of these Palladian
windows finds a more logical place in the following
chapter, because of their intimate relation to the
entrance porch and the architectural effect of the
doorway as a whole.
At Number 328 Essex Street the Loring-Emmerton
house attracts attention as an old mansion of 1818
remodeled and much elaborated in 1 886-1 887 by
the addition of a profusion of Colonial detail adapted
from various sources in Salem and elsewhere. The
handsome marble window lintels were inspired by
[93]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
those at Number 29 Chestnut Street, and while the
Palladian window emanated from the same source,
the flattened arch has neither the beauty of line of
its higher prototype nor the charm of the character-
istic elliptical arch. The Ionic porch and doorway
undoubtedly were inspired by those of the Peabody-
Silsbee house, a wood balustrade above being substi-
tuted for the wrought iron of the older porch. While
the door itself is excellent, the leaded glass about it
loses much of the beauty of century-old work in its ex-
ceedingly fine-scale pattern. At one side of the house
an elaborate carriage entrance of obvious modernity
exhibits but little of the Colonial spirit. The archi-
tectural gateposts, however, have been reproduced
after Mclntire's best manner and lend an appearance
of stately elegance to the carriage entrance.
This mansion was for many years the home of
Honorable George Bailey Loring, who was a member
of Congress, Commissioner of Agriculture under
Presidents Garfield and Arthur, and was appointed
Minister to Portugal by President Harrison. On
several occasions he entertained President Pierce
there. It is now the residence of Miss Caroline O.
Emmerton, the philanthropist through whose gener-
osity the "House of Seven Gables" and the "Old
Bakery" have been preserved, as recounted in the
first two chapters of this book.
Among the finest old brick mansions of Salem the
Andrew-Safford house at Number 13 Washington
[94]
The Square Three-Story Brick House
Square takes a prominent place. It was erected in
i8i8 by John Andrew, the uncle of John A. Andrew,
Civil War Governor of Massachusetts, who was a
frequent visitor. At the time of its completion it was
regarded as the most costly private residence in
New England, and no finer example of the character-
istic architecture of its time remains in such an
excellent state of preservation. In fact, the whole
estate, embracing a stable at the right in harmony
with the house and a fine old formal garden at the
left, exemplifies as do few others the best that money
could provide in Salem a century ago. The house
itself is of noble proportions, square and having a
service wing centrally located in the rear, the great
tall chimneys, five in all, being symmetrically located.
Like the Peabody-Silsbee house the hip roof is orna-
mented by a balustrade about the belvedere and
also at the eaves. The balustrade of the belvedere
consists of square pedestals and turned balusters of
classic outline, whereas a semicircular blind panel
in the center of each baluster section elaborates the
balustrade at the eaves. Under the eaves the cornice
includes heavy modillions and a relatively fine-scale
ball molding reminiscent of the Peabody-Silsbee
cornice. Like those of the Dodge-Shreve house the
nicely carved keyed lintels were perhaps inspired
by those of the Mack and Stone houses. At the
side entrance a unique and striking effect is created
by a portico formed by fluted columns rising the
[95]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
height of all three stories. This and some of the
detail of the interior finish show the influence of
Greek revival tendencies. An intrusive glass con-
servatory of recent origin under this columnal
veranda mars the former imposing effect of the
columns. The ornate Corinthian entrance porch,
referred to in detail in the following chapter, is
the most elaborate and one of the most admired
in Salem, and properly forms the center of interest
of this imposing facade. As in the case of several
other brick residences, the walls have been painted.
Within, the house is notable for its fine wood finish,
scenic wall papers and antique furniture, to which
further reference will be made in Chapter VIII.
The Silsbee-Mott house, a two-family, semi-de-
tached structure at Number 35 Washington Square
and Number 2 Oliver Street West, erected in 1818,
interests the student of architecture for its unusual
arrangement, made necessary partly by the irregular
shape of the site, and partly in conformity with the
scheme of building two separate but adjoining houses
on a double comer site. The left-hand or Silsbee por-
tion has an L-shaped plan with an entrance on Oliver
Street, while the right-hand or Mott portion has an
oblong plan with an entrance on Washington Square
East, as shown by the accompanying photograph. It
will be noticed that this latter entrance, located as it is
at the side where this part of the house adjoins the
other, lends a pleasing sense of unity and balance to
[96]
r-«T^ v>'
Plate XLII. — Mack-and-Stone Houses, 21 and 23 Chestnut
Street. Erected 1814-1815; Silsbee-Mott House, 35 Wash-
ington Square West. Erected 18 18.
Platk XLIII. — Hoffman-Simpson House, 26 Chestnut Street.
Erected about 1827; Allen-Osgood-Huntington Houses,
31, 33 and 35 Chestnut Street. Erected about 1825.
The Square Three-Story Brick House
the entire structure that would not otherwise be the
case. In its fenestration, tall chimneys and various
details this house conforms to others of the period.
The cornice, with its conspicuous ball molding,
suggests a modification of that by Mclntire on the
Peabody-Silsbee house, while the window lintels
are like those of the Andrew-Safford mansion. The
high, heavy porch, and particularly the high, oblong
transom of the doorway, indicate the early Greek
revival tendency. Probably the balustrade on the
roof of the Mott side of the house, consisting of a
section of balusters in alternation with a solid panel,
is of relatively recent origin.
The more general use of brick in the construction
of dwellings, together with the increased land values
as Salem grew, led about this time to the building
of many residence blocks of two or more semi-
detached houses, with fireproof brick party walls
between. These were almost invariably of the
three-story squarfe type and usually hip-roofed, with
tall prominent chimneys and handsome entrance
porches. Of them all the so-called Mack and Stone
houses, numbered 21 and 23 Chestnut Street, are
perhaps the most attractive. Unlike many other
similar structures, the doorways are separate, each
having an elliptical porch well designed in the Ionic
order and in happy accord with the doorways. The
original iron fence and balustrade railings of pleasing
pattern remain in excellent condition and greatly
[97]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
enhance the charm of these entrances. One notices,
too, the ornamental iron guard along the eaves
to prevent the unexpected sliding of snow from the
roof. The marble lintels and sills of many ranging
windows brighten the broad expanse of brickwork,
and the keyed lintel is the more welcome for its
nicely executed carving, especially the central verti-
cal bead of diminishing spheres. As indicated by
the four-paned sashes on one side and the twelve-
paned sashes on the other side, the house is not
divided into equal halves, one house having its
hall at the side, the other house its hall in the center,
with corresponding differences in floor plan.
The four-paned sashes are doubtless of much later
date than the house. In the rear the structure
presents an interesting appearance because of its
"swell fronts" or semicircular terminations the
width of the rear corner rooms.
This double house was built by Henry and John
Pickering, about 1 8 14-18 15, and first occupied by
them on its completion. Henry Pickering was a
man of literary tastes and the author of "The Ruins
of PsEStum" and other poems. His house. Number
21, was afterward occupied for a time by George
Peabody, a merchant prominent in the Russian
trade, who afterward resided at Number 29 Washing-
ton Square, now the quarters of the Salem Club.
John Pickering, LL.D., the Greek lexicographer,
famous linguist, and city solicitor of Boston at the
[98]
The Square Three- Story Brick House
time of his death, was a son of Colonel Timothy-
Pickering, and for several years lived across the way
at Number i8 Chestnut Street, which, as already
recounted, was also the residence of Nathaniel
Hawthorne in 1846.
The year 1818 witnessed the final development
of the last type of house which, in the broadest
possible interpretation of the term, can be regarded
as belonging to the Colonial architecture of Salem.
After that date the spirit of the Greek revival,
which dominated New England building for two or
three decades after about 1825, began to assert
itself. Houses somewhat Colonial in feeling were
occasionally built, it is true, but less frequently.
Manifesting no pronounced development, however,
they rather echoed, and sometimes combined some-
what indiscriminately, the features of former periods
and so lack the distinction of the older residences,
although often not unpleasing to the eye nor lacking
in the substantial comfort of brick construction.
When the Victorian decadence swept the country
with its clumsy fantastic forms and wealth of ginger-
bread work. Colonial building ceased in Salem as
it did elsewhere, and not until 1918, a century after
its development ended, did the Colonial style again
come into favor to any considerable extent. What
the great fire of 19 14 meant to Salem from an architec-
tural standpoint, however, forms the subject of the
final chapter of this volume.
[ 99 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
It seems fitting to conclude the present chapter
with a few representative examples showing how
completely the three-story brick houses erected
after 1818, aside from those of the Greek revival,
owe their inspiration to earlier house types already
considered in previous chapters. The Hoffman-
Simpson house, for instance, at Number 26 Chestnut
Street, with its tall chimneys and hip roof unadorned
by balustrade or belvedere, recalls several others
near by in general mass. The entrance porch was
evidently inspired by that of the Peabody-Silsbee
house, yet lacks the elaboration of fine detail of its
prototype. The sime is true of the cornice with its
ball molding from the same source. The leaded
glass of the elliptical fanlight and side lights recalls
that of the Andrew-Safford doorway. A new and
pleasing note, however, is sounded by the simple
and effective carved marble lintels, while the side
porch and particularly the bay window above the
front porch lend an appearance of harmonious
modernity.
This house, now the residence of Doctor James E.
Simpson, was built about 1827 by Humphrey
Devereux, who died there in 1828. It was for many
years occupied by Captain Charles Hoffman, a
prosperous merchant and a great lover of flowers.
His garden and greenhouses. Felt states in his
"Annals of Salem", were among the best in Salem,
and so they have been maintained to this day, for
[ 100]
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The Square Three- Story Brick House
Mrs. Simpson is likewise a great lover of flowers ,
and devotes much time to them. The Dutchman's \
Pipe in the garden is now seventy-seven years old.
Large gable-roofed houses, not greatly unlike the
Stearns house of Revolutionary times, though of
brick and with higher stories, were often built
and lent themselves readily to the growing demand
for semi-detached blocks for occupancy by two or
more families. A three-family block of this sort
with handsome heavy Ionic porches embraces the
so-called Allen-Osgood-Huntington houses, numbered
31, 33 and 35 Chestnut Street respectively. The
block was erected about 1825 by Pickering Dodge
and finished by John Fiske Allen, who occupied
Number 31 for several years and there, in 1853, for
the first time in New England, grew and brought to
flower in his greenhouse the Victoria regia, the great
water lily of the Amazon, from seed obtained of
Caleb Cope, of Philadelphia. The following season
Mr. Allen enlarged his greenhouse and tank and
obtained more seed from England, including that of
the Amaryllis^ Nelumbium and other tropical species
of lilies which thrived and formed a rare collection
much admired by many visitors. Mr. Allen published
the results of his observations on the Victoria regia in
a beautiful folio volume, finely illustrated by W.
Sharpe from specimens grown in Salem. In 1843 he
erected graperies on Dean Street which were soon
greatly extended to inclose about three hundred
[lOl]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
varieties of grapes, also peaches, cherries and other
fruits. Mr. Allen's hybrid grape was an interesting
feature of his career. He disputed the honors of early
hybridization with Rogers. John Fiske Allen is
mentioned by Felt as one of Salem's foremost horti-
culturists. Previous to Mr. Allen's occupancy the
house was for a time the home of Nathaniel Silsbee,
United States senator from 1826 to 1835.
Among the early occupants of Number 33 was
Captain Charles M. Endicott, of the ship Friendship,
and an experience from his adventurous life merits
recounting here as characteristic of the exploits in
which the seafaring men of Salem often risked their
lives in opening up new lines of trade in the East. On
February 7, 1831, while the Friendship lay at Qualah
Battoo she was attacked by Malays in a native pepper
boat. The first mate, Charles Knight, and two
seamen were killed, while several others escaped,
although badly wounded. Once in possession of the
ship the assailants plundered her of every movable
article and endeavored to run her ashore, but with-
out success. Captain Endicott, the second mate
and four men were ashore weighing pepper at the
time, and, perceiving that the ship had been captured,
managed to get away in their boat. Rowing twenty-
five miles to Muckie they obtained the ready as-
sistance of three American vessels which set sail at
once. The following morning a message was sent to
the Rajah demanding the return of the Friendship,
[ 102 ]
The Square Three^ Story Brick House
and this being refused, the Americans began an attack
which was answered by the harbor forts and the
Malays on the ship. The Americans, however,
manned their boats, boarded the Friendship and soon
had full possession of her with what pepper had been
put into her hold. A year later the harbor was visited
by the United States frigate Potomac, and the Malays
were "severely chastised" for their attempted piracy.
Reverend Charles W. Upham, mayor of Salem,
congressman and author of the standard work on
"Salem Witchcraft", was the first occupant of
Number 35. In later years it was the residence of
Asahel Huntington, mayor of Salem in 1853, county
and district attorney, twice a representative to the
General Court, president of the Essex Institute
and clerk of the courts of Essex County for nineteen
years until his death in 1870.
About the end of the first quarter of the nineteenth
century there were built in Salem several three-story
gable-roof brick houses, with paired brick chimneys
at each end after the manner of many gambrel-roof
houses of seventy-five years previous. The double
house numbered 2 and 4 Chestnut Street, long known
as "The Studio", furnishes a case in point and
presents a rare instance in Salem of Boston's so-
called "east wind" recessed doorway with granite
steps running up under an elliptical arch into an
outdoor vestibule. It was erected in 1826 by Deacon
John Stone, who occupied Number 2, the half on
[ 103 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
the corner of Summer Street, and in 1827 advertised
the other half to let with the privilege of selecting
the paper and the chimney piece. For four genera-
tions this building has not passed from the ownership
of a member of the family in direct descent, Mrs.
Richard Wheatland, wife of the present owner, being
the great granddaughter of the builder. After
1869 Number 2 was occupied for ten years by John
Robinson, director of the Peabody Museum. Later
the entire building was rented for studios, among the
tenants being Philip Little, Frank W. Benson, Charles
Fred Whitney and the schools of Miss Mary Mason
Brooks, Miss Mary Stone, Miss Draper and the
Kindergarten of the Misses Osgood and Whitney.
Both sides have now been thrown into a single house
for occupancy as a winter residence by the owner.
Resembling this structure in general character,
though more nearly in accord with Salem architecture
in its heavy Ionic entrance porch, the double house
numbered 38 and 40 Chestnut Street is of much
later date. It was erected about 1846 by Nathaniel
West, Sr., and Reverend James W. Thompson. The
bay window above the entrance to Number 40 is
quite modern, as are probably the door and elliptical
fanlight, for most houses of the time had oblong
transoms above the door like that of Number 38.
Colonel Joseph Andrews, mayor of Salem in 1854-
1855, was among the occupants of Number 38.
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2L,
CHAPTER VI
DOORWAYS AND PORCHES
A CCORDING to the chroniclers of early days
/\ in Salem the first doors constructed there
were of the batten type, common ledged doors,
consisting of vertical oak planks nailed to hori-
zontal inside battens. Larger and heavier doors
were both ledged and braced with oblique battens
to prevent any tendency of the door to sag. The
upper end of the brace was bird's-mouthed into the
under side of the upper horizontal batten near the
lock edge of the door, while the lower end was bird*s-
mouthed into the upper edge of the lower rail near
the hanging edge of the door. Such doors were
hung with heavy wrought-iron strap hinges and
fastened inside with bars of wood or bolts of iron.
Some were opened from the outside by means of
the primitive latchstring, others by quaint wrought-
iron thumb latches. A heavy iron knocker, some-
times taking the form of a ring, completed the
equipment.
The front doors of the better houses were deeply
recessed and had an ornamental arched weather-
board above, providing a sort of outer vestibule to
[losl
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
shelter the waiting guest from the cutting east winds
that sweep the streets of New England seaport
towns in winter. The sketches of the Deliverance
Parkman and Governor Brads treet houses in Chap-
ter I are typical, and the door of the latter house
illustrates the frequent practice of marking with a
scratch-awl on the outer side a diamond pattern
corresponding in size to the diamond lights of the
casements, and then studding the intersections with
iron or brass nails.
With the advent of English classic tendencies
in American building, soon after Salem was settled,
came the square-paned sash and the framed and
paneled door. The former had its effect on doors
as well as windows, and the photographs of the
"House of the Seven Gables" and of the old Hunt
house show the insertion of a simple sash in the upper
part of early doors. Some of the first framed and
paneled doors had panels square, flat and sunken
on the back side, but flush with the stiles, rails and
muntins on the front side and with a small bead
molding outlining the panels. A few of these doors
and the beveled sunken panel doors which soon
followed had a batten back. Usually made in one
piece, the Dutch type, divided into two parts half-
way between top and bottom, was sometimes
adopted. The photograph of the Narbonne house
in Chapter H, however, shows a unique, four-part
Dutch door for the Cent Shop. Later, came the
[io6]
Doorways and Porches
molded and raised panels, the most pleasing and
popular scheme for Colonial doors, and early in
the nineteenth century the molded and flat panels,
of which there are also many examples in Salem,
several being bolection molded.
Six-panel doors were the rule, as shown by nu-
merous illustrations throughout this book. The
panels of the upper pair were square or nearly so,
the middle and lower panels usually of identical
height, although occasionally greater height was
given to the middle pair, as indicated by the sketch
of the Philip English house. Four-panel doors,
such as that of the Clark-Morgan house, are rare
in local Colonial work. For the most part, Salem
doors are solid, except that just before the adoption
of top lights several instances here and there show
the use of plain glass or bull's-eye lights replacing
the upper pair of panels, as seen in the "Witch
House" and John Ward doorways. The better
lighting of entries which resulted from this altera-
tion soon led to the general adoption of a simple
horizontal top light or transom above the door proper.
The George Jacobs and Sarah Prince Osburn door-
ways deserve mention as among the best early
examples now remaining. As halls of ample size
replaced the tiny entries of former years, and the
architectural treatment of stairways demanded more
light to display them, the former sash area was
doubled by employing two simple, vertical side
[ 107 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
lights like those of the Diman house, instead of the
single top light. Eventually both were resorted
to and the development of fanlights and the adop-
tion of leaded glass followed as natural consequences
of the progress in architectural design, the presence
of a few English builders in Salem, and the refining
influences of frequent visits to the mother country
on the part of many wealthy merchants and sea
captains.
For some time knockers and quaint door handles
with thumb latches, at first of wrought iron and
later of brass, continued to be used on framed panel
doors, and many of them still charm the eye, as
no modern equivalents have succeeded in doing, by
reason of that fine grace of line and quality of
finish found only in hand-wrought metals. Each
piece is a thing unto itself and possessed of individ-
uality. Heavy draw bolts of iron or brass replaced
the earlier bars of wood until toward the end of
the eighteenth century great rim locks with keys
and brass knobs preceded the modern mortise
lock. Glass knobs and bell pulls were not made
until during the last period of Salem architecture,
but many older houses have since been equipped
with them.
While the first Georgian door trim consisted of
absolutely flat casings, the simple architrave soon
came into frequent use, and presently flat caps,
followed by projecting heads, complete entabla-
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tures and pediments were successfully employed,
as shown by illustrations accompanying the first
three chapters. Felt, in his "Annals of Salem",
states that " the door often had a large porch before
it, with a seat on each side for the accommodation
of the family and social visitors. In 1655, Edward
Wharton had leave to put up an addition of this
kind." No examples of such doorways remain in
Salem, but the gable-roof inclosed porch forms a
part of several old lean-to dwellings, notably the
Rebecca Nurse and Rea-Putnam-Fowler houses,
and the older part of General Israel Putnam's
birthplace, — the earlier ones with square and the
Rea-Putnam-Fowler porch with oval sashes in
each side wall for the admittance of light. Such
porches were the forerunners of the modern vestibule
and became a customary feature of country houses
exposed to the unobstructed sweep of winter winds
as a logical means to keep the interior warmer.
Previous to the gambrel-roof houses of Provincial
times few doorways suitable for present-day adapta-
tion were erected. All of the better examples for
three-quarters of a century up to 1 81 8, however,
will repay careful study. During those years the
Salem doorway became, as in all good architecture,
the dominant exterior feature, the keynote of the
facade. Truly utilitarian in purpose, it lent itself
the more readily to elaboration for the sake of
decorative effect, and Salem designers, notably
[ 109]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Mclntire, did not hesitate to freshen classic motives
with new detail, or with classic detail employed in
new ways, the work being done with such skill
and good taste as to command universal admiration.
As the entrance to the home, where a welcome is
given and first impressions are received, the best
Salem doorways are possessed of strong individu-
ality ; each seems to symbolize the house as a whole
and to express the personality of its occupants.
Happily devised and exceptionally well executed,
Salem doorways in the main have given a rare charm
and distinction to her remarkable architecture.
The number presented here is necessarily limited,
yet the principal types and best examples are in-
cluded with brief references to similar ones not shown.
The Lindall-Barnard-Andrews doorway typifies the
entrances of the better Provincial houses of wood
and the early manner of utilizing classic detail for
embellishment. Pilasters fluted in the Doric manner
and supporting a pediment depending entirely on
simple planed moldings for its ornamentation pro-
vide a frame of great dignity. The dark-painted
door with a narrow, horizontal top light above is
the original one and an appropriate background for
a beautiful brass knocker and door handle. No
similar arrangement of molded and raised panels
IS to be seen in Salem, the long narrow panel being
its unique feature. The modern gateposts of the
wooden fence, with their peculiar urns, also arrest
[no]
Doorways and Porches
attention because of their exceptional character. A
similar pedimental doorway is to be seen at the
childhood home of the late Senator Nathaniel
Silsbee, Numbers 27 and 29 Daniels Street.
As the central feature of a brick fagade the door-
way of the Richard Derby house, Number i68
Derby Street, is properly more elaborate in detail.
Jambs and casings with rabbets suggestive of rusti-
cated marble lend greater weight of effect, and the
dentils of an Ionic cornice enrich the pediment.
The quaint, broad door with molded and raised
panels of the utmost simplicity, and also the stone
steps are adaptations of Georgian work overseas.
Among the few other doors having this panel arrange-
ment may be mentioned those of the Simon For-
rester, Boardman and Allan houses. The double
blind doors for many years before the manufacture
of screen wire served as a partial protection from
flies, and are frequent adjuncts of Salem entrances.
A recessed doorway of similar character, but having
one of Salem's familiar six-panel doors, is that of the
Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood house. Number 314 Essex
Street.
Of an ornate Georgian character, but much lighter
in effect, the famous pineapple doorway of the
Thomas Poynton house, Number 7 Brown Street
Court, erected in 1750, is a splendid example of the
broken arch pediment elaborated with hand-tooled
moldings and fluted pilasters. It is one of the few
[III]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
notable narrow doorways of Salem. On a house
of wood, with siding rabbeted like the joints of
rusticated stonework and painted gray, this door-
way is at once striking and beautiful. Unfor- \
tunately the door itself is modern, yet were it of \
the best, the pineapple, emblem of hospitality, would /
still hold attention. It is hand carved of wood
and is said to have been brought from abroad in
one of Captain Poyn ton's own ships. For many
years it was kept painted in its natural colors and
the blinds above were cut so as to close without
marring it. This doorway has been widely copied
by architects, and in 191 1 was removed to the Essex
Institute for better preservation.
Generally speaking the Weir house doorway,
Number 6 Downing Street, also erected in 1763,
resembled the foregoing, but was simpler in its ab-
sence of dentils, pineapple and rustication. The
sunken vestibule, the arrangement of the modest
sidelights and the two-panel door had no parallel
in Salem. This house was destroyed in the great
fire of 19 14.
To relieve the severity of the horizontal top light,
the semicircular fanlight was developed toward the
beginning of the nineteenth century and was con-
siderably used thereafter. By breaking the base
of a triangular pediment, the semicircle was found to
fit into the space thus aiforded in the most attrac-
tive manner. More light was admitted to the hall
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Doorways and Porches
and the pattern of radiating and variously curved
sash bars lent a pleasing grace to the ensemble.
The Meek house, Number 8i Essex Street, erected
in 1800, has such a doorway in the Ionic order, with
fluted pilasters and hand-carved capitals. The cor-
nice differs from the pure type in that widely spaced
modillions replace the usual dentils.
Several doorways of this general nature are
reminiscent of the high narrow entrances character-
istic of much Philadelphia architecture. The White-
Lord doorway, Number 31 Washington Square
North, erected in 1818, suggests a free composite of
the doorway of the famous Morris house in Phila-
delphia and that of the Perot-Morris house in Ger-
mantown where Washington lived in 1793. It has
the slender Salem grace and excellence of propor-
tions, however, and the fine-scale, hand-tooled
dentils were much used by Mclntire and the builders
who followed him. The engaged columns are of
generally Tuscan order, the entablature Ionic.
Whereas the Meek house fanlight had an open
blind, this is left uncovered. The simpler, similar
side doorway of the Bertram Home for Aged Men
at Number 20 Turner Street has all the sturdiness
of Philadelphia types.
The pedimental doorhead offered a logical and
ready motive with which to embellish the gable-roof
inclosed porch, introduced on lean-to houses, but
which continued as a feature of many gambrel and
[113]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
square hip-roof houses. Sometimes at the front
door, but oftener at the much-used side door, this
exterior vestibule helped to insure warm interiors
before the days of modern heating systems. In
most instances flat or fluted pilasters support a
simple Tuscan pediment. The porches of the Hos-
mer-Townsend-Waters house. Number 80 Washing-
ton Square, the Derby-Ward house, Number 27 Her-
bert Street, and the Briggs-Whipple house, Number
38 Forrester Street, are representative examples.
The wider porches of the Grimshawe house, Number
53 Charter Street, and of the Allen house. Number
TJ Derby Street, however, have a pair of pilasters
each side of the door.
So also has the porch on the house at Number
23 Summer Street, probably added several decades
after the house itself was erected in 1745. It is
the broadest and most elaborate of the inclosed
Doric porches in Salem, its chief distinction lying
in the flat-roofed wings each side of the pediment
and the slight projection of the latter.
One notices the vertical plain boarding instead
of clapboards and that the oval windows have no
molded architrave casings, both characteristics of
the earlier porches of this type. In company with
several other Salem porches the entire structure
stands directly upon the sidewalk.
The inclosed porches of the Boardman house,
Number 82 Washington Square, and of the Pierce-
[114]
Doorways and Porches
Johonnot-Nichols house, Number 80 Federal Street,
are also Doric in feeling, the former being a com-
paratively recent addition admirably made. With
the fence and architectural gateposts it forms a
striking picture in the best spirit of eighteenth-
century Colonial design. The inclosed porch of
the Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols house, one of the most
admired doorways in Salem, arouses the admira-
tion of all who see it as an eminently successful
adaptation of denticulated Doric, with the character-
istic repeated triglyph in the frieze and guttae in
the architrave. To relieve the monotony of many
rectangular openings, graceful oval sashes admit
light to the porch. These, together with the clap-
boarded side walls in which they are set, lend dis-
tinction to this doorway. The dark-painted six-
panel door, with simple molded and raised panels,
is the original one and an appropriate background
for an old glass knob and one of the best brass
knockers in Salem. As in earlier days two-part
green blinds, hung outside the door, serve as a pro-
tection from flies in summer.
The restored flat-roofed, inclosed porch of the
Whipple house. Number 2 Andover Street, erected
in 1804, typifies the eighteenth-century modifica-
tion of this sort of entrance. Employment of the
ever-charming leaded side lights beside the door
rather than oval sashes in the side walls gives it
a pleasing breadth and lights it well. Supported
[115]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
by fine-scale reeded pilasters, the entablature Is
generally Ionic in character, enriched by the balus-
trade and pedestals above, which form an appro-
priate setting for the simple Palladian window-
above. A touch of lightness and grace is lent by
the lead work of the side lights in both windows and
doorway. The door itself, with molded, raised
panels uniquely spaced, and with glass in the two
upper spaces, is of the Dutch type, opening in halves,
and displays some excellent brass hardware.
A similar doorway of more modest character is
to be seen on the newer part of the General Israel
Putnam birthplace, while that of the David P.
Waters house. Number 14 Cambridge Street, de-
signed by Mclntire, has a Corinthian entablature
without balustrade and a broad two-part door,
three panels wide, often a feature of the houses
of 1810 to 1818.
It is a thoughtful host who considers not only
his own comfort within the house, but provides
shelter from sun and storm before his door for the
waiting guest. And so it was that open porches for
the front door began to be erected while the inclosed
porch for the more frequently used side door con-
tinued in favor. For these, also, the pedimental
treatment served admirably and many of them re-
main to-day, for the most part Doric, severest of
the orders, yet by reason of their breadth friendly
doorways, despite their dignified mien. Of them all
[116]
Plate Llll. — Ropes Memorial Doorway and Gateposts, 318
Essex Street, House erected 1719, Fence 1894, Doorway 1807 ;
Double Entrance Porch, 38 and 40 Chestnut Street.
Erected about 1846.
Doorways and Porches
no better instance of pleasing proportion and nicely
worked detail is to be found in New England than
the front porch of the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
house, Number 80 Federal Street, designed by
Mclntire. Exercising his admirable originality in
adaptation he imparted a measure of individuality
to this and other similar porches by combining
smooth Tuscan columns set on cubical plinths with
a Roman Doric entablature and pediment. Not-
withstanding this free use of the orders, it is one of
the most admired of Salem doorways, the picket
fence and ornamental gateposts, with beautiful hand-
carved urns, providing an architectural setting for a
vista of rare charm. Above the original eight-panel
door, of which there are but few in Salem, a semi-
circular fanlight under the porch roof admits light
to the hall. The quaint brass thumb latch is the
original.
Similar porches, some with inappropriate modern
doors, are to be seen on the Goss-Osgood house.
Number 15 Chestnut Street; the Os good-Lander
house. Number 5 Barton Square; the William G.
Rantoul house on Chestnut Street ; and the Simon
Forrester house on Derby Street, the latter having
square columns. The porch of the Stearns house,
Number 384 Essex Street, differs in the addition of
flat pilasters at each side, which give increased
breadth, weight and dignity, and so in modern
adaptation render it better suited to public than
[117]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
domestic work, unless the house be one of large
size and considerable pretension. This porch was
added by Mclntire in 1785, the house having been
erected in 1776.
As an accompaniment of the later three-story,
square houses of post-Revolutionary times, numerous
doorways were built between 1800 and 18 18 which
have contributed more to the fame of Salem archi-
tecture than any other single exterior feature.
Indeed, the welcoming doorways of Salem have
become a figure of speech wherever Colonial archi-
tecture is known and appreciated. Doorways usu-
ally reflect the character of those for whom they were
built; they are the barriers one places between
himself and his fellow men and denote his attitude
toward them. To the breadth of the door, and
particularly to the use of delightful leaded glass-
work about it is due the pervading spirit of welcome.
Side lights encourage intimacy like hands extended
in greeting; moreover, they increase the apparent
width of the doorway and foretell a cheerful hall.
The wide, handsomely paneled doors, graceful ellip-
tical fanlights and friendly side lights of the Federal
period in Salem not only speak eloquently of the
gracious hospitality of Salem's merchant princes,
but comprise the most beautiful of all so-called
Colonial doorway motives. Such entrances possess
characteristics of charm and distinction not seen
elsewhere, due chiefly to their splendid proportions,
[118]
Doorways and Porches
refinement of detail and precision of workmanship,
while as applied to the square houses of the time
their porches relieve in a measure the severity of
three-story facades with many ranging windows.
The inviting porch of the Cook-Oliver house, on
Federal Street, is notable for the naive manner in
which free use was made of the orders, characteristic
of much Mclntire work. Its surprising harmony,
charm of line and proportion, achieved with such
absence of restraint, furnish eloquent tribute to a
keen sense of artistic propriety and originality in
adaptation. The columns, with their smooth shafts
and high, square bases, both at the front and also
the engaged columns each side of the doorway,
suggest the Tuscan more than the Roman Doric,
whereas the entablature seems to be a Corinthian
adaptation with flat, plain frieze and modillions
supporting the corona. An elliptical fanlight and
vertical side lights, all subdivided with exceptional
grace, contain the original glass.
This entrance, perhaps better than any other in
Salem, demonstrates the fact that gateways and
doorways are closely allied when treated in archi-
tectural harmony. The gateposts, chaste and beau-
tiful in design, are the work of Samuel Mclntire,
who hand-tooled them in 1799 to adorn the entrance
of the Elias Hasket Derby mansion, where they were
first erected.
Mclntire's rails and bases were always extremely
1 119]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
simple, with considerable elaboration of the gate-
posts, often, as in this instance, four in number in
front of the house, with simpler posts for any con-
tinuation of the fence and for the wide entrance.
These high, square gateposts with shapely urns and
surmounting flame motives are the best and most
elaborate in Salem. They consist of a base, paneled
shaft and entablature, the shaft panels containing
beautifully carved, straight-hanging garlands, and
the frieze panels containing oval sunburst medal-
lions. The fine-scale cornice includes a vertically
fluted belt similar to the much heavier one across
the facade of the house at the second-floor level.
Another repetition to relate house and fence and to
brighten the whole effect is that of the garlands,
one of which decorates each vertical surface of the
door frame, while a festooned garland stretches
across the lintel. These garlands, favorite motives
of the brothers Adam, indicate positively their
influence upon Salem architecture and account for
its delicacy without weakness.
Scarcely less beautiful are the ornamental fence
posts erected in 1894 in front of the Ropes' Memo-
rial, on Essex Street, and their arrangement to form
an elliptical recess in the fence is unsurpassed, the
ramped rails of the fence according excellently with
the general scheme. Like the doorway they frame,
the gateposts are Ionic in detail, with fluted pilas-
ters, hand-tooled capitals, molded entablature, and
[ 120]
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Doorways and Porches
solid, carved urns very nearly like those of the Cook-
Oliver gateway.
The doorway was built in 1807 during a period of
reconstruction. It is of the recessed type often
adopted in houses directly on the street, as this was
prior to 1894, and has molded jambs, attractively
paneled to correspond with the door, and fluted Ionic
columns supporting an entablature, with simple mo-
dillions under the corona after the Corinthian manner.
A unique employment of alternate circles and ovals
lends distinction to the leaded glass, and altogether
the doorway is one of great dignity and strong appeal.
Among other recessed doorways may be mentioned
that of the Curwen-Osgood house, Number 312 Essex
Street, erected in 1765, and that of the Eden-Brown
house, corner of Broad and Summer streets, erected
in 1762. The former has composite columns and
double modern glazed doors, without top light ; the
latter an entablature with Adam detail and an ellip-
tical fanlight.
The entrance of the Home for Aged Women,
Number 180 Derby Street, is seldom equaled in
graceful and chaste appearance. Designed by Mc-
Intire in 18 10, it resembles none of his other known
work, yet displays his ingenuity and good taste in
recombining classic detail. The fluted columns
convey a general impression of Roman Doric, yet
they support a Tuscan entablature and are them-
selves enriched at the base by the Corinthian double
[121]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
torus. There is an indefinable charm about the
broad, flat-paneled doors and the crystal glass
knob, while the pattern of the leaded glasswork about
it is at once dainty and distinctive. As a whole
its excellent proportions and the predominance of
white account in large measure for the strong appeal
of this doorway.
At Number 14 Pickman Street the Kimball
house abuts upon the sidewalk, and a porch, erected
by Mclntire in 1 800, roofs over four granite steps
which rise directly from the brick pavement; there
is no porch platform proper. Effective simplicity
and free use of the orders characterize the design.
The hand-carved capitals create a generally Ionic
feeling, but jig-sawed Corinthian modillions with
sections of fascia molding between replace the
customary dentil course of the entablature, and
the bases of the smooth columns have the Corin-
thian double torus, although the square plinth is
absent. Molded paneling replaces the usual top
light, and the severity of the square-paned side
lights is relieved by applied garlands on the door
frame, reminiscent of the Cook-Oliver doorway.
A well-proportioned, flat-paneled door adds to the
pleasing ensemble.
Another much more elaborate instance of the
Ionic porch is to be seen on the Peabody-Silsbee
house. Number 380 Essex Street, erected in 1797.
Despite Mclntire's daring innovations it is generally
[ 122]
Doorways and Porches
regarded as one of the best doorways in Salem.
The fluted columns, with Corinthian acanthus-leaf
enrichment of the neck of the capitals below the
usual volutes, impart a distinctly Roman aspect
to the whole, yet the heavy cubical Tuscan plinths,
on which Mclntire's columns of whatever order
usually rested, were retained, and a strange, though
none the less pleasing note has been sounded by the
guttae of the Doric order on the architrave and the
mutules under the corona of the cornice. A ball
molding, a veritable triumph of hand carving, re-
places the customary dentil course, yet gives the
same effect of scale. Except for rosettes directly
over the columns, the frieze is plain. The wooden
door with its delicately molded flat panels and tiny
corner ornaments, the artistic leaded fanlights and
side lights, the iron fence, stair rail and balustrade
over the porch are all distinctive in the extreme
and not surpassed by any similar work in Salem.
It will be noticed that each of the blind doors has
lock and frieze rails and a muntin corresponding to
those of the door proper.
Other similar porches, diifering somewhat in de-
tail, include that of the Hofl"man house. Number
26 Chestnut Street, erected in 1814; that of the
Nichols-Shattuck house. Number 37 Chestnut Street,
erected in 181 2; and that of the Endicott house.
Number 259 Essex Street, erected in 1790.
An interesting early use of the Ionic order is seen
[ 123 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
in the veranda of the Saltonstall-Tuckerrnan house,
Number 41 Chestnut Street, erected in 181 2, where
a double row of columns supports the roof along the
inner as well as the outer side. Leverett Saltonstall
was the first mayor of Salem in 1836, and later a
member of Congress.
Of more recent origin, a double entrance porch
of the same order is an important feature of the
Gardner and Thompson houses, 38 and 40 Chestnut
Street, erected about 1846. The entablature, with
its prominent dentil course, is truer to the conven-
tional Ionic order than the foregoing, whereas the
capitals combine the Ionic and Corinthian feeling,
as did many designed by the brothers Adam. The
right-hand doorway of Number 38 is the original,
the other a modern adaptation.
From i8i6to 1818 the Corinthian order predom-
inated in Salem building, and among the most effec-
tive of the more modest applications to the square
porch and doorway, the entrance of the Salem Club,
Number 29 Washington Square, erected in 1818,
deserves especial mention. Cubical plinths beneath
the columns and a small ball molding replacing the
dentil course of the cornice recall the Peabody-Sils-
bee porch and indicate Mclntlre influence. Other-
wise the conventional detail of the classic order
obtains. The doorway is embellished and closely
related to the porch by a fine-scale cornice across
the lintel supported by slender colonnettes on the
[ 124]
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Doorways and Porches
mulllons, and pilasters on the sides of the frame.
Distinctive leaded glass work and wrought-iron bal-
ustrades of handsome pattern enrich the whole effect,
The entrance porch of the Baldwin-Lyman house.
Number 92 Washington Square, and of the White-
Lord house, Number 31 Washington Square, both
erected in 1818, may be mentioned as of gener-
ally similar character, although having wooden
surmounting balustrades, smooth columns and no
application of the order to the door frame. The
beauty of the former is greatly enhanced by the
picket fence and handsome architectural gateposts
flanking the doorway vista.
By way of comparison the doorway of the Pick-
man-Shreve-Little house. Number 27 Chestnut
Street, erected in 18 16, becomes especially interest-
ing. Architects regard it as the best wood, hand-
carved Corinthian porch in America and speak in
glowing terms of the purity and precision of the
detail, and of the effective simplicity of the Palla-
dian window, a feature which served primarily to
relieve the severity of a three-story fagade with
many ranging rectangular windows, yet became
virtually a part of the entrance of many houses
of this period. The hand-carved columns are con-
spicuous for precision of workmanship, and the three-
piece door is notable for the fact that two pieces form
that portion of the door in common use, the third
serving merely to widen it upon special occasions.
[125]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
A delightful wooden balustrade with corner pedes-
tals effects a closer relation between porch and
Palladian window in the case of the Dodge-Shreve
entrance, Number 29 Chestnut Street, erected in
18 17. This window shows considerable elaboration
in the use of carved marble keystone and imposts,
the beautiful hand-tooled casing about the fanlight
and the cornice carried across the lintel of the window.
Otherwise the doorway follows the scheme of the
Pickman-Shreve-Little entrance closely, the leaded
glass work and iron stair rail being a little more
intricate in pattern, however. Altogether, this door-
way, perhaps, has been more extensively copied
than any other in Salem.
Probably the elliptical fanlight suggested the
elliptical porch, and certainly the two are very effec-
tive when utilized together. The entrance of the
Barstow-West house. Number 25 Chestnut Street,
erected in 181 2, provides an unpretentious and
effective example, notable for its chaste simplicity
and excellent proportions. A free interpretation of
the orders characterizes the detail. The columns
are Tuscan, except for the base, which has the Corin-
thian double torus and a plinth of unconventional
height. The entablature is generally Ionic except
that jig-sawed modillions replace the customary
dentil course. Handsome glasswork of attractive
pattern provides a delightful setting for the broad,
solid wood door with its six molded flat panels and
[ 126 ]
Doorways and Porches
plain brass knob, key plate and bell pull. Much
of the charm of this doorway may properly be at-
tributed to the graceful wrought-iron balustrade,
one of the best in Salem.
Reminiscent of this the porch of the Pickering-
Mack house, Number 21 Chestnut Street, erected
in 18 12, is of a more substantial character and has
Ionic capitals and a three-piece door.
Such entrances were the forerunners of the more
tasteful elliptical porches evolved by Mclntire when
he realized the possibilities of a slender interpre-
tation of the Corinthian column and entablature.
Two excellent instances still remain for comparison
as found in the Tucker-Rice porch, now preserved
in the Essex Institute garden, erected in 1800,
and in the Gardner-White-Pingree porch, Number
128 Essex Street, erected in 18 10. The former was
removed from the house at Number 129 Essex
Street when it was remodeled in 1896 for occupancy
by the Father Mathew Total Abstinence Society.
The accompanying photograph, however, shows it
as it appeared in 1895 when Professor Eleazer B.
Homer, of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology summer school, told his class while in Salem
that it was the best proportioned porch in the city,
although its former beauty of ensemble had been
marred by the substitution of inappropriate modern
doors and surrounding glasswork.
The Gardner-White-Pingree porch, probably Mc-
[127]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Intire's last work, still displays the charming,
original leaded glass and three-piece door, but it
will be noticed that the columns of this porch are
not fluted in the characteristic Corinthian manner.
Other differences occur in the entablatures, the
moldings of the Tucker-Rice porch being worked
to a finer scale, though in this they adhere less closely
to precedent. The iron fences and stair rails in-
terest the antiquary as contrasting the wrought
iron of the older house with the cast iron of the newer.
Whereas the former repeats familiar Florentine
motives ever welcome, the latter elicits admiration
for the apparent stability, yet light and decorative
effect of the square, open-work gateposts. Both
porches represent supreme achievement in grace,
delicacy and refinement ; both detail and proportions
are such as to make instant appeal to any seeing eye.
Undoubtedly the most elaborate Corinthian porch
in Salem is that of the Andrew-Safford house,
Number 13 Washington Square, erected in 1818.
It combines the square and elliptical motives and,
according to Ross Turner, the artist, is one of the
finest specimens of the architecture of the early
nineteenth century. Perfect proportion and ex-
quisite workmanship distinguish the fluted Corin-
thian columns and entablature with its delicate
denticulated moldings, while above, the heavy
balustrade and Palladian window repeating the
motives below provide further effective ornamenta-
[128]
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tion. A unique pattern in the leaded fanlight
gives new interest to this ever-welcome motive, but
because of the four-paned windows and four-panel
door, the pleasing scale of the Dodge-Shreve door-
way is lacking. Taken as a whole, however, this
doorway is an architectural feature of refined ele-
gance and exceptional pretension.
No review of Salem doorways would be adequate
that fails to include some of the unpretentious yet
attractive examples which grace the smaller brick
houses, and the side entrances of larger structures.
Boasting neither porches nor wood trim, other than
the frame, they charm the eye with their excellent
proportions and beauty of line. Among the more
notable of these, its framework set into the arch of
a plain brick wall, the doorway of the Mansfield-
Bolles house. Number 8 Chestnut Street, erected
in 1810, attracts attention through its very simplicity.
It is a restful doorway almost devoid of ornamenta-
tion except for the leaded side lights and elliptical
fanlight. As in the case of many other examples
of the period the leaded work is outside the glass
and not attached to it in any way, the glass being
cut to fit the rectangular or triangular divisions of
the sashes. The charm of this entrance lies chiefly
in its splendid proportions and the spacing of the
six-paneled door with its molded flat panels.
Of still more modest character, the side entrance
of the Home for Aged Women, which is at Number
[ 129]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
19 Curtis Street, has no leadwork In its square-
paned side lights. The four-panel door is of later
origin with bolection molded raised panels.
At Number 12 Brown Street the Abbot house,
erected in 1800, displays a good instance of a simple
doorway with a semicircular fanlight. The arrange-
ment of the molded and raised panels is uniquely
pleasing and the double blind doors accord with a
favorite Salem precedent. When standing open,
as shown by the accompanying photograph, they
lend a semblance of greater width to narrow door-
ways.
[130]
CHAPTER VII
WINDOWS AND WINDOW FRAMES
TRADITION says that while oiled paper windows
lighted some of the first small cottages of old
Naumkeag, glass was employed for the better res-
idences after 1629. It was cut to diamond shape and
set in lead lines three to four inches long for use in case-
ment sashes one and one-half to two feet wide and
two and one-half to three feet in height. These
casements were employed both singly and in pairs,
sometimes opening inward but oftener outward.
Their stiles and rails were jointed together by halv-
ing, dovetailing, or the mortice and tenon, but like
all sashes prior to about 1770, including Georgian slid-
ing sashes, were pegged together. Some of \he case-
ments had flat corner irons for added strength, and all
were hung with quaint wrought-iron strap or L
hinges, the latter so designed as to combine the hinge
and corner iron in one piece. Such a casement sash
from the Buffum house, formerly on Boston Road,
and built between 1642 and 1661, is preserved at the
Essex Institute. Beside it is to be seen a diamond-
shaped sash, such as was often used in the gables of
stables and sheds, and containing "bull's-eye"
[131]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
lights, the latter much used in transoms over front
doors and sometimes in the top panels of the doors
themselves.
Casements continued in favor for about one
hundred years, yet meanwhile, about the middle of the
seventeenth century, sliding sashes with square
panes of glass set in rabbeted wooden sash bars began
to be used. These were put together with mortise
and tenon joints and even the sash bars were pegged
in place with wood. At first the panes of glass were
only four by five inches and many in number, but
the prevailing size was successively enlarged to five
by seven, six by eight, seven by nine, ten by twelve,
twelve by fourteen and finally in sizes for four-
paned sashes to eighteen by twenty-four, twenty by
twenty-eight and even larger. Many of the staid
persons of those early days viewed this development
with dismay, regarding the tendency as extravagant,
particularly during the scarcity of glass in Revolution-
ary tImeS, and expatiating on the perils of "glass
houses."
As the size of the individual panes of glass was
increased, their number in each sash was correspond-
ingly decreased. Although numerous variations
exist, the custom of having an equal number of panes
in both upper and lower sashes predominated. Thus
the sketch of the old peaked-roof Philip English
house in Chapter I shows windows having fifteen,
twelve and ten panes in both upper and lower sashes.
[ 132]
Plate LX. — Architectural Relics at the Essex Institute. Casement
Sash from Huffman House, formerly on Boston Road ; Diamond
Sash of later origin with Bull's-eye Lights ; Window Head
from the Elias Hasket Derbv Mansion.
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Fifteen appears to be the largest number of panes
employed in a sliding sash, and it will be noticed that
the restored "House of Seven Gables" includes a
window with an upper sash having ten panes and a
lower one having fifteen. Many stationary windows
in the shops of early days, however, including the
quaint bay windows projecting only the width of a
single pane of glass, sometimes had as many as fifty
lights. All in Salem are now gone, alas ! Probably the
last was in a building that formerly stood at Endicott
and Summer streets.
Twelve-paned upper and lower sashes are found
on several old dwellings, notably the "Witch House",
the Diman house, the Osgood house. Number 314
Essex Street, and Hawthorne's residence at Number
18 Chestnut Street. The "Witch House" window
typifies the others and is well shown by an accompany-
ing detail photograph. Eight-paned upper sashes
frequently accompanied twelve-paned lower ones,
as instanced by the Hunt house, illustrated in
Chapter I, the Samuel Holten house shown in
Chapter H and a window in the house of Anne
Putnam in Danvers. Anne Putnam, it will be
remembered, was one of the "afflicted girls" of 1692.
Although only twelve years old at the time, she was
largely responsible for the mischief that followed.
Before her death she made a confession and was ad-
mitted into the church. The reverse arrangement
with the larger sash above is rarely found, the John
[ 133 1
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Ward House being a notable example before its
restoration with casement windows by the Essex
Institute.
High eighteen-paned windows, nine panes to the
sash, had a limited vogue and were employed on
both floors of the Jeffrey Lang house. The Narbonne
house and the Senator Benjamin Goodhue birth-
place, Number 70 Boston Street, illustrate their use
in connection with windows having six-paned upper
sashes and nine-paned lower ones on the other
floor. In the first instance the eighteen-paned
windows were on the upper story and in the second
instance on the lower story. The detail photo-
graph of the Narbonne window shows it to be one
of a relatively few having a top rail as heavy as
the bottom rail and both very broad. All early
windows had heavier sash bars and muntins than at
present.
Fifteen-paned windows with six- and nine-paned
sashes were features of the Rea-Putnam-Fowler
house, the Maria Goodhue and the Colonel Jesse
Putnam houses, all in Danvers. They are to be seen
on the restored "House of Seven Gables" and on
the lower story of the George Jacobs house, the
upper windows, like most of those of the "House
of Seven Gables", being twelve-paned with six panes
to the sash. Sixteen-paned windows, eight panes
to the sash, are very rare. The sketch of the
Deliverance Parkman house in Chapter I shows one,
[134]
Windows and Window Frames
but most of the windows in this house appear to
have been twelve-pa ned.
In fact, throughout Salem architecture, the twelve-
paned window, six panes to the sash, predominates.
It is found in some of the oldest dwellings now
standing, such as the Retire Becket and John Picker-
ing houses illustrated in Chapter I, and it runs
through every succeeding period up to 1818, and
is the one favored in the present Colonial revival.
In the earlier houses the upper sash was let into the
frame permanently, only the lower sash being
movable and sliding upward, but in later years
double hung sashes with weights began to be adopted.
Large four-paned windows were not employed in
Salem architecture until the very latest houses that
may be included within the limits of the broadest
possible interpretation of the word Colonial were
erected. Those of the White-Lord house. Number 3 1
Washington Square, erected in 1818, may be cited
in this connection. The smaller paned windows of
several older houses, however, have been replaced
by new ones having only four large panes. Invariably
such disregard of period not only upsets the scale of
the facade, but constitutes an anachronism that
renders all semblance of artistic coherence impossible.
The windows of Hawthorne's birthplace shown in
Chapter III and of the Assembly Hall shown in
Chapter XI are cases in point.
Early window casings, like those of the door, were
[ 13s ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
plain and flat, presently followed by the application
of a square band or back molding to the outer edge>
and soon afterward casings were almost invariably
molded after the manner of an architrave. Indeed,
architrave casings have persisted to the present
time and are to-day the preferred form in modern
Colonial work. At first, top and sides of the frame
were cased alike, as indicated by the Ropes' Memorial
windows, but about the middle of the eighteenth
century more thought began to be given to the
exterior decorative possibilities of the window, and
heads were placed above the architrave. Simple
cornice moldings like those of the Cabot-Endicott-
Low house and the Tuttle-Coan house. Number 113
Federal Street, erected about 1800, soon led to more
or less elaborate friezes with cornices, which, in
conjunction with the architrave casing, formed a
complete entablature. The handiwork of skilled
carvers employed in the local shipyards, then the
most important in America, their hand-tooled mold-
ings and carved friezes obviously owe their origin
to the English Georgian. But the English worked
mostly in stone ; the Americans in wood ; and thus
the severe and heavy treatment of the former,
thanks to the influence of the lighter and more
elaborate decorations of ship cabins which the same
men were executing, gave way to the graceful and
dignified designs which we admire so much to-day.
The work is done in a masterly manner, indicating
[ 136 1
Plate LXII. — Hoffman-Simpson Window, 26 Chestnut Street.
Erected 1810.
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Windows and Window Frames
thoughtful adaptation in its delicacy of detail and
splendid spacing. When we recall the crude tools of
those days our admiration for Yankee ingenuity
need know no bounds. We may also marvel at the
remarkably perfect condition of this century-old
woodwork as it exists in Salem to-day.
Simple and effective, the Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols
window heads instance the use of a plain, flat frieze
below a molded cornice. The window heads of the
Nathan C. Osgood house, Number 15 Chestnut
Street, erected about 18 10, are much the same
except for the four groups of slender, vertical flutings
that adorn and lend a touch of greater refinement
to the frieze. Of a still more ambitious character
the second-story window heads of the Cook-Oliver
house are elaborated by hand carving in fine-scale
detail with a denticulated cornice supported by a
flat pilaster effect, toward each end of the frieze,
the latter consisting of a central horizontal band,
vertical-fluted, flanked by an oval medallion beside
each pilaster. These are believed to be the personal
work of Samuel Mclntire and upon their design and
execution he focused the full measure of his skill,
with the result that there are no window heads to
equal them in all Salem.
On the Stephen W. Phillips house. Number 34
Chestnut Street, erected in 1800, the window heads
consist of entablatures similar to those of the Nathan
C. Osgood house further elaborated. Except that the
[ 137]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
flutings in each group are more numerous and nearer
together, the frieze is much the same, but the
architrave casings have a molding midway of their
width in addition to that along the outer edge. The
cornice has the bold projection of the Doric order and
the molded mutules of its soffit under the corona.
Instead of the conventional guttse, however, small
round holes have been bored into the mutules in
double rows to form a rectangular pattern. Just
below the customary bed molding a prominent and
unconventional, though admittedly beautiful molding
suggests a series of tiny Gothic arches and capitals
without supporting columns.
Brick walls impose certain limitations with respect
to window frames not encountered in houses of wood,
although many old brick residences in Salem display
interesting examples of attractive treatment. Brick
construction does not permit cased frames to have any
projections and a lintel or brick arch must replace the
ornamental head, often such a pleasing feature of
wooden construction. In the earliest brick houses,
with square-headed windows only, the openings had
either gauged arches or relieving arches of headers
with a brick core. The Richard Derby windows,
however, with their cased architrave frames and
molded wooden sills, are of interest as combining
a rough-cut relieving arch of both headers and
stretchers with much of the appearance of gauged
work.
[138]
Windows and Window Frames
Half a century later the adoption of prominent
white marble sills and lintels called for simpler treat-
ment of the frame. Architraves were generally-
omitted and solid molded frames were placed in
the reveals of the brick wall. The windows of the
house erected by the Reverend James W. Thompson
about 1846 at Number 40 Chestnut Street illus-
trate the construction and the plain broad lintels
first used, but arrest attention chiefly as excep-
tional examples of the high, narrow three-sash win-
dow with the lower sash smaller than that above
by reason of its square panes. It will be noticed
that the blinds are divided so that this lower
section of the window, which extended almost to
the floor level, may be screened if desirable. Three-
sash windows of this character lend themselves
well to public buildings and are often seen in mod-
ern work, as on the second floor of the Boston
City Club.
On the Hoffman-Simpson house. Number 26
Chestnut Street, erected about 1826, the frame
boasts only a simple quarter round, the ornamenta-
tion of the windows being centered in the delicately
cut white marble lintel. Marble was much favored for
this purpose because it harmonizes with the white-
painted woodwork, brightens the facade and empha-
sizes the fenestration. The design of this lintel
is simple, refined and one of the most effective
in Salem. Unlike most blinds of the period these
[ 139 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
have stiles dropping more than an inch below the
bottom rail.
Among the many interesting marble lintels of
Salem, those of the Charles Sanders house, Number
43 Chestnut Street, take the shape of a gauged brick
arch, with scorings or flutings radiating from an im-
aginary center below, which further emphasizes
this thought. The Pickman-Shreve-Little house,
Number 27 Chestnut Street, displays a similar lintel,
smooth of surface, however, but elaborated by an
ornamental keystone with nicely cut vertical dimin-
ishing bead and torus moldings. Remarkably simple
and effective, the flat arch lintel with voussoirs and
keystone of the Peabody-Silsbee house. Number 380
Essex Street, has no surface ornamentation and de-
pends entirely upon the shape of its parts to form a
decorative pattern. Most elaborate of all, the lintels
of the Dodge-Shreve house, Number 29 Chestnut
Street, attract attention not only for their contour
but for the nicely chiseled pattern reminiscent of a
well-known Grecian fret.
To reduce their apparent height, three-story houses
of both wood and brick were foreshortened with
square windows. Single and two-piece sashes were
both employed and the number of panes differed
considerably. The windows of the Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols house well illustrate the three-pane upper and
six-pane lower sash arrangement which was a feature
of several of Salem's best houses. Still more common
[ 140]
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Windows and Window Frames
was the double six-pane sash arrangement, exempli-
fied by the Hosmer-Townsend-Waters house, Num-
ber 80 Washington Square. The Grimshawe house,
Number 53 Charter Street, displays unusual double
eight-pane sashes, the Gardner- White-Pingree house,
Number 128 Essex Street, equally unusual double
three-pane sashes. Solid sashes are to be seen on the
birthplace of General Frederick W. Lander, Number
3 Barton Square, and the William G. Rantoul house
on Chestnut Street, the former having six and the
latter nine panes. Nine-paned solid sashes were also
employed on the Briggs-Whipple house. Number 38
Forrester Street, and on the Crowninshield-Devereux-
Waters house. Number 72 Washington Square.
The elaborate Palladian windows which became
such an important and beautiful accompaniment
of square brick houses have already been illustrated
and referred to in Chapter V, but this chapter
would hardly be complete without including mention
of two of the many attractive round-headed windows
which lighted the stairway landings of earlier gam-
brel-roof and square wood houses. The hall window
of the Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood house, Number 314
Essex Street, erected in 1773, commends itself for ef-
fective simplicity, while that of the Pierce- Johonnot-
Nichols house possesses the greater refinement of
the keyed arch, the application of blinds and, most
important of all, the fanlight motive of the upper
sash bars. Such windows not only charm the eye as
[1411
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
interior features but relieve the severity of many-
ranging square-headed windows and provide a center
of interest for the rear elevation corresponding to
the doorway of the fagade that lends grace and
distinction to an otherwise nondescript aspect of the
house.
[ 142]
Plate LXVI. — A Chamber in the Cook-Oliver House. Erected
1804; Paneled Wall, Parlor at "The Lindens," Danvers.
Erected 1754.
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CHAPTER VIII
INTERIOR WOOD FINISH
WHITE-PAINTED interior woodwork, one
of the greatest charms of the Colonial
house, provides the only architectural background
that conveys satisfactorily the sense of mellow
warmth and graceful dignity in eighteenth-century
furniture of mahogany and other dark woods. It
constitutes the setting in which the furniture gems of
the room are displayed. Bright and cheerful, chaste
and beautiful, it emphasizes the grace of line and
richness of color of everything before it, yet seldom
forces itself into undue prominence by reason of its
color contrast or detail. Indeed this treatment of
interiors has stood the test of time and we now
appreciate what excellent taste our great-grand-
fathers manifested in depending upon its subtle
influence to display the beauties of their rare pieces
of furniture — Chippendale, Heppelwhite, Sheraton
and Adam, brought from overseas.
The admirable work of Mclntire and others in
Salem indicates conclusively that the possibilities
of painted white pine and other soft woods are fully
as great as those of any hard woods. Effects must
[143]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
be differently achieved, however. The natural grain
of the wood is concealed by painting so that broad
flat surfaces and simple moldings would become
monotonous. Beauty of form must be imparted
as a substitute for the beauty of wood grain which Is
the chief ornamentation of natural wood finish. The
motives and detail of exterior ornamentation as found
in the several classic orders, such as the entablature,
column and pedestal, the round and elliptical arch,
moldings, carefully spaced panels and appropriate
carving, or its equivalent in applied ornament, were
therefore brought to bear upon the interior wood-
work in such a manner as to delight the eye yet not
to detract unduly from the furnishings of the room.
And the charm of much of the resulting woodwork
indicates an early realization of the fact that a nice
balance between plain surface and decoration is as
important as the decoration itself. It was in the
design and execution of this woodwork that Mclntire
and the other skilled wood-carvers excelled ; and to
the fact that they embraced the best carvers in the
country, attracted thither by the local shipyards,
then among the largest In America, is attributed
the precision of the work and a lightness, grace and
ingenuity of adaptation not found in contemporary
work elsewhere.
Fireplaces and stairways, the principal architec-
tural features of Interiors, were very properly
elaborated considerably beyond the somewhat nega-
[ 144]
Interior Wood Finish
tive character of background accessories. Being
virtually furnishings as well as parts of the house,
the application of tasteful ornamentation to such
important forms of utility and necessity always
seems amply justified. Indeed, each is a subject in
itself, as indicated by the fact that to-day, as a
century and more ago, stair building and mantel
construction remain independent trades quite apart
from ordinary joinery. For that reason two separate
chapters will be reserved for these important de-
partments of Colonial architecture, the present
chapter being devoted to interior woodwork in
general.
What the interior woodwork of two of the earliest
seventeenth-century houses remaining in Salem now
consists of has already been shown in the first two
chapters of this volume. Passing on, therefore, to
about the middle of the eighteenth century, it is
found that the principal rooms of pretentious
mansions, such as the parlor at "The Lindens",
Danvers, were entirely paneled up on all sides. This
stately room, as was to be expected, since it was the
work of an English architect, was finished in the
typical Georgian manner, with heavy fluted Corin-
thian pilasters standing on low paneled pedestals
and supporting an elaborate entablature in which a
dentil course, an ^%% and dart ovolo, a cyma reversa
of leaf pattern and a bead and reel were prominent.
The casings of the large and handsomely paneled
[i4Sl
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
doors repeated the architrave above, while the great
rim locks of brass and prominent wrought-iron L
hinges are of quaint interest and characteristic of
the time. The heavily bolection-molded wall panels
please the eye with their variety of shape and size,
and one remarks that the chimney piece with its
two horizontal panels, the larger above the smaller,
has no mantelshelf as was for a time the custom.
As in many other houses this wall is treated according
to an absolutely symmetrical arrangement, with the
fireplace centrally located and a door equidistant at
each side. The woodwork, although of white pine,
has been painted to simulate the appearance of old
mahogany. Altogether this is probably the finest
Provincial interior in Greater Salem.
About this time the use of hand-blocked wall paper
began to be more general, and a favorite treatment
of Colonial interiors, including halls, parlors, dining
rooms and even the principal bedrooms of large
houses, combined a cornice or often a cornice and
frieze, and sometimes a complete entablature and a
paneled wainscot or a flat dado with surbase and
skirting. The dado was always relatively low as
compared with the paneled wainscot. Later the
simple skirting only was frequently employed even
in the principal rooms of the better houses. Numerous
accompanying illustrations show it with the dado,
while the interiors of the Richard Derby house, the
Captain Edward Allen house and several of the
[ 146 1
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Plate LXVIII. — Paneled Wall, Richard Derby House, i68 Derby
Street. Erected 1761 -, Embrasured Windows and Seats
of the Same Room.
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Interior Wood Finish
halls Illustrated in Chapter IX show it with the
paneled wainscot. It constituted a pleasing and
consistent application of the classic orders to interior
walls, the dado, the wall above it and whatever
portion of the entablature happened to be employed
corresponding to the pedestal, shaft and entablature
of the complete order respectively. In a room so
treated the dado became virtually a continuous
pedestal with a base or skirting and a surbase above
the die or plane face of the pedestal. Sometimes this
surbase was merely a horizontal molding or group
of moldings comprising a fillet with a cyma reversa
beneath. Oftener it resembled the upper fascia or
the complete architrave of the various orders, as in
accompanying illustrations in the Putnam-Hanson,
Pitman, Andrew-SafFord, Salem Club, Cook-Oliver
and Pierce- Johonnot-NIchols houses.
Again the upper fascia was embellished with a
characteristic Grecian fret nicely hand-carved, or
with vertical reedings or flu tings. The latter may be
continuous, as in the Cook-Oliver hall ; in groups of
five to seven or so with sections of plain fascia between
them, as in the Crownlnshield-Devereux- Waters hall
and the east parlor of the Pierce- Johonnot-NIchols
house ; or still further enriched by an elliptical con-
ventionalized flower medallion, carved or of composi-
tion, applied in alternation with the reeded or fluted
groups. A handsome surbase of the latter type in
connection with a flat dado and molded skirting
[147]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
is to be seen in the east front chamber of the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house. The photograph also shows
well the detail of the architrave casings of the embra-
sured windows and the manner in- which the shutters
fold into pockets at each side. A somewhat similar
surbase in connection with a paneled wainscot of
later date than those previously mentioned is a
feature of one of the chambers of the Derby-Crownin-
shield-Rogers house, Number 202j^ Essex Street.
The festoon scheme of the surbase in the hall of
the Home for Aged Women exemplifies a pleasing
variation from the more common continuous series
of vertical flutings.
For the most part the surmounting cornice and
frieze of the room was of wood beautifully molded
and hand carved, the architrave usually being omit-
ted unless the walls were entirely paneled, as in the
parlor of "The Lindens." In a chamber of the Derby-
Crowninshield-Rogers house, however, is to be seen a
cornice and frieze entirely of plaster work according
to designs by Mclntire, including familiar classic
detail in which the q%^ and dart molding, scroll
and interlacing fillet guilloche are prominent. Such
cornices were frequently employed in the houses of
the early nineteenth century and thereafter. Later,
when chandeliers for candles began to be used in
private houses, they were hung from ornamental
centerpieces of plaster on the ceiling, the motives
usually being circles, festooned garlands and acanthus
[148]
Interior Wood Finish
leaves. Such a centerpiece, with a simple plaster
cornice and ornamental treatment of the ceiling at
each corner of the room, is a feature of the parlor of
the Andrew-Saiford house.
The Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers house mentioned
above, its street floor converted into stores, is to-day
but a mere echo of its former elegance, yet the upper
portion still shows that it was an interesting example
of the early square town house, with a virtually flat
roof. The chambers of the second and third floors
still contain much excellent interior finish, particu-
larly mantels such as those mentioned in the following
chapter and which are still admired by all who ap-
preciate good architecture, despite the bad treatment
to which they have been subjected by tenants.
Shortly after the erection of his house about 1800,
after plans by Mclntire, it was occupied by Ezekiel
Hersey Derby, a son of Elias Hasket Derby, Salem's
greatest merchant. Not having the family love of
adventures at sea, however, he soon moved to the
family estate in South Salem and devoted himself to
"horticulture, later exhibiting to his friends, among
many other interesting plants and garden effects, the
first true specimen of the night-blooming cereus ever
shown in Salem and a delightful little pond bordered
with bald cypresses, which remained until very
recently." His town house then became the last
residence in Salem of Honorable Benjamin W.
Crowninshield before moving to Boston, and was last
[ 149]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
occupied as a winter residence by Richard S. Rogers,
a wealthy merchant in the foreign trade, whose
splendid summer home on a farm in Peabody, also
designed by Mclntire, is now known as "Oak Hill"
and occupied as a summer residence by his son's
widow, Mrs. J. C. Rogers.
In most of the better houses during the Provincial
period important rooms had paneled wainscots,
papered walls and molded cornices like those shown
in the Richard Derby house. A fireplace with paneled
chimney piece was an important feature of most
rooms, and the entire wall including it was often
completely paneled up, closely relating the fireplace,
doors or windows in a definite architectural scheme.
Summer beams were cased and molded like the
cornice, and the architrave casings of the windows
were brought into engagement with its soffit. Embra-
sured windows with two-part paneled shutters folding
into pockets at each side and seats jutting somewhat
into the room were the rule, particularly in brick
houses, as in the present instance. The simple and
effective mantel appears to be of later date than the
bolection molded paneling over the chimney breast,
as the lower panel was obviously cut to permit its use.
But the west or Georgian parlor of the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house is without question the most
notable instance in Salem of this architectural treat-
ment of the fireplace wall of the room with wood
paneling throughout. Along Georgian lines and
[ISO]
Plate LXX. — East Front Chamber, Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols House.
Finished 1801 ; Plaster Cornice and Frieze, Derby-Crowninshield-
Rogers House. Erected 1800.
Plate LXXI. — West or Georgian Parlor, Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
House. Erected 1782; Embrasured Windows and Seats
of the Same Room.
Interior Wood Finish
decidedly substantial in character, it is essentially
simple in conception and graceful in form and pro-
portion. A flat dado with molded skirting and sur-
base, also a heavy cornice, surround the room and
serve to combine its several features into a unified
whole. First attention properly goes to the chimney
piece, and this is fully treated in Chapter X. Its princi-
pal moldings are repeated in the cornice and the door-
heads. There is the same cymatium and corona, the
same ovolo enriched with the exquisitely carved e,%%
aiid dart motive, used without the customary bead
and reel, while beneath in respective order occur the
familiar classic dentil course and simple ogee molding.
All are executed in a masterly manner, the proportions
being well calculated and the precision of the hand
tooling remarkably well maintained.
Both the doors and embrasured windows of this
room merit careful study, the former for the arrange-
ment of the molded panels, the architrave casings,
the striking heads with the returns of the moldings
and the contour of the ends of the flat frieze suggesting
the cavetto frieze of the Roman Composite and
Italian Corinthian orders. Attention is also directed
to the delightfully quaint hardware, particularly the
brass drop handles used in connection with great
rim locks on the opposite side of the door. Were it not
otherwise definitely established, the wrought-iron H
and L hinges would indicate positively the eighteenth,
century character of the work. The embrasured
[iSi]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
windows with built-in seats beneath differ in only
minor particulars from those of the Richard Derby
house.
About 1800 and thereafter it became the custom
to make the fireplace in the principal rooms the
center of an absolutely symmetrical arrangement,
placing it between two identical windows of an outer
wall or doorways of an inner wall. Often, as in the
Putnam-Hanson house, Number 94 Boston Street,
erected before 1800, one of these doors opened into
an adjoining room and the other into a closet. Some-
times, too, a false door was employed merely to pre-
serve the balance. Not only is the mantel of this
room, with its applied basket of fruit and flowers
on the frieze painted in natural colors, one of
simplicity and excellent proportion, but the old
scenic wall paper depicting life in the Orient at that
time is one of the most interesting and best preserved
in Salem. As in many other houses a cast-iron hob
grate with classic ornament in the Ionic order now
fills the original fireplace opening.
In a room of the Pitman house, erected at Number
4 Boston Street before 1800, and which was destroyed
in the great fire of 1914, this symmetrical treatment
of the principal wall of the room took the unusual
form of two closet-like recesses reached through
round headed and keyed arches without doors each
side of a projecting chimney piece. Above a mantel
of chaste simplicity depending chiefly upon a delight-
[152]
Interior Wood Finish
fully proportioned dentil course to give it scale and
distinction, the overmantel consists of a great frame
the full width of the chimney breast, including an
architrave molding enriched with a series of iine-scale
vertical reedings. Figured wall paper like that of the
rest of the room fills the space within the frame.
Quaintjandirons such as those seen in the accom-
panying illustration, representing dwarf human fig-
ures, are rarely to be found in Salem or elsewhere.
Two more excellent instances of the symmetrical
treatment of the fireplace wall in bedchambers are
to be found in the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols house.
The east front chamber, finished in 1801, pleases the
eye particularly with its refined and graceful Adam
detail to which minute reference is made in Chapter
X, while a chamber on the third floor, containing an
exceptionally modest mantel, boastnig no cornice and
having only a skirting about the walls, possesses a
quaint charm that is altogether delightful. In both
instances clothes closets at each side project several
inches into the room, and the chimney piece and
mantel respectively occupy the recess between them.
It is interesting to notice in the former room that
the cymatium of the cornice and the shelf of the
mantel are identical, and that the favorite Mclntire
dentil course, consisting of a double denticulated
Grecian fret, is used in both ; the vertical reeded
ovolo of the cornice, however, being omitted from
the mantel. Rare old mahogany furniture and other
[153]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
antiques preserve the atmosphere of the first years of
the nineteenth century.
In direct contrast to these recessed mantels may be
mentioned the boldly projecting scheme in the dining
room of the Cook-Oliver house, also designed by
Mclntire, and in the chamber above. This construc-
tion is of course necessary when the fireplace is located
on an outside wall, and while it cuts into the floor
area it is by no means without its compensations.
Thrusting itself into the room as it does it enables a
mantel of modest character to give much of the
stately effect of a costly chimney piece, particularly
when a mantel mirror or large painting hangs over the
chimney breast. As in the present instance an oppor-
tunity is often afforded for built-in window seats of
great charm.
The refinement of the architrave casings of door-
ways and windows and the nicely paneled doors are
prominent features of these rooms which at once
arrest attention. Both have flat dados with molded
surbase and skirting, and there is a certain similarity
in the mantels, that of the dining room being properly
richer in detail than the one above. The cornice, with
the double denticulated Grecian fret again, and the
frieze, with groups of nine vertical reeds at regular
intervals, exemplify Mclntire's success in achieving
refined and distinctive effects with simple motives.
The continuous series of reedings of the architraves
and surbase in this room greatly enrich the detail.
[154]
Plate LXXII. — Mantel and Side of Room, Putnam-Hanson
House, 94 Boston Street. Erected before 1800; Mantel and
Side of Room, Pitman House, 4 Boston Street.
Erected Before 1800. Burned 19 14.
Plate LXXIII. — Dining Room, Cook-Oliver House, 142 Fed-
eral Street. Erected 1804; Private Dining Room, Salem Club,
29 Washington Square. Erected 18 19.
Interior W^ood Finish
In the chamber above, the repetition of the fine-scale
dentil course in both cornice and mantel entablature
is most effective ; beautiful in its own simplicity as
a foil for the horizontal lines of all the other mold-
ings and bringing mantel and cornice into close
relation.
A private dining room in the Salem Club is of
interest for the extreme simplicity and chaste ap-
pearance of its detail, and particularly as showing
how an appropriate scenic wall paper can assist
a modest mantel to convey the dignity of a chimney
piece. This handsome landscape paper is Zuber's
"El Dorado", by the Alsatian artists, Ehrmann and
Zipelius, and printed from the original blocks.
Toward the end of the eighteenth century Samuel
Mclntire came completely under the spell of the
refined and distinctive elegance of the work of the
brothers Adam in England, and until his death in
i8ll most of the houses designed by him, especially
the interior woodwork, were in the Adam manner.
During this period, too, he finished many whole rooms
or added new mantels in houses previously erected.
For instance, the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols house
was built in 1782, but only the rooms in the western
side were finished at that time in the Georgian man-
ner. The whole eastern side is in Mclntire's later
manner, and the east parlor, done in 1 801, has become
a veritable Mecca for architects from all sections of
the country. America has no contemporaneous
[ 155 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
example of the Adam influence superior to this room
with its symmetrical architectural treatment of the
two opposite ends, shown by accompanying photo-
graphs. Sixteen and one-half by twenty-six and one-
half feet in size and high studded, it possesses the
spaciousness necessary to bring out to the full that
subtle quality of nice balance between the plain
surfaces and delicate ornament to which the Adam
manner owes its principal refinement and charm.
Indeed, the low, flat dado with its molded surbase
embellished with groups of five vertical flutings,
the pilaster treatment of the corners with Corinthian
capitals and fluted shafts resting on classic pedestals,
the elaborate cornice with intricately carved moldings
and broad frieze with rosettes and groups of seven
vertical reeds in alternation on a flat ground, the
embrasured windows with folding paneled shutters
and architrave casings, hand tooled much like the
surbase, and last, but most important of all, the
magnificent chimney piece, constitute an archi-
tectural setting of rare beauty which architects and
antiquaries rejoice is in a house owned and to be
preserved by the Essex Institute.
One of Mclntire's favorite motives, ever recurring
with minor variations throughout his work in the
Adam manner, occupies the string course of the
cornice. This double denticulated member or Grecian
fret is formed by vertical cross cuttings alternately
from top and bottom of a square molding, the fine-
[IS6]
Interior Wood Finish
scale vertical reeded ovolo beneath giving it just the
proper emphasis and serving also to relate the cornice
as a whole more closely to the ornamentation of the
frieze. Each side of the chimney piece both cornice
and frieze project considerably and the soffit is en-
riched by a guilloche consisting of interlacing circular
fillets, large and small circles in alternation, with
applied rosettes within the larger circles.
In Chapter X this chimney piece, the handsomest
in Salem, is treated at some length. It is fitting here,
however, to note the pleasing and logical manner in
which both cornice and frieze have been carried
about its various projections and made part of it,
thus tying it into the entire scheme.
The door trim, like that of others in the house,
displays considerable refined embellishment. Flat
pilasters beside the architrave casings rise from the
skirting to the doorhead, the upper fascia of which
consists of a series of hand-tooled reedings. The
capitals are formed by a simple use of the acanthus
leaf taken from the Corinthian order. Fruit-filled
urns, garlands and elliptical medallions of applied
work, delicately drawn, ornament the broad frieze and
projecting pilasters of the doorhead which, with the
architrave casing beneath it, form a complete en-
tablature. It will be noticed that the cornice of the
doorhead repeats that of the room, including the reed
cross sections between the dentils, but without the
tiny holes in each dentil of the main cornice above,
[157]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
which are undoubtedly the marks of a nail set, perhaps
purposely left unfilled to add another detail to the
pattern. The door itself pleases the eye with its
attractive panel arrangement and the flat panels
with tiny moldings planted on them about an inch
from the edge and replacing the more common bevel-
ing. Stiles, muntin and rails are all of the same
width except for the broader bottom rail. Brass drop
handles such as this accord excellently with Adam
detail, and one notices the use of butts instead of the
old-fashioned H and L hinges found throughout the
west side of this house.
Reverting momentarily to the windows of this
room, it will be noticed that unlike the usual two-
piece shutters these have three paneled parts on each
side hinged together with quaint wrought-iron H
hinges. The photograph also shows that the stiles
and rails of these shutters are held together by
small wooden pins. Various types of shutters were
in vogue during different periods in Salem. Exterior
solid board shutters came first. On stores they were
of the batten type in one piece and held in place by
cross-bars of wood or iron, while on houses they were
in two parts and hung on strap hinges. For domestic
use, however, they were soon brought indoors, the
construction being the same, except that openings
taking the shape of a star or crescent were often cut
through them near the top to admit a little light.
Then came the paneled and the folding shutter for
[158]
Plate LXXV. — East or Adam Parlor, Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
House. Finished 1801 ; Embrasured Windows of the Same Room.
Interior Wood Finish
better appearance and compactness, the openings
sometimes being retained as shown by the photo-
graph of the front room of the Narbonne house in
Chapter II. Another development was a quaint
paneled shutter the full width of the window and
sliding into the wall at one side, there being separate
shutters corresponding to the upper and lower
sashes. They kept out the cold very well, and one
wonders that no one has thought to glaze them for
use In winter as double windows put in place at a
moment's notice without eifort.
In several of the best Salem, houses erected during
the first decade of the nineteenth century, most of
them by Mclntlre, the Interior doorways have beauti-
ful Adam detail. Those in the hall of the Crownin-
shield-Devereux-Waters house, Number 72 Washing-
ton Square East, combine motives prominent In both
the doorway and window of the east parlor of the
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols house, already described,
with other new and original detail. There are the
same architrave casings with groups of seven flutings
at frequent intervals on the upper fascia, the same
cymatlum and corona, and similar decoration of
the doorhead frieze consisting of dainty applied work
in the form of slender festooned and straight-hanging
garlands with florets between, and ornamental flower
pots with blooming plants on the projecting pilaster-
like portions at each end, supporting a cornice with
corresponding projections and In which a simple
[ 159 1
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
fine-scale dentil course is prominent. No pilasters
flank the architrave casings in this instance.
One of Mclntire's frequent ingenious innovations
replaces the usual cornice and frieze. Below a cyma
recta of extreme simplicity a reed, hand-tooled spirally
and resembling the twist drills of to-day, though
doubtless a modification of the popular rope moldings
of the time, occupies the position of the usual fillet.
The corona has been omitted, likewise the dentil
course, although the spiral reed has much the value
of the latter. The narrow frieze with a plain torus
below it has its flat surface relieved at intervals with
groups of nine vertical reedings corresponding to the
groups of seven on the surbase. All executed with
the utmost precision, the effect is one of beauty and
distinction.
In the hall of the Cook-Oliver house on Federal
Street, paneled and fluted pilasters support the
ornamental doorhead and serve as casings without
architraves, except as a lower fascia bearing a contin-
uous series of fine-scale flutings, and a plain torus
faces the jambs. Reedings having virtually the same
scale and value adorn the surbase. The projection
of the skirting to provide bases for the pilasters is an
interesting and effective detail.
Salem has no more exquisite examples of the Adam
doorhead and accompanying wood trim than these
taken from the Elias Hasket Derby mansion with
their gracefully festooned draperies, fruit-filled urns
[i6o]
Interior Wood Finish
and rosettes. Both the main cornice and that of the
doorhead include a prominent denticulated molding,
each dentil being nicely hand-tooled with a shallow
gouge cutting to give its face the appearance of the
letter H. Conforming to the characteristic panel
arrangement of the time with small panels above
the two sets of larger ones rather than between the
latter, as in the east parlor of the Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols house, the doors themselves are excellent,
the beveling of the panels and the molding of the
stiles and rails manifesting painstaking workmanship.
One notices with approval also the brightening eifect
of the simple brass-mounted glass knob and the brass
key plate.
The accompanying plate shows clearly the beauti-
ful old imported wall paper that formerly adorned
this hall. It was hand blocked in eighteen-inch
squares and consists of pink roses on a background
of green leaves, the coloring having softened delight-
fully with the passing years. Because of its unique
character, the pattern apparently having no duplicate
in America, the paper of this hall was purchased early
in 1 91 6 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, re-
moved, cleaned and taken to New York to decorate
one of the several Colonial rooms that now form one
of the important permanent features.
Another notable example of Mclntire's versatility
in the variation of the detail of his interior wood trim
is to be found in the hall of the Home for Aged
[ 161 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Women, Number i8o Derby Street. The doorway
shown is, generally speaking, a simplified version of
that in the hall of the Cook-Oliver house. Paneled
pilasters on projecting bases again support the door-
head, but these pilasters are not fluted. The lower
fascia of the jambs bears only a simple torus at
the edge and is omitted entirely at the top, while the
panels of the door itself are plain and flat. A unique
combination of detail adorns the entablature of the
doorhead. The architrave across the lintel cor-
responds to the surbase below, and introduces a rare
instance of a continuous series of short vertical flut-
ings so cut as to give a festoon effect which is termi-
nated at each end by the pilaster projections bearing
elliptical flower ornaments similar to those in the
Cook-Oliver house. No ornament has been applied
to the broad frieze, but the cornice is enriched in
an unusual manner. A fine-scale rope molding
occupies the dentil course, while beneath Mclntire's
favorite cymatium and corona the soffit is intricately
hand-tooled with groups of five flutings in alternation
with small sunken panels of diamond shape with
scalloped edges. At the ceiling a cornice without
frieze is employed. Here the rope molding occurs
again, and broad, flat modillions support the corona,
somewhat after the Corinthian manner, each modil-
lion having carefully carved upon its under face a
sunken, round, flower medallion. A word should be
said in passing regarding the spiral newel, indicating
[162]
Plate LXXVI. — Detail of Doorway, Adam Parlor, Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols House.
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Interior Wood Finish
as it does that when turned balusters are of slender
grace this scheme is fully as effective as when plain
round or square balusters are used.
In the parlor of the Andrew-Safford house, Number
13 Washington Square, there is a doorway typical of
the last period of Colonial architecture in Salem when
the Corinthian order was much in favor, but the
influence of the decadence that came with the Greek
revival had begun to make itself felt. The Corinthian
spirit, of course, lies in the typical modillions sup-
porting the corona, nicely hand-carved in classic
scroll pattern with the usual acanthus leaf decoration
of the under surface. Otherwise the entire treatment
is an original creation of its designer, although the
customary relation between surbase and doorhead
cornice is maintained by the tiny ball moldings.
Architects of the present day regard the elaborately
molded pilaster casings with their plinths and bull's-
eye corner blocks as over-elaborate and rather
clumsy. In panel arrangement like that of the fore-
going examples, the bolection moldings give this door
a considerably different aspect, which is still further
emphasized by the dark red-brown painting in the
spirit of old mahogany which became a frequent
feature of the houses of this period.
It will be noted that all of these six-panel doors
with four panels of equal size and two small ones at
the top have stiles and muntin of virtually equal
width, any variation being slightly wider stiles.
[163]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Top and frieze rails are alike and the same width as
the muntin, but the bottom rail is somewhat broader
and the lock rail the broadest of the four. Moldings
are confined to the edge of the panels, with the
splayed or beveled panels of earlier years gradually
being abandoned in favor of plain, flat surfaces.
Round-headed doorways here and there provided
a welcome variation from the customary square-
headed types and have been a pleasing feature of
Colonial interiors since early times. As framing
the glazed doors of china closets they are noticeable
in the parlor of the "House of the Seven Gables"
shown in Chapter I, and in the front room of the Nar-
bonne house shown in Chapter II. The accompanying
example, illustrating the treatment of a corner china
closet, is from the Captain Edward Allen house
erected in 1770. Nicely molded architrave casings
were employed, and the keystone effect carried up
through the cornice by a slight projection of the
various moldings is most effective. The separation of
the upper glazed and lower wood-paneled parts of
the dark-painted door is an interesting detail, as are
the plastering of the closet to the form of a semi-
circular dome-shaped niche, the peculiar shape of
the shelves and the small pilasters at each side within
the door.
In the second-floor hall of the Andrew-Saiford and
other contemporary houses the round-headed door-
way was utilized to provide an ornamental yet
[164]
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Plate LXXVIII. — Plaster Centerpiece, Ceiling of the Andrew-
SafFord Parlor. Erected 1818; Third-Floor Chamber,
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols House. Erected 1782.
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practical fanlight transom over the door between
the front and rear part of the hall. Such a transom
admitted considerable light from the brighter to the
darker side and afforded a degree of privacy whenever
desired. The elaborately molded casings and hand-
carved comer blocks are characteristic of the latter
part of what might be termed the Federal period of
Colonial architecture. One notes the effectiveness of
the paneled soffit of the arch and the unique sash
divisions of the transom with a central light sug-
gestive of the classic urn.
Round-headed openings were employed for landing
windows in stair halls, as shown in Chapter IX, and
in the central part of the Palladian windows over
entrance porches, as shown in Chapter VI, where
they became decorative interior features of the front
end of second-floor halls.
Elliptical-headed openings, echoing indoors the
fanlight of the front doorway, were in most instances
reserved for framing the stairway vista at the head or
foot of the flight, as mentioned in the following
chapter, or for arches between front and back par-
lors, where they became one of the most charming
features of the best Colonial interiors. As in the
An drew-S afford house these elliptical arches between
rooms often included a glazed fanlight with graceful
sash divisions and sliding doors to separate the rooms
if desired. The treatment of this broad doorway
through a thick brick partition wall with engaged
[i6s]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Ionic columns at the front and paneling in the reveals
and about the soffit of the arch back of the doors has
been much admired. Indeed the vista through this
arch, the chaste white woodwork and the tasteful
mahogany furniture and other appropriate furnish-
ings form a picture of spacious elegance the equal
of any in Salem.
[i66]
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CHAPTER IX
HALLS AND STAIRWAYS
AS an avenue of approach from the doorway
/\ to the fireside the hall ever awakens par-
ticular interest. It may properly, and often does,
reflect both ways — the welcome of the doorway
whatever the degree of its warmth, and the antici-
pated hospitality of the hearthstone. Its psy-
chological effect cannot be denied. One hall pro-
vides only a characterless passage to the rooms be-
yond, another in its severity forebodes little else than
dignified insincerity, whereas the one most to be
admired seems to radiate the good cheer of a happy
home.
In early Salem houses the halls were mere entries
and the stairways purely utilitarian, but with more
settled conditions and greater prosperity the hall
took its rightful place among the most pleasing
rooms of the house. As the stairway affords op-
portunities for architectural embellishment quite as
freely as does the fireplace, so the Colonial hall
became a setting for this architectural gem which
reached the height of its development during the
latter half of the eighteenth century.
[1671
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
At first the hall was regarded almost as a necessary
evil, the aim being to devote the least possible amount
of space to it. Thus many of the compact English
cottage types are to be found with the stairway
in the form of a broken flight rising in three short
runs with two landings at opposite sides of the hall
where right angle turns occur. Such a stairway in
the "House of the Seven Gables", probably erected
in 1669, was illustrated in Chapter I. Two others
of interest are to be seen in the side hall of the
Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols house, erected in 1782, and
in the little hall at Number 31 Summer Street in
the house erected in 1780 where Samuel Mclntire lived
and died. The two former have the earlier molded
close strings, whereas the latter has the open or cut
strings showing the step on the stair facing and having
jig-sawed scroll brackets beneath the overhanging
treads as string ornaments. All three stairways
show the customary closet with paneled outer walls
and a door under the second landing, but the two
latter manifest greater refinement in the spacing of
the raised and molded panels and the nicely turned
balusters and newels. It will be noticed that the
square landing newels are structural uprights, one
or both of them extending to the floor, and that both
strings and hand rails are mortised and tenoned to
them and fastened with wood pins.
In modest halls such as the foregoing, a skirting,
sometimes molded, often runs about the walls and
[168]
Platk LXXXII. — Stairway in the Captain Edward Allen House.
Erected 1770.
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up the stairway, but in more elaborate houses there
is usually a paneled wainscot notable for good
spacing and pleasing proportions similar to that in
the Captain Edward Allen house, corner of Derby
and Hardy Streets. As a rule the heavy molded
hand rail is of white pine painted in a warm dark
color, although sometimes white painted like the
rest of the woodwork, as in the Simon Forrester and
Cabot-Endicott-Low houses. In the more costly
houses it is occasionally of mahogany. Usually
curving outward to a newel at the bottom, the
rail often sweeps upward in free graceful curves to
the newels of the upper floors, or again swings along
from flight to flight without being broken by newels.
This upward curve of the ramped rail is usually
repeated in the surbase and sometimes in the panel-
ing of the wainscot opposite. Although it had been
the prevailing type in the gambrel-roof mansions
of about 1750, Mclntire usually reserved the broken
flight for side halls, as in the Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols house, yet he employed it in 1795 for the
front hall of the Hosmer- Waters house. Number
80 Washington Square, imparting to it considerable
individuality in arrangement and detail. The ex-
ceptionally short first run with ramped rail and dado
followed by a longer straight run with corresponding
balustrade and wall treatment at once arrest at-
tention ; likewise the open unutilized space be-
neath the flight. Rail, balusters and particularly
[169]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
attractive scroll brackets are of sturdy grace In
accord with the newels, which suggest an adapta-
tion of the Roman Doric column. Similar but
heavier balusters and newel in the Simon Forrester
house, Number ii Hodges Court, erected before
1800, are found in connection with paneled box
stairs which emphasize the broad tread and rela-
tively low rise. In modem adaptation it is better
suited to public than private work.
The Captain Edward Allen house contains an elab-
orated stairway of the cottage type. The hall,
being wider, permits more massive construction,
especially of the box stairs with paneled ends and
sides, and the balustrade, with its twisted balusters
and corkscrew newel, which rightly may be considered
among the most interesting and spontaneous achieve-
ments of the early American builders. Captain
Allen was a Scotchman, who came to America as a
mariner in 1757 and in 1759 married the sister of
the wife of Richard Derby, the father of Elias
Hasket Derby.
About the beginning of the nineteenth century
the ingenuity of American builders evolved another
solution of the short hall problem which came to
be known as the full spiral or "winder." Although
undoubtedly suggested by the stone stairways of
historic round towers and cathedrals in the mother
country, it became thoroughly domesticated and
harmonized with the lighter treatment of its sur-
[170]
Plate LXXXV. — Hall and Stairway, " The Lindens." Erected
1754; Stairway Detail, " The Lindens."
Halls and Stairways
roundings. As found in the David P. Waters house,
Number 14 Cambridge Street, designed by Samuel
Mclntire in 1805, its sinuous lines are possessed
of a rare grace which should commend itself to
prospective home builders desirous of obtaining
strong individuality in their present-day small house
adaptations. The form of such a stairway is its
own ornamentation, hence the simplicity of the
molded hand rail and slender square balusters re-
lieved by flat scroll brackets on the string and a hand-
tooled rope plaster bead. Could anything be more
appropriate than the newel treatment suggesting
the volute of the Ionic order, the balustrade winding
scroll-fashion about a little round-turned column and
the first stair tread taking the outline of the rail
above ? A paneled wainscot would have been out
of place. Instead, as in the Lindall-Bamard-An-
drews hall and others of similar character and equally
early date, a simple skirting, flat dado and a sur-
base correspond in total height to that of the balus-
trade opposite, while hand-blocked paper of in-
teresting design, imported from France or England,
covers the wall above.
In the Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers house, on Essex
Street, another "winder" at once attracts atten-
tion to its generous proportions and broad sweeping
curves which lend a stately grandeur, while the dado
effect, with molded skirting and surbase displaying
a simple Grecian fret, again justifies itself as appro-
[171]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
priate in stairways of this sort, aiding materially
in the architectural treatment of the room. Both
the rope-molded plaster bead and scroll brackets
are again employed, the latter of outline form nicely
jig-sawed. The slender balusters are turned, how-
ever, like the newel, which one might wish were of
more distinctive contour. Strangely enough the
"winder" never enjoyed the popularity of the
straight run and broken flight, whereas wing-
flights rising each side from a half-way landing,
although they flourished in the South, never gained
a foothold in New England.
In the better houses built just prior to the Revo-
lution and immediately following, a hall of generous
size took its place among the important interior
features. Planned first in the spirit of hospitality,
and also "to put the best foot foremost", they were
elaborated as much because the presence of the
stairway provided opportunities for effective archi-
tectural treatment as for any other reason.
Wide halls leading entirely through the center of
the house were common, a door at the rear often
opening upon a secluded yard or old-fashioned
garden, as at "The Lindens", Danvers. In large
houses, particularly square ones like the Pickman-
Derby-Brookhouse mansion, the hall did not extend
the whole way through, and the rear door, if there
were one, opened into a back room, while other
doors on each side gave access to the more important
[172]
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rooms. Broken flights of stairs continued, but in
long halls a straight run along one wall led to a
landing only three or four feet below the second-
floor level where the direction of the flight reversed.
This arrangement may be seen in several accompany-
ing illustrations, the stairway of the Cook-Oliver
house on Federal Street being particularly simple and
effective. Delightful in its slender grace, the balus-
trade consists of a molded rail and simple turned
newel and balusters. A flat dado with molded
skirting and surbase hand-carved in fine-scale, ver-
tical, reeded motive extends up the flight along the
wall, while outline scroll brackets, recalling those
of the Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers house, adorn
the stair ends. The stairway of the Lindall-Barnard-
Andrews house. Number 393 Essex Street, instances
a single straight flight in a long hall. The slender
grace of the square balusters and turned newel, the
attractive scroll brackets and molded surbase, taken
as a whole create an unrivaled air of distinction
and strong individuality. The newel treatment re-
sembles that of the David P. Waters stairway,
already referred to, and both of these stairways are
unquestionably among the best simple prototypes
for adaptation in a Colonial cottage of the present
day. The Waters stairway being a "winder", two
types of different arrangement but similar treat-
ment are presented so that a choice can be made to
suit the needs in hand.
[ 173 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Two more points are of interest. Economy made
it necessary in many houses to forego the luxury of
a solid mahogany stair rail and merely to cap a
white-painted rail with short thin strips of mahogany
as in this instance. A similar treatment of a dark-
painted rail may be seen in the Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols house. It will be noticed that the two
doors shown in the Lindall-Barnard-Andrews hall
diifer in their paneling. Whether this was due to
the replacement of one of the doors at a later date
is not known, but dissimilar doors are frequently
found in old houses where often, as in this instance,
they do not oflFend the eye, but rather lend an air of
individuality to the house.
As America was a pioneer country in Colonial
times a large proportion of the early American
fortunes were amassed by merchants, shipowners
and sea captains, and it was inevitable that this
fact should leave its mark upon the architecture of
coast towns, notably Salem, then our most important
seaport. Although evidences of this influence may
be seen both indoors and out, it is chiefly in the
balusters and newels of the stairways that we are
reminded of this splendid work, of the men who
built it, and of the source of the money which paid
, for it. They were beautifully turned and often
\^ hand-carved in spiral fashion. The handiwork of
skilled carvers employed in the local shipyards,
\ then the largest in America, their twisted balusters
[174]
Halls and Stairways
are obviously based upon the rope moldings and
other flamboyant decorations which they were in
the habit of making for ship cabins. For this reason
their use in the homes of shipowners and sea
captains seems the more appropriate. The work
was done in a masterly manner and in its refinement
of detail indicates Yankee ingenuity and thoughtful
designing. At the Essex Institute may be seen a
fine old stairway of this character with excellent
newels and balusters, many of which were taken
from the Hubon house when it was razed to make way
in 1906 for the building of Weld Hall, containing
offices and work rooms for the Peabody Museum.
Many other examples remain in private houses,
and in each of the splendid examples shown here-
; with it will be noticed that there are three designs
IJn the twisted portion of the baluster, one of each
iBtanding on every stair, which was broad and not
Very high. The detail photograph of the stairway
at "The Lindens", in Danvers, shows this clearly
and also calls attention to the pleasing and clever
use of a low, hand-tooled pilaster on the wainscot
opposite the newel, also the splendid spacing of
the door panels which with their lock rails correspond
in level with those of the wainscot.
The wide hall at "The Lindens" extends entirely
J through the house and opens upon an old-fashioned
I garden at the rear. On the wall above the paneled
wainscot hangs a fine old hand-blocked landscape
[I7S]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
paper depicting scenes from the adventures of
Telemachus. The crowning feature of the hall,
however, is the balustrade of the stairway. Balus-
^ ters, mahogany stair rails and newel are characteris-
^«}'/' tic of this type, but the box stairs, with their paneled ,,^P
■'.*;\ends and decorative brackets, are unique. J^
As in this instance, when the hall extended through
to the rear of the house the stairway was lighted
by a Palladian window over the landing that became
not only an ornamental feature of the exterior, but
the motive for an admirable architectural treatment
of the interior wall. At "The Lindens" the deeply
recessed, round-headed window, handsomely cased
with paneled jambs and soffit, logically accommodates
a window seat, and is flanked by heavy fluted
pilasters standing on high paneled pedestals and
with Corinthian capitals supporting a beautiful
cornice with hand-carved, fine-scale denticulated and
egg and dart moldings.
In the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols house, designed
by Mclntire, a simpler treatment of the Palladian
window without seat may be seen. Here the jambs
are paneled and the pilaster casings have a sunken
panel effect, while the soffit prominently displays
a familiar Grecian fret. The sash bar divisions
are exceptionally graceful, while the cornice, arch
casing and surbase charm the eye with their deli-
cately hand-tooled detail, in which Mclntire excelled.
So nearly do the hall and stairway of the Cabot-
[176]
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Endicott-Low house on Essex Street resemble those
of "The Lindens" that color is lent to the tradition
that both of these mansions, together with the
Benjamin Pickman house, in the rear of Number
165 Essex Street, and the "King" Hooper house,
at Marblehead, were designed by the same English
architect. The general arrangement is identical
and the paneled wainscot, doors, architrave casings,
box stairs, balustrade and newel are virtually the
•"Ijame. Minor differences occur in the cornices,
however. In the Cabot-Endicott-Low house the
round-headed window, with a seat on the landing,
has only simple molded casings without other archi-
tectural elaboration and the white-painted newel
and hand rail further alter appearances somewhat.
Altogether the eifect is one of chaste elegance, un-
excelled in all Salem. As at "The Lindens" the
landing furnishes a convenient place for "the clock
on the stairs", immortalized by Longfellow, and
in bygone days the opposite comer of the landing
was usually occupied by a tip table on which at
night stood candles to light guests to their rooms.
The panel treatment of the exposed second-floor
level accords well with the box stairs, the staggered
arrangement of the stiles, reminiscent of the run-
ning bond in brickwork, being a logical horizontal
continuation of the box-stair efi"ect. The detail
photograph shows clearly the three delightful balus-
ter patterns, differing only in their upper portions,
[ 177I
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
the handsome twisted landing newels and the sweep-
ing lines of the ramped rails.
Most of the newels accompanying twisted balusters
greatly resemble each other, consisting of one cork-
screw spiral within another, with small spiral flut-
ings and reedings hand-tooled upon the plain, turned
surfaces. Soft pine painted white predominated, as
shown by the detail photograph made in the Richard
Derby house, erected in 1761, the oldest brick dwell-
ing in Salem.
The back stairway at "The Lindens" combines
turned balusters with a unique corkscrew newel,
four pierced openings through the thickest portion
displaying the much-used spiral spindle within.
Not only were the halls of this period noted for
their splendid paneled wainscots, but for similar
paneling spaced with the utmost care under the
stairs. This charming effect may be seen at its
best in the Babbidge-Crowninshield-Bowker house, in
the rear of Number 46 Essex Street, erected about
1700; a quaint, twisted wood rod extends from the
second-floor level across to the balustrade. Upon
this the fire bucket was hung, its position being
determined by the central location of the hall and
the availability of the bucket to either floor. This
stairway is unique in that a short run of three steps
to the left of the landing completes the flight;
it does not reverse in the conventional manner.
Simple molded panels suffice to ornament the ends
1 178]
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of the box stairs, although flat scroll brackets were
usually placed under the overhang of the treads to
give an appearance of support.
This house was the birthplace of Benjamin W.
Crowninshield and of his brother Jacob, both
Congressmen.
In the stairway of the Pickman-Derby-B rook-
house niansion, formerly at Number 70 Washington
Street, on the site of the new Masonic Temple,
this idea of small brackets was carried to the un-
usual extent of a bracket of solid wood as thick as
the width of the stairway. The effect was distinctly
pleasing, however, and the scheme worthy of more
general application in present-day work. In fact,
as shown by the accompanying photograph, this
hall presents a notable prototype for modem adap-
tation in houses where the hall cannot extend
through to the rear of the house and so offers no
opportunity for a window on the landing.
The latest development of the Colonial stairway
in long halls was a curved upper portion of the run
instead of a landing. Most of the stairways for
several years after 18 10 were of this type. Pre-
vious to these, however, an attractive transition
stage occurred, during which there was a landing
three or four steps below the second-floor level,
but the rail swung around a curve instead of making
square comers with newels. The charm of this
effect may be seen in the Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols
[179]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
house, where the stairway is notable chiefly for the
balustrade which, as well as the diamond fret along
the second-floor level, undoubtedly owes its origin
to Chippendale influence. Four slender square balus-
ters alternate with a jig-sawed member very like
the well-known chair back to form a scheme at
once unique and beautiful. Chippendale's work
preceded that of Adam ; already occasional examples
of his splendid craftsmanship were being brought
to America, and it followed naturally that Mclntire,
the architect of the house, in his search for distinc-
tive motives came as completely under the spell
of Chippendale in 1782 as he did later under that of
Adam.
After the manner of the time, jig-sawed double-
scroll brackets decorate the stair ends, in this in-
stance bearing also three pairs of vertical flutes.
The newel recalls that of the Lindall-Barnard-
Andrews and Waters stairways. Notable features
of the landing include the beautiful Palladian window
and the approach from the landing by two semi-
circular steps to a door opening upon a chamber
at the rear of the house.
At the front end of Colonial halls such as that of
the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols house one sees the
interior charm of a typical Colonial front doorway
arrangement of the late eighteenth century. The
treatment makes an architectural feature of the
entire end of the hall, elaborate but in rare good
[ 180 1
Halls and Stairways
taste. The casings, with their broad, horizontal
flutings below the Corinthian capitals, sound an
unusual though pleasing note, as do the beaded
panels with urn-shaped inserts in applied work
each side of the fanlight. The ornamentation of
the lintel with festoons and rosettes each side of a
vertical, reeded, central panel, however, exemplifies
a typical Adam treatment. Other features of in-
terest include a hand-tooled, denticulated molding
of the cornice with a reed cross section and dentil
In alternation, each dentil having a flute gouged upon
it ; and the vertical, fluted surface of the dado.
In striking contrast to this, the front door of the
Richard Derby house, on Derby Street, with its
simple, molded casings, oblong transom and heavy
iron strap hinges, forms an interesting comparison.
In many houses of the later period the elliptical
arch of the fanlight is echoed elsewhere. To frame
the stairway picture, one of the most attractive in
the house, it often spans the lower hall at the foot of
the stairs, or the upper hall at their head, being
supported by flat or fluted pilasters or resting on
beautifully carved consoles. Occasionally it frames
a vista of the far end of a long hall or determines
the shape of a transom to light the rear hall when a
door separates it from the front portion, as at the
Salem Club, Number 29 Washington Square North.
It may also be seen at Intersections of hall corridors,
as in the Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers house, at
[1811
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
202^ Essex Street. The two arches shown form
an interesting comparison, so greatly do they differ
in detail. Both are based on the Corinthian order
and one has typical Corinthian capitals, whereas
the other has festooned Adam drapery replacing
the usual acanthus leaf detail. Both are notable
for the Grecian fret applied to the soffits of the arches
and one has pilasters continuing this fret, whereas
the other has sunken panel pilasters with applied
straight-hanging garlands. The archivolts also dif-
fer, one being merely molded and the other having
alternate rosettes and reeded groups applied to its
fascia.
Coming now to the long halls with semicircular
ends and a curved upper portion of the run instead
of a landing, two instances will suffice. In the
Hoffman-Simpson house. Number 26 Chestnut
Street, erected about 1827, are to be seen the famil-
iar dado with molded surbase and skirting, the scroll-
bracket ornamentation of the stair string, the
volute newel treatment and balustrade with simple
square balusters, dark painted like that of the
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols house. The door casings
are deeply molded after the manner of the last
period of Colonial architecture in Salem with square
plinths and sunken corner blocks. It will be noticed
that the rear door takes the curve of the wall and
is a splendid piece of joinery trimmed with glass
knobs.
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Halls and Stairways
The similar hall of the Salem Club differs in several
details. The round end of the hall occurs only at
the head of the stairs where a characteristic niche
in the wall provides an appropriate place for statuary
or an example of the taxidermist's art, as in this
instance. On the lower floor the rear end of the
hall is square and the door separating the front and
rear halls is elaborated by engaged Ionic columns
supporting an elliptical arched transom, with a
finely molded archivolt and highly ornamented
soffit, in which is set a transom sash of distinctive
pattern. The other doorway, like most in the house,
has deeply molded casings with flat square plinths
and handsomely carved corner blocks ; it is sur-
mounted by a head taking the form of a complete
entablature with flat frieze and pilaster effect at
each end, supporting a fine-scale Corinthian cornice
which reflects that of the ceiling above with its
nicely ornamented modillions. Like the balustrade
with its slender turned balusters the handsome six-
panel doors are dark painted. Delicate applied
detail adorns the surbase and a beautiful scroll fret
gives character to the exposed second-floor level.
[183 1
CHAPTER X
MANTELS AND CHIMNEY PIECES
NOT until the eighteenth century did the
average Salem fireplace include architec-
tural embellishment worthy of emulation to-day.
Up to that time a single great fireplace in the living
room, which also served as a kitchen, had often
sufiiced ; few houses boasted more than two fireplaces
on the lower floor. They were of large dimensions
for burning logs of considerable size and length,
a long settle — sometimes two settles, one at each
side — being provided to seat the entire family con-
veniently near the only source of heat. The trammel
bar and crane with its pothooks were also quaint
features, for much of the early cookery was depend-
ent upon the fireplace until brick ovens and finally
iron stoves came into general use. These early
fireplaces were commonly built of brick though
sometimes of stone and often had cast-iron fire-
backs bearing the owner's initials and the date of
erection of the house. Stone flags frequently pro-
vided hearths and jambs. In the earlier examples
there was no mantel; the great oak beam which
supported the masonry over the fireplace opening
[184]
Mantles and Chimney Pieces
and called the "mantel-tree" was the only link be-
tween the early mantel or hood and the form that
followed. Often it projected sufficiently to provide
a ledge on which to stand candlesticks and other
utensils. Such a kitchen of the olden days has been
reconstructed with antiques gathered here and
there and forms a notable feature of the Essex
Institute museum.
With the coming of more prosperous times a
higher standard of living was adopted ; larger houses
were built and a fireplace for heating purposes be-
came desirable in each of the principal rooms,
including chambers. More thought was given to
good appearance ; the space about the fireplace was
paneled, and toward the middle of the eighteenth
century the whole side of the room began to be thus
treated. About this time, too, the mantel-tree was
discontinued, the width of the fireplace opening
being so much reduced that an iron strap could be
substituted. Plain and carved soapstone facings
began to be used, followed by glazed Dutch tiles
and various kinds of marble with plain surfaces
and later with nicely chiseled Grecian frets. To-
ward the end of the century the mantelshelf proper
came into general use, oifering ready opportunity
for elaboration, and thereafter the development of
the mantel as the principal architectural feature
of the room advanced apace.
The sentimental appeal of the open fire con-
[i8s]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
tinued unabated. People of necessity lived close
to the hearthstone, for the fireplace still remained
the source of warmth for six months of the year
and therefore the very center of home life. But
builders began to realize that, in other rooms than
the kitchen, the fire is absent during warm weather,
and that while sentiment lies in the fire on the
hearth, permanent year-round beauty centers not
in the fireplace proper but in its architectural set-
ting, the mantel or complete chimney piece. They
saw in the ensemble a thing of the utmost necessity
which could be rendered beautiful by architectural
treatment in wood with moldings, carving and other
decorations, and so devoted their best eiforts to its
appropriate ornamentation with the result that
mantels and chimney pieces became the crowning
feature of the room, usually sounding the keynote
of the scheme for the other wood finish. And so
they remain to-day, for the charm of the open fire
will never cease, and the fireplace and its mantel
will ever appeal to the heart as well as the eye,
representing as it does the human and direct ideal
of homely comfort in the days of our great-grand-
fathers.
In America the development of mantels in modest
homes, and chimney pieces in more pretentious res-
idences, naturally followed to a degree the prevail-
ing mode in England. Early in the seventeenth
century when the Italian style was brought to
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Pla IK XCV. — Chamber Mantel, " The Lindens ; " Mantel in tht
Captain Edward Allen House, 125 Derby Street.
Mantels and Chimney Pieces
England by Inigo Jones, chimney pieces were of
extremely simple design, often consisting only of the
ordinary mantelpiece with classic architraves and
shelf, the upper part of the chimney breast being
paneled like the rest of the room. Toward the
end of that century and for many decades following,
the classic architraves were abandoned in favor of
a much bolder bolection molding. The shelf was
omitted and the paneling of the chimney breast
took the form of two oblongs, the upper broader
than the lower.
Such chimney pieces at their best are to be seen
at "The Lindens", Danvers, erected in 1754, where
the principal rooms have four paneled walls and
most of the chambers one paneled wall, includ-
ing the fireplace. The magnificent dark-painted
chimney piece of the parlor was illustrated and
commented upon in the preceding chapter. That
In the dining room shows the pleasing qualities of
this type in white-painted wood with fireplace
facings and hearth of marble, or tiles of similar
effect, with graceful brass andirons and handsome
fender. As In the parlor the paneling of this room
and Its doors Is excellently spaced and nicely worked.
The mantelshelf proper was too practical and
attractive a thing to be long omitted, however,
except possibly in the more formal rooms. In
living rooms and chambers It furnished a place for
clocks, candlesticks and other useful ornaments,
[187]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
and it appealed to the eye, not only because of its
ornamental supports, but because of the homelike,
livable appearance it gave to the room.
The Salem matrons of those days loved to display
on these mantels their rare pieces of so-called " Lowe-
stoft" ware, imported direct from China. Three
jars and two beakers, all ten or twelve inches high,
were usually set out symmetrically across the shelf
with a pair of brass or silver-plated candlesticks
between. Sometimes there were only two beakers
and one jar, or the reverse, and in later years hand-
some whale-oil lamps often replaced the candle-
sticks. The "Lowestoft" ware of 1790 was mostly
green and gilt, while that of about 1835 was decorated
with colored butterfly patterns. There was also a
period of blue and white, often with the addition
of gilt.
In England architects of the eighteenth century
returned to the Inigo Jones classic type ; the shelf
of former times was reinstated and the overmantel
was developed into a single large and elaborately
framed panel over the chimney breast. Sometimes
this remained unadorned, but oftener displayed a
family portrait, ornamental, gilt-framed mirror or
more elaborate girandole.
A Mclntire mantel of this period, based on Pal-
ladio's Ionic order with convex frieze, is the prin-
cipal feature of the west parlor of the Pierce- Johon-
not-Nichols house, on Federal Street. As in many
[188]
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Pi.ATK XCVII. — East Front Chamber Mantel, Pierce-Johonnot-
Nichols House; Corner Section of the Same.
Mantels and Chimney Pieces
old houses of the time it forms part of one side of
the room treated with wood paneling throughout.
Decidedly substantial in character, it is essentially
simple in conception and graceful in form and pro-
portion. The moldings are especially interesting.
The ovolo under the shelf corresponds to that in
the cornice above the dentil course. While an inter-
pretation of the classic egg and dart motive, it was
employed without the customary bead and reel, and
still further received the stamp of Mclntire's per-
sonality by the small round borings at the base of
the tongue. A related but dissimilar ovolo mold-
ing surrounds the broad panel of the overmantel,
while the ogee moldings about the fireplace open-
ing but distantly resemble any well-known classic
motive, though restrained and effective. The beau-
tiful brass hob grate mounted on soapstone compares
favorably with any in America and its setting within
a border of black and white tiles depicting ^Esop's
Fables is exceptional.
The hob grate was brought out in England during
the latter half of the eighteenth century when coal
replaced wood as a fuel and andirons were found
unsuitable for burning the comparatively small lumps.
Because of the abundance of fuel wood in America,
however, relatively few hob grates were brought to
this country until about 1830.
Many references to the work of Samuel Mclntire
occur in succeeding pages. A comprehensive chapter
[189]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
on Salem mantels inevitably reads like an eulogy
of his achievements. The most skilled carver and
resourceful designer of his time, the mantel provided
the logical subject for his artistry. Its greatwt
development occurred during the period of his
activities between 1782 and 181 1 and most of the
best examples in Salem have been authenticated as
his craftsmanship. His designs range from the ex-
ceedingly simple to the highly ornate, often display-
ing daring originality and remarkable freedom in
the use of the orders, yet they are never deficient
in that chaste appearance, grace of line, and sense
of proportion which characterized all his work.
Turning again to mantel design in general,
toward the close of the eighteenth century all other
designs were superseded by those of the brothers
Adam, which were enriched with applied ornament
of French putty cast in molds and sometimes copied
from the carved wood decoration of old times, al-
though oftener adapted in attenuated form from the
stone detail of Roman architecture, notably Diocle-
tian's palace at Spalato, in Dalmatia. Mclntire
and other American designers and architects else-
where quickly came under the spell of their work,
and much was executed in wood by the former in
Salem that compares favorably with the achieve-
ments of Robert Adam.
Of these there is much to follow. First, however,
it is interesting to record that in several Salem
[ 190]
Mantels ana Chimney Pieces
houses erected about the middle of the eighteenth
century mantels more or less in the Adam manner
have been placed against the original shelfless
paneling about the fireplace. Their broad entabla-
tures divide the lower panel over the chimney breast
and form an overmantel of peculiar though obvious
character, yet the resulting chimney piece is by no
means displeasing. Two such mantels at "The
Lindens", Danvers, were taken from the Salem resi-
dence of Honorable Nathan Read, a congressman
and the inventor of a workable steamboat, when that
house was razed in 1856 to make way for the build-
ing at Number 134 Essex Street, now the museum
of the Essex Institute. The Read mansion had been
designed by Mclntire in 1790 and was well known
as the birthplace of William Hickling Prescott, the
historian, on May 4, 1796, and after 1799 as the home
of Captain Joseph Peabody, a wealthy merchant in
the Calcutta trade.
Rarely did Mclntire's detail take such a light and
fanciful character as in the more distinctive of the
two mantels from the Read mansion shown by an
accompanying illustration. The dentil course, with
peculiarly hand-tooled members, was a favorite
Mclntire motive, and while the screw bead was
occasionally employed elsewhere as a single motive,
in this instance it provides a prominent repeated
theme in the cornice, the architrave and the narrow,
paneled pilasters. A broad Grecian fret of well-
[191]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
known pattern supplies the major portion of the
architrave and sounds an unusual note in Mclntire
mantel design. Chief interest, however, centers in
the applied work, not so much in the central panel,
with its basket of fruit and flowers, as in the horns of
plenty which serve as frieze spots at each side, and
particularly the realistic grapevines and fruit which
replace the conventional Adam garlands in the
paneled pilasters. It will be noticed that these
pilasters are carried up through the entire entablature,
with characteristic projection of the shelf or cornice
as well as frieze and architrave. While perhaps
drawing rather too much attention to themselves,
the Flemish tiles depicting historic scenes are of
peculiar interest as antiques. Brass andirons and a
fire set of especially graceful design complete a
fireplace picture of rare attractiveness.
Another noteworthy mantel of this period is to
be seen with' paneling of an earlier date in the Cap-
tain Edward Allen house, Number 125 Derby Street,
erected in 1770. Although executed by some local
wood worker it is essentially an Adam design, exem-
plifying the exotic character of much of his work.
While strongly under Roman and Italian influence
Adam had the genius to mold and adapt classical
models so as to create a new manner of superlative
charm and distinction. With simple curvilinear
forms, of which he preferred the oval, he evolved
combinations of remarkable grace and variety.
[ 192]
Plate XCVIII. — Corner Section of Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
Chimneypiece ; Corner Section of Cook-Oliver Mantel.
Pi.Ai i: XCIX. — Fireplace in a Third Floor Chamber, Pierce-
JohoiiiKJt-Nichols House; Mantel in a Chamber of the
Cook-Oliver House.
Mantels and Chimney Pieces
Flowing curves terminating the frieze, which is
enriched with a profusion of applied ornament,
including festooned garlands, horns of plenty and
mythological figures, supply the chief distinction of
the Allen mantel. The projection of the central
panel, with corresponding treatment of the cornice,
emphasizes the beautiful oval decoration, which,
like the festooned decorations of the corona, the
double-denticulated molding beneath and the fluted
groups of the architraves are characteristic Adam
details. As in the case of many old fireplaces this
opening was at some later time closed that a Franklin
stove or fireframe might be set up before the orna-
mental cast-iron frame that still remains.
One more instance of the chimney piece forming
part of a paneled wall is particularly interesting.
It is the recessed effect in the east front chamber
of the Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols house, a room finished
about 1800 in the Adam manner. Engaged columns
support the frieze and cornice or shelf, the molded
architraves casing the fireplace openings. The
double denticulated molding much used by Mclntire
forms the most conspicuous part of the cornice,
while the frieze is typically Adam, with a central
panel of vertical flutings and garlands and flower
baskets of applied work at each side. Flower-filled
urns adorn the terminating frieze projections, which
are emphasized by corresponding projections of the
cornice. Over the chimney breast above the shelf
[193]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
a broad architrave, ornate with an applied border,
forms a large oblong panel of pleasing proportions.
In the restraint and nice selection of delicate decora-
tion lie that charm which renders this one of the most
admired mantels in New England.
Only in the principal chambers of large houses was
the wall of the room where the fireplace occurred
entirely paneled up. Elsewhere the treatment of
the fireplace was very simple. The extreme treat-
ment is shown in a third-floor chamber of the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house, which was finished soon
after 1782 at a time when the mantelshelf was still
I being frequently omitted. Simple, molded archi-
I traves comprise the meager architectural features
of this quaint fireplace which is notable for its shallow
depth, narrow back and broad sides. The wooden
turn-button at the top is used to fasten a blind in
place, covering the entire opening during the summer
when fires are not needed. Almost all good houses
had these green summer blinds for fireplaces in
every room about 1825, some of them being fitted
in quite a complicated way to cover the grate open-
ings. Black iron andirons, pleasing in design and
proportion, an antique hand bellows and Windsor
rocker complete a picture redolent of homely com-
fort and the spirit of long ago.
Most chamber fireplaces of the late eighteenth
and early nineteenth centuries had mantels con-
sisting of a complete entablature with the shelf
[ 194 1
Mantels and Chimney Pieces
forming part of the cornice and the whole supported
by pilasters. Often of austere simplicity in respect
to detail they were remarkably well proportioned
and chaste in appearance, notably those by Mcln-
tire. One of his simplest and most effective mantels
is that in the chamber over the dining room of the
Cook-Oliver house, on Federal Street. Except for
the dentil course of the cornice it depends entirely
upon hand-planed moldings, including the paneled
pilasters, yet by reason of nice proportion and careful
workmanship it charms the eye as do few other
equally modest mantels in Salem.
While on a larger and a trifle heavier scale with
moldings diff"ering somewhat, the mantels in Hamil-
ton Hall, at the corner of Chestnut and Cambridge
Streets, are very similar. It will be noticed, how-
ever, that the pilaster projections do not terminate
the mantel at each side. They are mounted on
broad, flat, vertical casings which extend the plain
frieze and necessitate cornice extensions to corre-
spond. Many of the more elaborate mantels by
Mclntire and others were constructed on this plan.
The principal differences in the moldings occur in
the cornice where a Tuscan cymatium in the latter
mantel replaces one of the denticulated Doric order
in the former ; hand-tooled, vertical, fluted molding
has been substituted for the usual dentil course and
a vertical, reeded ovolo beneath it lends added
weight. Both this and the foregoing mantel do
[ I9S ]
The Colonial Architecture oj Salem
not depend upon the cymatium of the cornice to
provide the shelf but have a supplementary shelf
above it.
Two mantels in third-floor chambers of the Derby-
Crowninshield-Rogers house on Essex Street are
interesting examples of the use of figure work in
the form of central bas-relief panels in composition
applied to otherwise modest designs. The upper
one of these in general effect recalls the Cook-
Oliver mantel already referred to, and is a positive
joy to look upon, so good are its proportions. No-
table differences include the broader dentil course
and heavier bed moldings, the absence of the sup-
plementary shelf, and of cymatium projections
over the pilasters, also the substitution of different
though equivalent moldings in the architrave and
pilasters. The lower mantel shows still further
variation of the moldings and is enriched by the
architraves about the fireplace opening, the reeded
pilasters, the double denticulated cornice molding
and the applied composition figures as frieze spots
on the pilaster projections, which in this instance
include the shelf. Despite the shameful treatment
to which both of these mantels have been subjected
by careless tenants since the house has been devoted
to commercial purposes and the fireplaces have been
closed for the use of stoves, their unaffected simplicity
and fine sense of proportion appeal to every seeing
eye, and were they cleaned and freshly painted
[196]
Plate C. — Mantel Detail, Hamilton Hall ; Chamber Mantel Detail,
Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers House ; Chamber Mantel Detail,
Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers House.
Pla-ik CI. — Mantel in a Chamber of the Cook-Oliver House
Mantel in the West Chamber, Peabody-Silsbee House.
Mantels and Chimney Pieces
would be counted among the most perfect of Mc-
Intire*s work. Both of the bas-relief panels are
nicely modeled and the ensemble lacks little of the
daintiness and purity of Adam work in marble,
which in those days was almost prohibitive in price
in America.
Two other Mclntire chamber mantels with reeded
pilasters form an interesting comparison to show
his versatility in design. The simpler of the two,
that in the chamber over the parlor of the Cook-
Oliver house, at once attracts attention for its great
breadth, indicating that the ornamental cast-iron
hobgrate was probably of later date, necessitating
partial closing of the original fireplace opening.
Many such were built into Colonial fireplaces when
coal began to supersede wood as a fuel for heating.
Aside from the pilasters virtually all fine-scale de-
tail is confined to the cornice, in which he has de-
parted from conventional forms and relied upon
original ideas of his own with happy results. Above
fa hand-tooled dentil course like that in a chamber
I mantel at "The Lindens", already referred to,
I he built up a unique substitute for cymatium and
corona of which a prominent hand-tooled rope
molding supplied the principal member. A straight,
square-edged board provided the shelf proper.
The mantel in the west chamber of the Peabody-
Silsbee house. Number 380 Essex Street, erected
in 1797, resembles the foregoing, but is richer, more
[197]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
slender and shows greater refinement. Not only
are the pilasters reeded, but a fine-scale, reeded belt
supplies the capitals as well as the architrave of the
entablature, while the same motive used in connec-
tion with a screw bead for the surbase of the dado
unifies the architectural scheme of the entire room.
A conventional cymatium and corona separated by
a torus and fillet, the whole projecting above the
pilasters, replace the rope and accompanying mold-
ings of the foregoing mantel ; the dentil course re-
mains the same. The frieze is essentially Adam
in decoration with graceful flanking urns and central
basket of fruit and flowers in a sunken oval panel
with beaded edge, all of composition applied.
Early in his career as a carver Mclntire devoted
considerable attention to sculpture in wood, a field
in which he achieved several notable successes.
Having embarked upon his professional career in
1782, the year George III announced his readiness
to acknowledge the independence of the United
States, it was natural that Mclntire should have
been inspired by those fine principles of liberty,
justice and humanity for which the American people
had fought with such determination and fortitude.
His patriotic fervor prompted him to excel in carv-
ing that symbol of American ideals, the eagle, and
to use it frequently in a variety of ways. Out-
doors, as a sculpture in full relief, it found a place
atop gateway arches, public buildings, cupolas and
[ 198 ]
Mantels and Chimney Pieces
barns, while as a bas-relief it appeared as a decora-
tive panel in the brick walls of public buildings
and as a supplementary ornamental head above
doorways. Indoors it was employed to adorn the
frieze of mantels.
Two splendid instances of its use on a large scale
to fill the central panel of the frieze still remain. One
of these is to be seen at the Essex Institute, whither
it was taken from the old Registry of Deeds at the
corner of Broad and Summer streets, erected in
1807, when that building was taken down to make
way for the former State Normal School. As a
whole exceptionally well proportioned, this mantel
displays only a modest amount of fine-scale detail.
The dentil course provides a welcome foil for the
other cornice moldings and one notes with pleasure
that the reeded pilasters are reflected by reeded
sections at regular intervals in the surbase. Deli-
cate Adam urns in applied composition adorn the
pilaster projections of the frieze, while a screw bead
enriches the central panel. It will be noticed that
the shelf projects over the central panel of the frieze
as well as over the pilasters. The facings of the
fireplace opening consist of blue and white tiles
depicting Biblical quotations.
Reminiscent of this mantel a heavier and more
elaborate one in the northwest parlor of the Hosmer-
Waters house. Number 80 Washington Square,
erected in 1795, is particularly interesting as exem-
[ 199]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
pllfying the use of a profusion of applied Adam
detail, with the American eagle carved by Mclntire
himself for the central panel, which is raised but
not molded. Exceptionally wide, the vertical cas-
ings on which the pilasters are mounted permit
considerable extension of the cornice, frieze and
architrave. Cymatium and corona are straight
without any projections whatever and support a
thin supplementary shelf with molded edge. The
moldings throughout are properly of modest char-
acter because of the enrichment of the frieze and
paneled pilasters with festoons, urns and straight-
hanging garlands. Only the dentil course and the
vertical fluted architrave bear hand-tooling, and
that is of simple though effective character. A
brass hob grate, very English in appearance, and
set in slate, fills the original fireplace opening and is
accompanied by a handsome fire set including a
peculiar poker combining a pike and hook.
Mclntire also carved the eagle on a shield as the
central feature of a military group including swords,
bugles, flags, cannon and balls, drum and the lie-
tor's fasces of olden days. Such sculptured groups
of wood in sunken oval frieze panels form the prin-
cipal feature of Mclntire's two most fanciful mantels.
One is located in the front parlor of the Woman's
Friend Society, Number 12 Elm Street, erected in
1800, the other in the Kimball house. Number 14
Pickman Street, erected in 1800. So similar yet so
[ 200 ]
Plate CII. — Detail of Mantel in the Kimball House.
Pi..\ 1 1; Cl\[. — Northwest Parlor Mantel, Hosmer-Townsend-
\V;it(,rs Hou>e-, Mantel from the old Registry of
Deeds Building.
Ma?itels and Chimney Pieces
diflferent are they that comparison becomes interest-
ing as showing the resourcefulness of their designer.
Although considered over-ornate by many, none can
but admire the intricate carving they display, for
there is no applied work on either. Even the screw
reeds of the columns and the screw bead of the
cornices, the flowers and urns of the oval inserts
as well as the central sculptured panels were carved
out of wood. In both instances the projection of
the fireplace into the room suggested carrying the
mantel and shelf back around the corners. The
fine-scale fluted pilasters were therefore supplemented
by flanking columns to support the projecting cor-
ners and a second pair of pilasters around the
corners like those in front. But the most unique
feature of all lies in the dentil course with its widely
spaced trumpet-like units, possibly suggested by the
guttae of the Doric order. Probably no designer
before Mclntire ever used such a decoration on a
mantel, or inserted a band of wooden spheres into
the edge of a shelf between two fillets as in the
Kimball mantel.
In several instances Mclntire employed this band
of spheres to replace the dentil course of cornices.
On a large scale it appears under the eaves of the
Peabody-Silsbee house, while on a small scale it
figures in the parlor mantel of the Home for Aged
Women on Derby Street. Apart from the Composite
feeling of the capitals and bases of the engaged
[ 20I ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
columns, the detail adheres to no classic order. The
columns are not fluted ; the architrave rather than
the frieze bears most of the ornament, and the
cornice or shelf is a thing unto itself. Notwith-
standing its unique traits and marked unconven-
tionality this mantel is much admired. Both the
sheaves of wheat on the pilaster projections of the
frieze and the applied fruit groups in alternation
with vertical reeded sections in the architrave
symbolize the fullness of the harvest and present
motives especially well suited to country house
architecture.
In the rear parlor at the Woman's Friend Society
is to be seen another unique mantel, featuring one
of Mclntire's sculptured military groups of wood,
in this instance the sunken oval panel being edged
with a tiny ^%% and dart composition motive which
also provides the bed molding. Pairs of slender
colonnettes support the complete entablature with
corner projections extending around the sides, in-
cluding the surmounting supplementary shelf. Here
again a hand-tooled rope molding replaces the con-
ventional ovolo, and a flat band with tiny triangular
incisions simulating Doric guttse provides a unique
substitute for the dentil course. The sheaves of
wheat are of wood nicely carved and glued to the
sunken oval panels of the frieze projections. The
ornamental hob grate of cast iron has a peculiar two-
piece summer blind. This mantel came from the old
[ 202 ]
Mantels and Chimney Pieces
residence of John Robinson, Number 2 Chestnut
Street, built by John Stone in 1826 and now known
as "The Studio."
Reminiscent of this mantel in its pairs of supports
ing colonnettes and comer projections of the shelf,
that in the parlor of the Lindall-Bamard-Andrews
house. Number 393 Essex Street, differs materially
throughout the entablature. The latter mantel was
designed and executed by Mclntire in 1800. It is
essentially Adam in its motives, with all the slender
grace and refinement of detail that characterize
genuine prototypes. Moreover it is particularly
interesting for the fact that no composition work
has been employed. All the enrichment of the
frieze, including the central basket of fruit and
flowers, the festoons and sheaves of wheat, is known
to be Mclntire's personal carving in wood applied
with glue. Beneath the conventional cymatium
and corona, which form the shelf proper, is to be
seen a pleasingly ingenious modification of the dentil
course, while the architrave with its screw bead and
delicate vertical fluted groups in alternation with
festoon borings provides the motive of the surbase,
giving an Adam character to the dado which ties to-
gether the architectural features of the room. No
small measure of the charming ensemble is due to
the beautiful brass andirons and fire set, for both
of which the urn, much favored by Adam, supplies
the chief decoration.
[ 203 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
A chimney piece in one of the chambers of the
Lindall-Bamard-Andrews house is likewise of con-
siderably later date than the house. Highly ornate,
with a profusion of applied composition detail, in-
cluding an enriched ovolo and vine fret along the
edge of the shelf, it was probably not the work of
Mclntire, as it lacks his rare sense of proportion
and good taste in the selection and use of ornament.
It does not, for instance, stand favorable com-
parison with the accompanying corner section of a
known Mclntire mantel in a third-floor chamber
of the old Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers mansion
more ornate than the other two mantels on the same
floor of this house already referred to. Paneled
pilasters support a rather conventional entablature
much like several previously alluded to. Simple,
planed moldings predominate, the only departures
being the double denticulated pattern of the cornice
and the ogee enriched with Lesbian leaf composition
edging the central panel of the frieze. All ornament
is confined to the frieze and consists of favorite Adam
decorative motives, such as urns, festooned garlands,
oval medallions and a central bas-relief of figure
work in an oval floral setting with scroll embellish-
ments.
The finest Salem mantels done by Mclntire in
the Adam manner, exclusive of his chimney pieces,
are generally regarded as those in the parlors of the
David P. Waters house, Number 14 Cambridge Street,
[204]
Plate CIV. — Parlor iMantel, Home for Aged Women; Front .
Parlor Mantel, Woman's Friend Society.
Platk CV, — Mantel in the Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters
House •, Parlor Mantel, Lindall-Barnard-Andrews House.
Mantels and Chimney Pieces
erected in 1805, and of the Crowninshield-Devereux-
Waters house, Number 72 Washington Square East,
also erected in 1805. The former is seen to be an
elaboration of much that has already been considered,
in response to the desire for richer effect, and gives
opportunity for an instructive study in recombin-
ing conventional material. Generally speaking this
mantel takes the form of that in the west chamber
of the Peabody-Silsbee house. It has the same
reeded pilasters and corresponding projection of
the entire entablature, the same sunken oval panel
with beaded edge and applied fruit and flower
basket ; also the same cymatium, corona and bed
molding, in this instance employed with a supple-
mentary surmounting square-edged shelf with pro-
jections like those of the cornice beneath. Mc-
Intire's favorite fret-like dentil course is here aug-
mented by his well-known screw bead above it,
replacing the plain fillet he often placed there. The
sheaves of wheat on the frieze projections, also the
architrave motive, recall the parlor mantel of the
Home for Aged Women, although rosettes instead
of tiny fruit baskets here alternate with the vertical
reeded groups. The festooned garlands are like
those of the east front chamber mantel in the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house, but the ornament in the
middle above each consists of two tiny horns of
plenty rather than a small fruit and flower basket.
Repetition of various items of this mantel detail
[205]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
in the cornice and surbase of the room show how
closely the entire architectural scheme was related.
Three round-topped sections lend a quaint distinc-
tion to the summer blind.
When the chimney and fireplace construction pro-
jects into the room and a large mantel glass is hung
over the chimney breast the resulting effect becomes
virtually that of a chimney piece, especially when a
heavy cornice is a feature of the room, as in the
parlor of the Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters house.
The mantel of this room displays great refinement
in design and exceptional precision in workmanship,
the dainty moldings being exquisitely carved and
the applied-work festoons — urns, horns of plenty
and straight-hanging garlands — of slender grace and
unusually well drawn. Here again the cornice has
been made heavier by an additional surmounting
shelf with projections at the ends and molded at
the edge with a torus between two fillets. A bead
and reel separate the cymatium from the corona,
beneath which in place of the usual dentil course
occurs a nicely carved band of tiny vertical flu tings
between exceedingly fine-scale ovolo and ogee mold-
ings. Groups of vertical flutings at regular intervals
adorn the architraves about the fireplace opening
and the same motive is used for the surbase of the
dado. The slightly projecting central panel, a
bead and reel oval within an oblong edged with a
Lesbian leaf ogee, contains a group of musical in-
[206]
Mantels and Chimney Pieces
struments that is a positive gem without equal in
Salem. Of attractive design, the brass andirons
are perhaps a trifle heavy for so dainty a mantel,
but the shovel and tongs are altogether charming.
To a somewhat lesser degree than a mantel mirror
a scenic wall paper with prominent foreground ob-
jects sometimes gives the effect of a chimney piece
to a fireplace construction that projects into the
room. As a case in point may be mentioned the
parlor of the Cook-Oliver house, on Federal Street.
Here a famous old hand-blocked Zuber paper from
Alsace depicts the panorama of Paris from the Seine
a century ago, the colors being grays, greens, and
black with touches of red and yellow, and all de-
lightfully mellowed with age. A tree of striking
shape and two buildings are spaced exactly right
to emphasize the projection of the fireplace con-
struction and to make the mantel seem a support
for this scenic effect.
Like many other features of the house this mantel
was designed and executed by Mclntire in 1799 for
the Eli as Hasket Derby mansion, and removed to
its present location after Mr. Derby's death. Deli-
cate in design and superbly executed, few Salem
mantels measure up to it despite its essentially simple
character. Daintier moldings than the cymatium
of the cornice with its tiny accompanying bead and
the ovolo of the architrave, both enriched with
acanthus leaf composition work, it would be difficult
[207]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
to conceive, while the quirked ogee molding about
the fireplace opening displays an interesting pattern
embodying a connected series of rosettes with a
bead. The denticulated molding is nicely hand-
tooled and consists of a square dentil and reed cross
section in alternation, each dentil being vertical
fluted and each reed cross section having a tiny
drill hole in its center. A flat unadorned central
panel with applied groups of musical instruments
on the projections at each end provides the some-
what meager decoration of the frieze, while slender
festooned garlands on the architrave lend an Adam
character, as does the ingenious sole reliance upon
the acanthus leaf ornamentation of the capitals of
the two slender reeded colonnettes. The surbase
of the dado displays a delicate incised guilloche con-
sisting of two entwined bands or fillets, one a flat
ribbon and the other made up of repeated round
disks. It suggests a modification of the lozenge
fret with segmental sides. By no means the least
interesting feature of this fireplace is the handsome
brass hob grate set in soapstone, the first of its kind
ever placed in a Salem house and at the time con-
sidered a great extravagance.
Coming now to the true chimney piece, that by
Mclntire in the east parlor of the Pierce- Johonnot-
Nichols house is generally regarded the finest in
Salem. Done in the Adam manner it combines
motives from the denticulated Doric, Ionic and
[208]
3
O
X
o
o
'J
V
V
a
-3
c5
>
U
<
Plate CVII. — Fireplace in the Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters
House; Mantel in the David P. Waters Reception Room.
Mantels and Chimney Pieces
Corinthian orders with a skillful ingenuity that is
altogether charming, despite all purist cries of
anachronism. Generally speaking the mantel re-
calls others previously described, notably that in
the David P. Waters parlor, but shows greater
refinement in every detail, while the overmantel
has been developed into a single large and elabo-
rately framed panel over the chimney breast. By
extending the cornice and frieze of the room around
the chimney breast and carrying a pilaster effect
from the shelf up through them, they have been
made virtually a part of the chimney piece and a
means to relate it closely to the architectural setting
of the entire room. The hand-tooled moldings are
refined and finished in workmanship, the applied
composition detail delicate, graceful and exquisitely
drawn. One notices the repeated use of Mclntire's
favorite double denticulated and vertical reeded
ovolo moldings in the cornices of the room and
mantel ; yet while the form is preserved these have
been varied in detail by the festoon motive in ap-
plied work on the lower corona and the shallow
upper series of vertical cuttings in the lower dentil
course. In fact, delightful variety combined with
complete harmony throughout avoids monotony
and preserves good taste.
Reeded pilasters with Ionic capitals support the
frieze and cornice or shelf of the mantel, while
paneled pilasters with charmingly slender applied
[209]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
work are employed for the overmantel, their acanthus
leaf capitals in accord with the Corinthian capitals
of the heavy flanking pilasters of the room. Nicely
fluted architraves and marble facings about the
fireplace opening lend a sense of refinement that is
enhanced by handsome, heavy brass andirons and
an accompanying fire set. The applied figures and
other ornaments of the mantel frieze recall those
of the Captain Edward Allen house, but are better
drawn, and the garlands are more slender and
elaborate. The central oval panel and the figures
on the pilaster projections at each side are carved
in wood ; the garlands are composition. A beauti-
ful vine pattern in applied composition adorns the
architrave frame of the overmantel that surrounds
a gilt Adam mantel glass of rare beauty. This
pattern appears to be the same as that employed in
the east front chamber mantel of this house already
illustrated. Surmounting the entire construction,
the handsome heavy cornice of the room, composed
of hand-tooled moldings, repeats that of the mantel-
shelf on a large scale, while the frieze with rosettes
and vertical reeded groups in alternation on a flat
ground is very effective. As a whole the effect is
one of quiet elegance and graceful dignity.
[210]
CHAPTER XI
PUBLIC BUILDINGS
VARIED and interesting are the Colonial public
buildings of Salem, especially if institutional
homes, halls, societies, clubs, etc., be included under
this broad classification.
Because of their spaciousness and large number
of rooms, the three-story square houses of brick built
during the early nineteenth century lend themselves
admirably to adaptation as semi-public institutions,
and several splendid old mansions have been so
utilized. Thus in 1896 the Father Mathew Catholic
Total Abstinence Society, organized in 1875, pur-
chased the Tucker-Rice house at Number 129 Essex
Street for its headquarters, and considerably remod-
eled it. This large three-story brick mansion with
its roomy L was designed by Samuel Mclntire and
erected in 1800. Much of the handsome interior
wood trim remains, but the splendid elliptical porch,
one of the best proportioned in Salem, was removed
to the garden of the Essex Institute for preservation,
where it may now be seen with a contemporary
three-piece door from the Rogers house on Essex
Street and glasswork of attractive pattern.
[211]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
At Number 12 Elm Street the Woman's Friend
Society, a charitable institution organized in 1876,
occupies two large brick dwellings of former days.
The northern portion was donated by Captain John
Bertram in 1879, and in 1889 the southern portion was
purchased through the generosity of others interested
in the work. Here the society conducts a home for
girls at moderate rates, an employment bureau, a
mission for the distribution of flowers and delicacies
to the sick, and maintains a visiting nurse and a loan
closet of hospital supplies, bedding, etc.
This building is an interesting example of the early
Salem double house, of which there are several less
notable examples. It consists of two end-to-the-street
houses with doorways at each side and service wings
in the rear standing back to back, as one might
say, and to all outward appearance built as one house.
A brick fire wall separated the two houses absolutely,
however, until in 1889 openings were cut through the
party wall so that what had formerly been numbered
12 and 14 Elm Street might be used as a single house.
The interior wood trim is excellent, including mantels
shown in Chapter IX and two good short hall stair-
ways, one a " winder *' and the other a broken-flight
open newel staircase.
The Mack Industrial School, Number 17 Pickman
Street, occupies a gray-painted, oblong, three-story
brick house with two tall chimneys symmetrically
located at each end and in general appearance some-
[212]
^m I k
Mtll
wdiiiiiiii
Plate CVIII. — Woman's Friend Society, 12 Elm Street.
Erected 1800 ; Tucker-Rice House, now the Father Mathew
Society, 129 Essex Street. Erected 1800.
Plaik CIX. — Bertram Home for Aged Men, 114 Derby Street.
Erected 1X06-7; Mack Industrial School, 17 Pickman Street.
Erected about 1800.
Public Buildings
what reminiscent of the main part of the Mansfield-
Bolles house, except for the projecting bands of
brickwork at each floor level, as on the Gardner-
White-Pi ngree house, and the flat stone lintels. Built
as a private residence about 1800, this unpretentious
but good dwelling was converted to use as a school for
girls after the institution now occupying it had been
founded in 1897 as a result of the bequest of Esther
Mack. Instruction is given in needlework, dress-
making, cooking and other domestic sciences. A
new door replaces the original, and while possessed
of Colonial feeling can hardly be said to reflect the
true spirit of Salem design.
A handsome three-story brick mansion at Number
114 Derby Street now serves as the Bertram Home
for Aged Men, founded by Captain John Bertram in
1877. The house was erected in 1 806-1 807 for Captain
Joseph Waters and evokes admiration for its pleasing
fenestration with handsome keyed marble lintels
and big pedimental doorway in the spirit of con-
temporaneous Philadelphia work. The side entrance
holds considerable interest as an early example of the
portico utilized as a veranda, in which the hipped
portico roof is carried over the two-story "jut-by"
of the L. The bay window on the street side is an
unfortunate modern addition. For many years the
west end of the house was the home of Judge Joseph
G. Waters.
The substantial front portion of the building at
[213]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Number i8o Derby Street, erected in 1810 after
designs by Samuel Mclntire, and now the Home for
Aged Women, was originally the residence of
Benjamin W. Crowninshield, congressman and Secre-
tary of the Navy under Presidents Madison and
Monroe. When the latter toured New England in
1817, this house was placed at his disposal during the
four days of his stay in Salem. At the banquet
tendered to him there on July 9, Commodores Perry
and Bainbridge, Generals Miller and Dearborn,
Senator Silsbee, Lieutenant-Governor William Gray,
Judge Story and other eminent men were present.
Later the house became the residence of General
James Miller during his term as Collector of the Port
from 1825 to 1849. He, it will be recalled, was the
hero of Lundy's Lane, and his was the famous reply
"Fll try, sir," that was stamped on the buttons of
his regiment by order of the government. In 1826
William C. Endicott, Secretary of War during Cleve-
land's first administration, was born here.
It was, however, through the generosity of a still
later owner, Robert Brookhouse, a wealthy merchant
prominent in the African trade, that the house was
donated to the Association for the Relief of Aged
and Destitute Women, organized in 1869 at the sug-
gestion of Reverend Michael Carlton, city missionary.
In 1896 the structure was enlarged considerably at
an expense of ^50,000, and in 1916 further extensive
alterations were made.
[214]
Public Buildings
This hip-roofed mansion is almost devoid of orna-
mentation except for the marble lintels and sills
of the windows and the Doric porch of the utmost
simplicity and chaste appearance. It is eloquent
in substantial comfort, however, and fulfills its
present purpose admirably.
One of the most interesting of the private residences
converted to public uses no longer remains. It was
the former Salem Cadet Armory at Number 136
Essex Street, razed just prior to the erection of the
present armory in 1908. The site includes land oc-
cupied in part by the house of Governor Simon
Bradstreet, alluded to in Chapter I, which was built
in 1640 by Emanuel Downing and torn down about
1750.
The armory of 1890 with its drill shed in the rear
and to the left, as shown by the accompanying
photograph, was erected in 1819-1821 by Captain
Joseph Peabody, a merchant prominent in the
Calcutta trade, for his eldest son, Joseph Augustus,
and for many years was the home of his grandson,
Colonel Francis Peabody. Among the first bow-
fronted houses erected in Salem, it had the decked
hip roof and belvedere characteristic of most resi-
dences of the time, the classic balustrade following
the double-bowed contour of the eaves. The Ionic
entrance porch appears to have been suggested by
that of the Peabody-Silsbee house, but the door is
three panels wide like most others of approximately
[215]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
the same date. It was the fenestration that gave
individuality to the facade as much as the double-bow
front. On the first floor three-piece sashes like those
of the Gardner and Thompson houses were employed
in front ; on the second floor common twelve-paned,
double-hung windows were used throughout, while
on the top floor the foreshortened windows consisted
of a lower six- and an upper three-paned sash. Square-
headed mullion windows pierce the flat central wall
spaces on each floor above the porch, the arrangement
being a narrow window each side of one of normal
width, slender Corinthian colonnettes supporting
the lintels and adorning the mullions. The highly
ornamental marble lintels appear to have been in-
spired by those of the Dodge-Shreve house, those of
the first story being identical, of the third story
similar, and of the second story a pleasing adaptation
of the Adam festooned drapery nicely cut in stone.
The lintels of the mullioned windows were especially
attractive and the iron balustrades of the balconies
at the first-floor windows and over the porch, simple
and graceful in pattern, enriched the ensemble to a
marked degree.
Perhaps the best known of the interior features
of this house was the "banqueting hall" where
Prince Arthur of England was entertained at dinner
on the occasion of the funeral of George Peabody, the
Lx)ndon banker, February 8, 1870. This spacious
room was elaborately finished in intricately carved
[216I
Public Buildings
oak In the Gothic style of the Elizabethan period. At
one end a stained-glass window consisting of four
panels displayed representations of both sides of the
Massachusetts seal, the seal of the city of Salem and
the coat of arms of the Peabody family. At the other
end a fireplace with Dutch jambs was surmounted
by a heavy and elaborately carved chimney piece
with niches for statuettes. Queen Victoria was the
subject of the central figure, supported by mailed
figures at each side, while a Hon surmounted the
whole with a guardsman on one side and a priest on
the other. When the house was razed In 1908 the
wood finish of this room was preserved and It now
adorns one of the smaller halls In the Masonic Temple.
The stately three-story brick mansion at Number
29 Washington Square Is now the home of the Salem
Club. Built In 1 81 8 for John Forrester, It was later
enlarged and occupied for many years as the town
residence of the late Colonel George Peabody, one of
Salem's most successful merchants, particularly In the
Russian trade, a fine musician and lover of art.
Among his prized possessions which adorned the
interior was one of Murlllo's famous paintings of the
"Immaculate Conception", valued at ^100,000. The
porch and doorway are much admired as among the
most effective of the simple Corinthian entrances In
Salem and display excellent glass and Iron work.
The number of Salem institutions housed in old
dwellings is indeed remarkable. Besides the seven
[217]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
instances already referred to, six more may be added,
viz. : the Salem Public Library, Seaman's Orphan
and Children's Friend Society, Knights of Columbus.
Now and Then Association, Order of Elks and The
Kemwood Country Club, although none of the
buildings they occupy is of sufficient interest from the
standpoint of Colonial architecture to call for illustra-
tions in these pages. In striking contrast to this
array, it is a singular fact that the old Assembly Hall,
built expressly for public functions, long ago became
a private residence. Although Mclntire is known
primarily as an architect of homes his versatility led
him as early as 1782 to design this building at Number
138 Federal Street, the assembly house of the Feder-
als. At once upon its erection it became one of the
foremost social centers of the town and the scene
of receptions, balls, banquets and other functions.
Here Lafayette dined during his first triumphal
tour in America in 1784, and here also Washington
danced at a ball given in his honor in 1789. In 1795
the building was remodeled for dwelling puiposes,
Judge Samuel Putnam being among those who have
since occupied it.
This hip-roofed house with its surmounting belve-
dere bespeaks attention chiefly for the elaboration
of its flat-boarded facade with Ionic pilasters on the
second story under the broad pediment, within
which a pleasing semi-circular fanlight is located to
admit light to the attic. Unlike the front, the side
[218]
Public Buildings
and rear walls of the house are clapboarded, a com-
mon custom of the time. The porch, probably of
much later origin, claims special notice because of
its festoons, ornamental scroll antefixes at the comers
and heavy grapevine frieze, the leaves and fruit being
life-size and carved out of wood in a masterly manner.
Regarding the old Courthouse of 1785, Mclntire's
second venture in designing public buildings, the
Massachusetts Magazine for March, 1790, states :
"The Court Houfe in Salem, is a large, elegant
building, and ftands towards the end of a handsome
fpacious street. On the lower floor, on the eaftern fide
is a range of offices, large and convenient ; one of
which is occupied by the Clerk of the Court of Com-
mon Pleas for the county of Effex, in which are kept
all the records of the court : The other two are ufed as
offices, for the Selectmen and affeffors of the town of
Salem. The remainder of the lower ftory is a fine
capacious area, for walking etc.
"The second [tory is compofed of a large court
hall, with feats on every side, for the Judges, officers
of the court, and for the auditors — faid to be the best
conftructed room, for the holding of courts, of any
in the Commonwealth, and perhaps is not exceeded
by any in the United States. In the ceiling is a hand-
some ventilator. Back of the Judges' feat is a Vene-
tian window, highly finished in the lonick order;
which affords a beautiful profpect of a fine river,
extenfive well cultivated fields and groves ; in addition
[219]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
to which the paffing and repaffing of veffels contin-
ually, in the river, makes a pleafing variety. There
is alfo on this floor a convenient lobby for Jurors
etc. This houfe was begun in 1785, and completed
in 1786, at the joint expenfe of the county of Effex
and town of Salem. The plan of it was defigned
by the ingenious Mr. Samuel M'Intire and executed
by that able architect, Mr. Daniel Bancroft, both of
Salem."
Felt, in his "Annals of Salem", amplifies this
description as follows :
"It was planned by Samuel Mclntire, and built
under the direction of Daniel Bancroft, two ingenious
architects. It was two stories high, sixty-two feet long
and thirty-six and two-thirds feet broad. It was fin-
ished in 1786. Itscostwas^7,i45,paid, one moiety by
the town and the other by the county. Its walls were
of brick and its roof surmounted by a cupola. On
the front or southern end of it was a balustrade
opening into the second story, supported by a row of
Tuscan pillars. Under the balustrade were wide
stone steps, which could accommodate a large number
of persons and which led into a door of the lower
hall. On the east side of this hall were several oifices
and the rest was left open for public assemblies and
the exercise of military companies. The part thus
occupied for the last purposes was too often ap-
propriated by unruly boys to their boisterous sports
and destructive propensities, until large bulls of
[ 220 ]
\hi.'\v ,/ /A' (^oriri' ii()r>'k./// - ^^///,. /^^i>//////
Plate CXII. — The Old Courthouse of 1785. From an Engrav-
ing in the Massachusetts Magazine of 1790; Interior of
Washington Hall. Erected 1792. Razed 1898.
Plai K CXIII. — Hamilton Hall, Chestnut Street. Erected 1805;
Fireplaces, Vaulted and Groined Ceiling, Hamilton Hall.
Public Buildings
authority sounded in their ears and drove them from
the premises."
The records at City Hall seem to indicate that the
total cost of the Courthouse was considerably greater
than Felt states. An additional appropriation of six
thousand dollars and another of three thousand
dollars are mentioned, and such a brick building must
obviously have cost at least twenty thousand dollars
even in those days.
This building, erected in 1785, was located in the
middle of Washington Street, north end, about
opposite the Tabernacle Church, as shown by several
old steel engravings and a contemporary oil painting
to be seen at the Essex Institute. There it stood
until its removal was necessitated by the building of
the railroad tunnel beneath ; then the porch columns
were taken to the Chase house. Number 21 Federal
Street. From the balcony over the porch of the Court-
house George Washington was presented to the
townspeople on the occasion of his visit, October 29,
1789. And as he stood bowing his acknowledgments
to the acclaim of the populace, Mclntire, seated
at a window near by, studied the features of the
first President minutely and made a sketch which
formed the basis for his famous profile bas-relief,
38 X 56 inches and executed in wood, which for
years adorned the architectural gateway at the
western entrance of the Common and now hangs
in the Essex Institute.
[221 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
In 1792 Washington Hall, formerly at Number loi
Washington Street, was erected after plans by
Mclntlre, and as the assembly hall of the Democrats
became a prominent social center of the time. Dedi-
cated on the anniversary of Washington's birthday,
February 22, 1793, just previous to his second
assumption of the presidency and amid great re-
joicings over the success of the French Revolution, it
was the scene of a notable banquet at which the
Reverend William Bentley made the principal
oration. This quaint hall, located on the third floor
of the Steams Building above stores and offices,
presented a curious Survival in the Doric style of the
old-time English assembly room, with built-in seats
along the walls, fireplace and a music gallery at one
end. The balustrade of this gallery is preserved at
the Essex Institute. In later days the hall became a
theater, but being unsuited to present-day uses the
entire building has been replaced by a modem
structure.
Hamilton Hall, at the comer of Chestnut and
Cambridge streets, also designed by Mclntire, was
erected in 1805 by the South Building Corporation,
an association of wealthy men, as a place for as-
semblies and named for their much-admired friend
Alexander Hamilton, who had visited Salem in 1800.
Here Lafayette dined with three hundred guests on
August 31, 1824, during his second triumphal Amer-
ican tour, when he was presented with ^200,000 and
[ 222 ]
Public Buildings
a township of land by the government, in recognition
of his service to the nation during the Revolution.
Here, likewise. Commodore William Bainbridge, who
succeeded Captain Isaac Hull as commander of the
frigate Constitution, also Timothy Pickering, a politi-
cian with a record of public service equalled by few
Americans, were accorded the full measure of Salem
hospitality. In fact, ever since its erection, this
building has remained the very heart of the city's
social activities.
Exteriorly the structure boasts little adornment
except its purely utilitarian features. The entrance
porch at one end has been so remodeled as to make
it difficult to judge with certainty regarding its
original appearance. The sides, however, remain
unchanged, except that the brickwork has been
painted, and are pierced on the second and principal
floor by five Palladian windows of simple character,
somewhat recessed under a double arch of brick
headers. A rectangular insert panel above each
window displays a Mclntire sculpture, that in the
center being one of his well-known eagles, and the
others consisting of the festooned drapery which he
often used on a smaller scale to adorn doorways and
mantels.
Dignified simplicity characterizes the interior treat-
ment of the hall, with its groined ceiling and heavy
cornice supported by fluted pilasters. Two fireplaces
and a music balcony comprise the principal interior
[223 1
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
features and are distinguished by Mclntire's careful
attention to detail and proportion.
Unfortunately not a single church standing to-day
represents old-time Salem. Of the several edifices
of architectural merit, erected prior to 1818, notably
the East Church on Essex Street between Hardy and
Bentley streets, where the historian. Reverend
William Bentley, preached for thirty-six years, and
the South Church on the northeast corner of Cam-
bridge Street, not one is left in anywhere near its
original appearance. Only the South Church re-
mained unaltered long enough to be photographed.
In this noble church, erected in 1804, Mclntire
manifested his versatility in design. The structure
was of wood, 66 by 80 feet, with a graceful spire after
the Wren manner 166 feet high, and cost $23,819.78,
including the land. As in his other work Mclntire
employed the orders with considerable freedom.
While generally speaking Ionic, with touches of Adam
detail here and there, the cornice, frieze and flat
pilasters of the bell deck were pure Doric. When
completed, this church was considered one of Mc-
lntire's greatest achievements. The North American
Review for October, 1836, contains the following
appreciative description of it by James Gallier,
architect :
"One of the best-proportioned steeples in our
country is at Salem, in Massachusetts ; the work of a
native artist. The whole church is the best specimen
[ 224 ]
Public Buildings
of architecture in that city, notwithstanding the
various efforts which have been made since its
erection. We are not aware that it has any name ;
but the building will easily be recognized as the only
church in Chestnut Street. The Ionic portico in front
is uncommonly elegant, though simple and unpre-
tending. Above this rises the steeple to the height of
nearly a hundred and fifty feet. Its principal merit
is beauty of proportion, which is not equalled in any
steeple that we know of in the United States. "
This Orthodox Congregational society originated
as the result of a separation from the Tabernacle
Church in 1774, under the leadership of Colonel
Timothy Pickering. Until its church was erected the
new society occupied an assembly hall that stood on
adjoining land and in which many notable functions
were held before the Revolution, among them a
reception tendered to General Gage on the last King's
Birthday celebrated in Massachusetts. It was from
the bell deck of the old South Church that Captain
Oliver Thayer watched the naval battle between the
Chesapeake and the Shannon in June, 1 81 3. Below
this bell deck the base of the steeple, clapboarded like
the building proper, had quoined corners after the
manner of stone work. Within this steeple was
housed an interesting piece of home-made mechanism,
said to have been constructed by a Beverly black-
smith, possibly Samuel Luscomb, who also made the
clock for the East Church. The clock in the South
[225]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Church was originally in the First Church at Essex
and Washington streets, then removed to the Old
North Church on North Street in 1826 and finally
to the South Church ten years later. It had no face
but struck the hour. An iron frame, a pendulum ten
feet long and weights consisting of wooden boxes filled
with stones were among the curious features of its
works.
A large crystal chandelier imported in 1807 was a
distinctive adornment of the interior. It had arms
for thirty candles and is said to have cost a thousand
dollars. For ninety-nine years this edifice continued
to be one of Salem's most picturesque landmarks
until destroyed by fire in 1903. Several of the hand-
carved urns from the steeple are preserved at the
Essex Institute.
During Mclntire's active practice from 1782 to
181 1 the people of Salem did not find it necessary or
desirable to seek architectural talent for their im-
portant public buildings elsewhere. Upon Mclntire's
death in 181 1, however, Bentley wrote in his diary
that "no man is left to be consulted upon a new plan
of execution beyond his bare practise", and in cor-
roboration of this, Charles Bulfinch, the eminent
Boston architect, designer of the Massachusetts
State House in 1798 and architect of the National
Capitol at Washington succeeding B. H. Latrobe in
18 18, designed the Essex Bank in 181 1 at Number 11
Central Street, now the home of the Salem Fraternity,
[ 226 ]
Plate CXIV. — The Old South Church. Erected 1804.
Burned 1903.
Plate CXV. — The Market House, Derby Square. Erected 1816 ;
The Salem Club, 29 Washington Square. Erected 18 18.
Public Buildings
and the Almshouse on Salem Neck in 1816. These
two buildings, the only ones designed by Bulfinch in
Salem, and both erected after Mclntire died, em-
phasize the loss his death meant to the community,
especially as the efforts of Bulfinch in Salem do not
bear favorable comparison with those of Mclntire.
The fraternity particularly is lacking in those qualities
of simplicity, sincerity and refinement commonly
attributed to Bulfinch's work, and deservedly in the
case of the Massachusetts State House in Boston.
Undoubtedly the best feature of the Fraternity, the
wrought-iron balustrade of the entrance, is the equal
of any similar work in the city. For eighty years this
building was occupied by the First National Bank,
and during its renovation for occupancy as the home
of the Salem Fraternity the removal of a false ceiling
in one of the lower rooms disclosed a beautiful stucco
centerpiece in the original ceiling designed by Bul-
finch.
The Salem Fraternity, the oldest boys' club in the
country, was organized in 1869 to provide evening
instruction and wholesome amusement for those
who "being confined to their work during the day
need recreation at the end of their labors." In addi-
tion to physical training and general education, there
are classes devoted to many of the arts and crafts, a
well-filled library and reading room.
In Market Square, extending through from Essex
to Front Street, stands the Market House, erected in
[227]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
1816, an Interesting survival of the early custom of
combining the public market with a hall for political
meetings, which, like Faneuil Hall in Boston, contin-
ues to be used for Its original purposes. A simple
gable-roof structure, this substantial brick building
is architecturally notable chiefly for its fenestration,
which constitutes the only ornamentation aside from
the pedimental treatment of the gable with cornice
and segmental fanlight. The symmetrical arrange-
ment of the round-headed windows and doors at once
Interests the appreciative eye, and the sash-bar
division of the fanlights and second-story Palladian
window accord with the best Colonial precedents.
The market on the lower floor was opened November
25, 1 8 16, and still continues to be leased for meat
and provision stalls, while on Saturdays produce and
provision carts line the square on Front Street. The
second floor, furnished as the Town Hall, was first
opened to the public July 8, 181 7, on the occasion
of a reception tendered to President Monroe that
evening. Town meetings were held there until the
incorporation of Salem as a city In 1836, and It has
since been used for public gatherings.
Considerable historic interest attaches to the site
of the Market House. At the outbreak of the Revolu-
tion it was the homestead of Colonel William Browne,
Mandamus Councillor, and had been in his family for
more than a century. Browne was a Tory, and
proudly entertained Governor Thomas Gage and his
[228]
Public Buildings
staff when that autocratic official came to Salem on
August 4, 1774, to dissolve the town meeting then in
session. Gage's plan was frustrated, however, for
Timothy Pickering, who had been summoned into
their presence by the sheriff, kept the Governor in an
"indecent passion" until the meeting had transacted
its business and adjourned. Meanwhile an excited
crowd filled Town House Square, troops had been
ordered up from the garrison on Salem Neck and
bloodshed was feared.
But during the next few years the Tories lost their
grip upon government affairs, Browne's estate was
confiscated and in 1784 was conveyed by the State
to Elias Hasket Derby. The second edition of Felt's
"Annals of Salem" contains a picture of it, repro-
duced on another page, and Mclntire's own plans,
showing the gradual development from preliminary
drawings, may be seen at the Essex Institute. The
grounds extended to the water's edge and were
beautifully laid out and handsomely terraced. Fa-
mous throughout New England, the Derby gardens
owed their beauty to the knowledge and good taste of
George Heussler, an Alsatian, the first professional
gardener in this vicinity. To the influence of his
accomplishments at the town residence, and earlier
at the farm of Elias Hasket Derby, must be at-
tributed in large measure the attention which persons
of wealth throughout Essex County gave to their
gardens, and to him also must be given the credit for
[229]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Introducing many flowers and valuable fruits to
America.
Derby had previously occupied the Pickman-
Derby-Brookhouse estate, then located at the corner
of Washington and Lynde streets where the new
Masonic Temple now stands. Only a few months
dfter moving from it into the new mansion, he died and
the place was closed. No purchaser could be found
for so luxurious an establishment, and so in 1804
the gateposts and much of the charming wood finish,
including some of the best examples of Mclntire's
genius in design, were removed and built into the new
residence then being erected under Mclntire's direc-
tion at Number 142 Federal Street for Captain Samuel
Cook and already referred to in Chapter IV. Later, in
1 81 5, the Derby mansion was completely razed and the
land on which it had stood was conveyed by the heirs
to the town for use as a permanent public market,
the area subsequently being named Derby Square in
honor of its former distinguished owner. The present
Market House was built at an expense of $12,000.
The old Latin Grammar and English High School,
the most interesting of the early brick schoolhouses,
still remains on Broad Street and is now known as the
Oliver Primary School. Although the classic balus-
trade that formerly surmounted its hip roof has been
removed, the original doorway has been bricked up
and other exterior and interior changes made during
the alterations of 1869, 1878 and 1884, enough remains
[230]
Public Buildings
in its pristine condition to be of architectural interest,
while a lithograph made from a photograph by D. A.
Clifford in 1856 shows the structure as it appeared
while General Henry Kemble Oliver was principal
and later during the six years that the late Honorable
Joseph H. Choate prepared for Harvard College
there. Completed in 18 19, this building housed the
Latin Grammar School until 1856 and the English
High School from 1827 to 1858, when both, with the
Girls' High School, were merged into the Salem
Classical and High School and moved to a new build-
ing beside the old, the latter now being used for
school administrative purposes.
This old two-story building is of interest chiefly for
its brickwork, fenestration and the wood pilaster
treatment of the upper story in the Ionic order above
a projecting stone band about the entire structure
at the second-floor level. The windows with plain
stone lintels and sills stand in elliptical headed
recessed panels, the sills reaching entirely across the
recess from side to side, and the spaces below the
upper windows being filled with a balustrade effect
consisting of wooden pedestals at each end and half-
round engaged balusters between. Altogether it is as
quaint as any contemporary adaptation of the classic
in brick construction to be found in New England.
Of all Salem public buildings erected a century or
more ago none claims more interest in architecture
or romance than the Custom House, Number 178
[231 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
Derby Street, at the head of one of the two principal
wharves during the period when Salem was at the
zenith of its commercial prosperity. Previous to the
erection of the present building in 1818-1819 the
Custom House had been only a movable office follow-
ing the collector from house to house wherever he
might happen to live, and many were the famous men
who held the offices of collector and surveyor. William
Fairfax left the collectorship to go to Virginia, where
he founded a family that intermarried with the
Washingtons. William Hathorne, the ancestor of
the romancer, is recorded as collecting a tonnage tax
on gunpowder in 1667. Such names as Browne,
Lynde, Bowditch, Veren, Palfray, Hiller and Lee
are found on the roll, and it was upon the petition
of James Cockle, then collector, for a warrant to
search for smuggled molasses that James Otis made
his historic plea against writs of assistance. A relic
of this period of temporary custom houses is to be
seen at the museum of the Essex Institute in the
form of a large wooden eagle, carved by Samuel
Mclntire, that stood above the entrance of the
building at Number 6 Central Street in 1805 while
the office of the collector was located there.
But it is with Nathaniel Hawthorne and General
James Miller, the hero of Lundy's Lane, that the
present Custom House is chiefly associated. General
Miller was Collector of the Port from 1835 to 1849,
and in 1846 Hawthorne was appointed Surveyor of
[232]
r ■
Plate CXVI. — Elias Hasket Derby Mansion. Erected 1799.
Razed 1815-, Salem Custom House, 178 Derby Street.
Erected 1 818-18 19.
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Public Buildings
Customs by the new Democratic administration, a
position which he filled until the incoming Whig
administration led to his dismissal in 1849. During
this time he occupied the southwesterly front room on
the first floor, and here in spare moments was evolved
in part, at least, the plot for his immortal "Scarlet
Letter." The stencil with which inspected goods
were marked "N. Hawthorne, Surveyor" may still
be seen there, while his quaint desk is still preserved
at the Essex Institute. There was at one time a be-
lief among unknown readers of Hawthorne's romance
that the scarlet letter itself was discovered in a room
at the rear of the collector's private office on the
easterly side of the second floor. During Hawthorne's
term of office and for several years afterwards this
was an unfurnished room containing many old
papers in boxes and barrels, yet it is probable that
the discovery was a product of Hawthorne's vivid
imagination. While several of the characters and
scenes so graphically described in the sketch of the
Custom House in the "Introduction to the Scarlet
Letter" were indeed actual realities, the manuscript
was as fictitious as Surveyor Pue's real connection
with the tale. Certain it is that the old records were
dispersed or consumed in the fire of October 5, 1774,
which destroyed the building then serving as the
Custom House, and it is doubtful if such an interest-
ing historic document would have existed unknown
in an accumulation of papers only forty-five years
[233 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
old. The cruel law described In the "Scariet Letter"
actually existed, however; an actual copy of it in
antique print may be seen at the Essex Institute
and it is a matter of record that this penalty was
inflicted at Springfield, Massachusetts, on October 7,
1754, and that the law continued in force until
February 17, 1785. Hawthorne had a way of giving
his characters the names of real persons of the past
and imputing to them acts and positions in life which
were never theirs. Like Surveyor Pue, Doctor
Swinnerton and many others, most of his names are
to be found on the headstones of Charter Street
Burial Ground, St. Peter's churchyard and other
cemeteries. This for a time led readers to regard as
fact many creations of his fancy. Tradition says
that during his lifetime Hawthorne was inclined to
encourage this tendency. For example, it is told that
he assured an inquiring friend that he had the scarlet
letter itself, but when urged to show it explained,
"Well, I did have it, but one Sunday when my wife
had gone to church, the children got hold of it and
put it in the fire."
Returning now to the Custom House, it is inter-
esting to recall that upon the site chosen by a com-
mittee of merchants had formerly stood the home of
George Crowninshield, one of Salem's greatest ship-
owners and the father of Benjamin Crowninshield,
member of Congress and Secretary of the Navy, and
of Jacob Crowninshield, also a congressman, but who
[ 234 ]
Public Buildings
declined an offer of the same cabinet position. The
facade of the Crowninshield house was elaborated with
pilasters, and as a weather vane on the cupola sur-
mounting the hip roof stood the figure of a man with
a spyglass held at arm's length, scanning the horizon
for returning ships.
The present brick building was erected at a cost of
$36,000, Perley Putnam and John Saunders being the
contractors. But for its high flight of stone steps,
wide, porch-like Ionic portico and broad doorway
with a great semicircular fanlight it greatly resembles
the hip-roofed residences about it and with which it
accords so well. Both the handsome Palladian
windows of the second story and the balustrade above
the portico and at the eaves of the roof emphasize
this relationship, while the large cupola with its
flagstaff, the great eagle midway of the front roof
balustrade and the round-topped windows of the
lower floor help to distinguish it as a public building.
But the foreign commerce of Salem has waned as that
of Boston has grown, and on July I, 1913, the Salem
Custom House, so important in the early annals
of American shipping, came under the direction of a
deputy collector of the port of Boston.
[235]
CHAPTER XII
SALEM ARCHITECTURE TO-DAY
ON June 25, 1914, Salem was visited by a terrible
conflagration that cost three lives, hastened
the death of many of the ill and aged, destroyed
eighteen hundred buildings, burned out fifteen thou-
sand persons and caused a total loss of fifteen million
dollars, yet happily claimed no residences or other
buildings of exceptional historic interest or architec-
tural merit. Then did the courageous spirit of old
Salem reassert itself. Hardly had the ashes become
cold before rebuilding was commenced and is still
in progress. Five years after the disaster finds over
three quarters of the burned district restored and
every indication that the work of reconstruction will
be virtually complete within another twelvemonth.
Many of the detached dwellings are of fireproof
construction, as are the other buildings of all sorts, and
in every respect they are as a whole much better than
the structures they replace. Slate, asbestos or other
fire-resisting roof coverings are the rule.
It i& a remarkable fact that this great fire ravaged
the newer part of the city, leaving the better sections
of the older part intact; and it is a matter of the
[236]
Plate CXVIII. — George A. Morrill House, 2 Cedar Street;
House of Mrs. L. E. Noyes, 9 Roslyn Street.
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Salem Architecture To-Day
utmost significance that most of the new buildings
display Colonial motives and that nearly all of the
residences of moment are purely Colonial in design.
Not since 1818 and the advent of the illogical Greek
revival have Colonial houses to any considerable
number and worthy of the name been erected in
Salem, and the present general reversion to them
after an interval of a century indicates conclusively
the power of persistence of the Colonial tradition.
The aberrations of intervening years have been
corrected by elimination ; the gap has been bridged,
and architectural design again springs from the sound
fundamentals of the past; home builders are col-
laborating with architects in the logical development
of local prototypes so worthy of emulation. The
continuity of the Colonial tradition has been re-
established and it becomes evident as never before
that the American style in architecture is, always
has been and probably will continue to be Colonial.
In a city where all the best architecture is Colonial
and much of it more than century-old, mature
thought always convinces the discerning home builder
that safety lies within the bounds of local traditions
if one would have his new house live in accord with
its older fellows. In the hands of a resourceful
architect such a conservative course should insure
a home of character and distinction, for in the
adaptation of several motives of proved worth to
individual needs and modern uses will come a new
[237]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
and varied ensemble sufficiently related to the past
yet by no means conventional. And so it has been
proved in this instance. In former years Salem
architecture has been unique and especially valuable
because of its several varied types and the opportunity
afforded for ready comparison. Henceforth it will
possess a wider interest by reason of its large and
growing number of notable modern Colonial homes.
As a source of building inspiration the Salem of to-day,
consisting of an old and new city in juxtaposition,
far outshines its former self as the architectural
center of New England. Exigencies of space restrict
the treatment of this modern Colonial architecture
in these pages, but the few varied and especially
noteworthy examples illustrated and described serve
to show the ingenious manner in which architects
find their inspiration bit by bit here and there,
adapt it to their needs and often recombine it to serve
new purposes.
In their search for a cottage prototype in Salem,
architects of necessity went back to the days of the
"codfish aristocrats" and selected the lean-to; for
the gambrel-roof houses of Salem, unlike those of
New York and New Jersey, are virtually three
stories in height and furnish no precedents of distinc-
tive yet modest character for direct adaptation.
This type, although picturesque in mass and outline,
is severe and almost colorless in facade and devoid of
embellishment, but A. G. Richardson, the Boston
[238]
Salem Architecture To-Day
architect residing in Salem, saw the possibilities it
offered for elaboration and in designing the home of
George A. Morrill, Number 2 Cedar Street, solved
one of the most interesting problems of his career.
The resulting house as it stands complete to-day
represents virtually an exact copy of the Maria
Goodhue house in Danvers, erected in 1690 and
destroyed by fire in 1899. Its long roof-line, formed
by the lean-to continuation at the same pitch,
contributes a uniquely appropriate character to the
modern architecture of Salem and was found to
provide a very practical way of bringing a piazza in
the rear and all service appurtenances under one roof,
thereby saving expense and avoiding all leakage
complications common to roofs considerably broken
by gables or dormers.
The exterior embellishments savor of the practical
for the most part and are better for it, including the
doorway, blinds, lintels, fanlights in each gable,
a cornice along the front under the eaves and a
glazed piazza at the rear. No one who has seen the
pedimental doorway of the Hodges-Webb-Meek
house. Number 81 Essex Street, erected about 1800,
will doubt the origin of that on the Morrill cottage.
One notices the absence of side lights, so often a Salem
feature, yet this simpler design accords well with the
modest nature of the entire structure. In the transla-
tion, too, the fluted pilasters with their pleasing
Ionic capitals have become round columns, always
[239]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
lighter in effect and more graceful. Square fluted
columns without capitals, however, have been applied
effectively to the glazed piazza at the rear.
Attractively spaced with molded panels, after the
manner of several century-old examples near by,
the door itself differs from them in the substitution
of glass bull's-eyes for the two smaller upper panels.
The double blind doors before it, with wire screen
cloth on the inner side, so often seen on old Colonial
houses, also vary slightly from the conventional
type, as do likewise the window blinds in the omis-
sion of a middle cross rail. The idea may have been
taken from an old Newburyport house or the William
R. Colby house. Number 93 Federal Street, Salem.
The hardware indicates careful selection and includes
a charming brass knocker and thumb latch with a
glass knob on the blind door outside. In the arch
above hangs an old ship's lamp wired for electricity,
a clever and useful reminder of the early days of
Salem prosperity. One notices, too, the quaint,
wrought-iron S blind fasteners ; in fact, only an
electric push-button betrays modernity. A character-
istic fence with round, pointed pickets and simple rail
and base between four stone posts completes a picture
of genuine charm, even though one longs for steps
of granite and gateposts of wood like those at the
side or slightly heavier.
The well-proportioned windows contain twelve-
paned sashes like most of those in Salem, lending
[240]
Plate CXX. — House of Henry M. Bachelder, 204 Lafayette Street ;
Semi-detached Houses, built by S. W. Phillips, Warren Street.
13
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Salem Architecture To-Day
scale and picturesqueness to the facade. Their
molded architrave casings follow conventional lines,
but the lintels with their attractive comer blocks,
although of wood, recall the hand-cut marble lintels
so often seen on brick houses. And the way in which
the second-story lintels engage the plate, which has
gained the dignity of a cornice through its vertical
fluted groups and surmounting bed molding, is
strongly reminiscent of our earliest New England
houses.
Another example of lean-to design is seen in the
house of Mrs. L. E. Noyes, Number 9 Roslyn Street.
In general mass reminiscent of Salem architecture
of witchcraft days, the house as a whole is of compos-
ite rather than pure type. Motives characteristic of
other localities, such as the Germantown penthouse
hood, the Dutch porch, wide side settles and the
Maryland farmhouse outside chimneys, have been
freely employed, while the stucco construction,
divisions of the window sashes, the long lean-to
dormer and the glazed piazza in the rear are dis-
tinctly modern innovations. The ensemble is none
the less picturesque and pleasing, and a credit to the
architect and builder, A. J. MacDuff, of Everett,
Massachusetts.
The end-to-the-street residence of T. Irving Fenno,
Number 3 Cedar Street, also a stucco house, reflects
Salem influences in its doorway and fenestration. The
former, while considerably elaborated, recalls the
[241 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
White-Lord doorway, Number 3 1 Washington Square
North. Sufficient projection has been given to the
open pediment to form a porch to shelter the waiting
guest, and this is supported, not by engaged smooth
columns, but by fluted columns and flat pilasters.
One notices the omission of the blind doors, the
substitution of a charming elliptical instead of round
fanlight and the clever application of the fine-scale
Doric triglyph and guttae to the frieze ends. The
simple, attractive Palladian window above this dis-
tinctive entrance accords with Salem practice, though
adapted from other sources, while the broad thirty-
paned windows, fifteen panes to the sash, were
doubtless suggested to the architect, Louis Grangent,
of Salem, by the "House of Seven Gables" and the
sketch of the Philip English house at the Essex
Institute.
The gambrel-roof period of Salem architecture has
a worthy modern representative in the residence of
Henry M. Bachelder, Number 204 Lafayette Street,
Little and Brown, Boston, architects. It is notable
chiefly for its pleasing mass and simplicity of detail.
Substantial comfort and permanent construction were
the aims rather than elaboration of motives. Dormers,
cornice and windows correspond to those of several
old houses near by, and the iron hand rails have the
true Colonial feeling. The L, with its sun parlor on
the lower floor, strikes a modem and unusual note, as
do the three narrow windows on the third floor of the
[242]
Salem Architecture To-Day
gable, and the inclosed entrance porch. The latter
is exceptional in its engaged columns and flat-roofed
wings, with high narrow sashes each side of the
pediment. The door differs a trifle from several
similar ones in Salem in the shorter proportion of the
lower panels. The delightful interior woodwork
includes two genuine Mclntire fireplace mantels taken
from the old building at Number 6 Central Street
where the Custom House was located in 1805, and
which was considerably remodeled a few years ago.
; It is a hopeful sign of the times that the desire for
real architectural merit in the home is now being
expressed quite as insistently by prospective home
builders of moderate means, and even tenants, as by
those better situated financially. In meeting this
demand landlords and architects have learned that
the matter of small houses harmoniously treated on
small plots constitutes a problem of the first magni-
tude, and the more they study it the more they come
to appreciate the merits of the English semi-detached
house with party walls on the side property lines,
whether for rentable purposes or for the owner who
feels the need of an income from part of his home
property.
Not only is there economy in making one structural
wall answer for two houses, but the very utmost is
made of small building plots ; appearances are
improved immeasurably both in respect to the house
itself and the grounds. No suburban property can be
[243 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
developed attractively with small detached houses
on plots less than one hundred feet wide. On single
forty-foot lots ugly, narrow houses resembling flats
in floor plan must be adopted in order to leave the
necessary space between them. Even two lots, total-
ing eighty feet in width, hardly permit anything
better than a cubical eight-room house, with four
rooms of nearly equal size on each floor, that seems
clumsy in the extreme when of fireproof construction
such as brick or concrete. To put as many rooms
on the first as the second floor, or to build a one-
story bungalow is expensive in respect to increased
excavation, foundation and roof.
Conditions of this character presented themselves
in replacing the famous Tontine Block, a group of
splendid old dwellings erected in 1806, which stood
at the comer of Warren and Flint streets in the path
of the great fire. With commendable public spirit the
owner, S. W. Phillips, undertook with the aid of
William G. Rantoul, the Boston architect living in
Salem, to restore the property with a group of modern
dwellings in accord with its century-old neighbors, still
intact. The task was to devise a plan which, within
restricted limits, should provide every convenience
and comfort required by the tenant of to-day, with
the rooms so arranged as to insure plenty of sunlight
and air, and thus overcome the usual objections to
houses built in a block.
By joining three houses together under one roof,
[244]
Plate CXXII. — Residence of Francis A. Seamans, 48 Chestnut
Street. Erected 19 10; Residence of B. Parker Babbidge,
14 Fairfield Street.
03
O
o
<:
V
V
If
S
3
ON
o
o
3
c
X
X
u
Salem Architecture To-Day
yet separating them one from another by unpierced
brick fire walls, Mr. Rantoul found it possible to
design a dignified three-story structure, broad of roof,
generally horizontal in effect, friendly with its site and
harmonious in every proportion. It is at utter
variance with any eight-room house on a single lot
and is vastly superior ; it has, in other words, benefited
by association with its neighbors. This applies not
only to the appearance of the house itself but to its
surroundings as well. There is a generous lawn
stretching entirely across the front, opportunities for
planting about the entrance at the ends, and three
large service-yards in the rear instead of four pain-
fully narrow spaces between three single houses and
their neighbors. Brick walls at both ends and a solid
wood fence at the rear insure to the entire grounds,
except the front lawns, that privacy so desirable yet
so often lacking in houses of this sort.
In the solution of his many complex problems Mr.
Rantoul has achieved a notable success in creative
adaptation, if such a term may be permitted. Not
only has he preserved the spirit and general arrange-
ment of the English sejni-detached house, but in
appearance he has given it a distinctly American
character, its charm and beauty depending upon
simple lines, pleasing proportions and the entire
absence of useless ornament. Choosing as his princi-
pal motive the gambrel-roof house, all minor details
were made to harmonize, and one who knows Salem
[ 24s 1
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
architecture will have no difficulty in finding friendly
prototypes for each with one exception. Broad, mul-
lioned window-groups, such as those of the middle
house, are much employed in England where the
light is much of the time less intense than here. In
the present instance they have only one outside wall.
Perhaps the most notable example of the modern
gambrel-roof house of brick is the residence of
Francis A. Seaman, Number 48 Chestnut Street,
although not in the fire district and built shortly
before the conflagration occurred. Its location on one
of the finest streets of Colonial architecture in
America, however, precluded the possibility of re-
sorting to any other style. The house is a free
adaptation of the Richard Derby house, on Derby
Street, the oldest brick house still standing in Salem,
and careful observation will disclose at once many
details which correspond and several which differ.
The paired chimneys at both ends of the older house
have been omitted in the design of the new in accord-
ance with the exigencies of the floor plan, and the
newer doorway, while equivalent to the older in mass,
varies considerably in detaiL The recess of a sunken
vestibule together with the projection of the Doric
pediment supported by full, round, engaged columns
constitutes an entrance porch. As a whole the effect
more closely resembles that of the Pierce- Johonnot-
Nichols entrance, on Federal Street, rather than the
Derby doorway, although it has less projection, and
[246]
Salem Architecture To-Day
low Roman rather than high Tuscan plinths have
been used. The jambs of the older house, suggestive
of cut marble blocks, have been retained and the door
is similarly paneled, except that bull's-eye glasses
replace the upper panels as a substitute for the
horizontal top light. The simple wood fence reflects
good Colonial spirit and altogether the house is a
worthy companion of its older neighbor.
The Lancelot Gibson house, Number 6 Fairfield
Street, although only two stories in height, otherwise
well represents the square wood dwellings in vogue
from about 1780 to 1810 with their hip roofs and
surmounting belvederes. Like several early proto-
types the facade is weatherboarded and has quoined
comers, the other walls being clapboarded. Again
the effect of an entrance porch has been obtained by
recourse to a sunken vestibule with Doric pediment
supported, in this instance, by columns of pure
Grecian order. In the spacing of its panels the door
brings to mind that of the Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols
house, the moldings, however, having apparently
been adapted from those of the Peabody-Silsbee
door. One notices the pleasing effect of the paneled
jambs spaced to correspond to the door. The doorway
at Number 6 Downing Street probably suggested the
narrow side lights. Shutters such as grace old
Colonial houses elsewhere replace the customary
Salem blinds, but the overhanging bay and the
piazza having columns in accord with the entrance
[247]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
and a unique balustrade Instance the resourcefulness
of the architect, A. G. Richardson, of Salem.
The square brick houses of the last period of
Colonial architecture in Salem have also furnished
inspiration for recent two-story residences quite as
attractive as their larger three-story predecessors,
even if lacking a little of the grandeur lent by greater
height. Among the handsomest of these may be
mentioned the residence of B. Parker Babbidge,
Number 14 Fairfield Street, an exceptional instance
of intelligent Colonial adaptation. The ornamental
detail in profusion indicates an appreciation of
Salem's best motives. Beneath a hip roof surmounted
by a balustraded belvedere, and pierced by dormers
familiar to Salem, is seen a cornice with dentils hand-
carved on their under sides and a ball molding
distinctly reminiscent of the Peabody-Silsbee house.
Both above and below, the balustrades appear to
have emanated from the same source, the molded
panels in the balustrade of the large glazed piazza,
however, representing a pleasing innovation. The
recessed doorway was obviously developed from that
of the Ropes' Memorial by omitting the top lights,
employing a finer scale pattern for the leaded glass
of the side lights and refining the moldings of the
similarly paneled door somewhat to correspond. In
fenestration the Dodge-Shreve house. Number 29
Chestnut Street, was taken as the model. The
windows, window frames and marble lintels cor-
[248]
Salem Architecture To-Day
respond in pattern, and the beautiful Palladian win-
dow over the entrance displays only such minor
variations as the flattening of the brick arch to el-
liptical form, the substitution of simpler spring blocks
and keystone, and the use of leaded side lights like
those of the doorway below. Blind shutters from
other than local sources serve to fix this typically
Salem dwelling as being of the twentieth century.
Altogether no finer modern structure yet graces the
rebuilt section of the city.
Across the street, the residence of George L.
Hooper, Number 1 1 Fairfield Street, instances several
well-designed and distinctly modern houses which,
aside from minor details here and there, adhere to
Salem precedent exteriorly only in the doorway.
Here the architect, Robert Coit, of Boston, appears to
have been influenced by the Barstow-West entrance
porch, elaborating it by the addition of a surmounting
balustrade about the second-floor bay above and
broadening it from elliptical to nearly semicircular
shape. The marble-capped brick buttresses of the
steps, conforming to the floor of the porch, have been
deemed suflicient without the charming iron work
of the older entrance, while the door itself, generally
speaking, conforms to the panel arrangement of the
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols door, the panels imme-
diately above the thumb latch being of longer relative
proportion in the later door.
Several picturesque new doorways in the rebuilt
[249I
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
section, especially entrance porches, cannot in any
sense be regarded as Colonial, yet they exhibit
unmistakable evidence of classic influence in their
design and so live in accord with the pure archi-
tectural types about them. They are manifestations
of the application of simple motives and minor bits
of Colonial detail to the modest cottage architecture
intended to appeal to the eye rather than the mind
and to provide essential comforts and fulfill personal
requirements rather than invite architectural classi-
fication. The doorway of the Ceorge W. Fuller
house. Number 69 Summer Street, George H.
Fanning, of Salem, architect, and the Alan Bouve
doorway. Number 7 Fairfield Street, merit study
as denoting commendable tendencies of the present
time.
Not only has the Colonial tradition established
itself as the twentieth-century style in domestic
architecture, but it has reasserted itself in public and
semi-public work as well. To use a colloquialism, the
Colonial style has in every sense "come back."
And as indicated by the Francis A. Seaman house,
already referred to, and the instances which follow,
the beginnings of the coming reversion had already
been made before the great fire occurred. This
disaster did not, therefore, cause the reversion, but
hastened it and made it more general.
As early as 1882 the desirability of perpetuating
the Colonial spirit in public buildings was felt when
[250]
Plate CXXIV. — Lancelot Gibson House, 6 Fairfield Street ; House
of George L. Hooper, 1 1 Fairfield Street.
Salem Architecture To-Day
the block at Number Ii8 Washington Street was
designed by Peabody and Stearns, of Boston, to house
the Post Office on its lower floor. Generally Ionic in its
ornamental detail, with capitals elaborated by an
encarpus between the volutes, this brick structure
represents a free interpretation of the order, yet is
strongly reminiscent of much fine old work in Salem.
The heavy balustrades, paneled pedestals and sur-
mounting urns, also the entablature beneath are
perhaps the best features, although the two door-
ways are also interesting.
It has been contended by some competent critics
that an improvement would have been effected by the
omission of the highly ornamented doorheads over
both front entrances, consisting of a sort of broken
pediment formed by two scrolls or curves of contrary
flexure such as characterize the decorative contour of
the classic console. However that may be, these high
heads provide spaces for fine reproductions of the
coat of arms of the United States and the seal of the
City of Salem. The manner in which these pedi-
mental heads tie into the entablature above is worthy
of notice, although this practice does not find favor
with many architects. The fenestration throughout
is pleasing. The large lights of the lower sashes afford
comfort in looking outdoors from within, while the
many small square lights above lend a pleasing sense
of scale. The windows of the lower story between the
doorways represent a modernized adaptation of the
[2511
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
English bay, frequently a feature of the quaint shops
of early days in America.
Next to the Post Office on Washington Street
stands the Peabody Building, another brick structure
in the Colonial spirit. It was designed by C. H.
Blackall, of Boston, and erected in 1891 and 1892.
Here, too, there is considerable freedom in the use of
the orders, yet the ensemble possesses that in-
definable grace and charm which Mclntire often
imparted by similar methods, and indeed, several
prominent motives, such as the ball molding, will be
recognized as having been employed by that master
craftsman of Salem. While it might be said that
generally speaking the building is denticulated Doric
in character, as indicated by the main entrance,
yet the continuations of the entablature along the
second-floor level are Doric only in the guttae of the
architrave, the triglyphs of the frieze being omitted
and the dentil course of the cornice being replaced by
a cavetto jig-sawed to suggest a series of Gothic
arches, the torus ordinarily used beneath it becoming
in this instance a half sphere. The main cornice of the
building is Corinthian with typical modillions, while
the slender columns of the comer doorway and
Palladian window above the main entrance have Ionic
capitals and the urns in pairs on the roof balustrade
suggest Adam influence. Both the marble lintels of
the windows as a whole were obviously inspired by
the facade of the Dodge-Shreve house, Number 29
[252]
Salem Architecture To-Day
Chestnut Street, while the fenestration throughout
echoes pleasingly that of the Post Office beside it.
Both the ornamental iron balcony and the semi-
circular leaded glass fanlight beneath are quite in
accord with approved Salem motives, while a partic-
ularly effective feature of the main entrance is
provided by the broad and heavy paneling in the
reveal of the doorway which is carried up around the
soffit of the arch. This building is the home of the
Salem Evening News and the corner doorway to its
office forms an interesting study in the effective
adaptation of Colonial motives to modern commercial
usage.
In 1906 the present building of the Salem Athe-
naeum at Number 339 Essex Street, known as
Plummer Hall, was erected to replace the first
Plummer Hall of 1856, which the society had found
unsuited to its needs and had sold to the Essex
Institute for a museum. Plummer Hall had been
built from a bequest of ^30,000 in the name of her
brother, Ernestus Augustus Plummer, by Miss
Caroline Plummer, who also established the Plummer
Farm School and the Plummer Professorship of
Morals at Harvard University, One of the handsom-
est buildings in the city, in exterior appearance it is
approximately a reproduction of the central part of
"Homewood", that remarkable Baltimore residence,
sometimes referred to as a Colonial bungalow, erected
in 1 803-1 804 by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a
[253 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
signer of the Declaration of Independence. "Home-
wood " is now a part of Johns Hopkins University and
offers a peculiarly suitable prototype for modern
adaptation to public uses, either including the
Georgian wings or omitting them as in the present
Plummer Hall, designed by William G. Rantoul.
The Salem Athenaeum is controlled by one hundred
shareholders or proprietors, but a limited number of
additional persons may avail themselves of its
privileges by annual subscription. The library
contains 30,000 volumes, including the old "Social
Library" of 1780, and the "Philosophical Library"
of 1 78 1, founded on a collection of scientific works
seized in the Irish Channel by Captain Hill, the
privateersman.
The Police Station, Number 17 Central Street,
erected in 191 3, is situated among buildings of
bygone days. While meeting the varied practical
requirements of such a structure, the architect, John
M. Gray, of Salem and Boston, has succeeded in
imparting to it much of the spirit of old Salem brick-
work. This important addition to Salem's municipal
buildings is an excellent example of what can be
accomplished by adhering to the spirit of our early
architecture. The structure is of red brick with
limestone trimmings and from the balustrade of the
decked roof down to the ironwork of the doorways
indicates an intimate knowledge of the best Salem
precedents. At once distinctive and dignified, the
[254]
Plate CXXVI. — Salem Masonic Temple, Washington and Lynde
Streets. Erected 1915-1916.
Pi.ATK CXXVII. — The Salem Athenaeum, 339 Essex Streets
Erected 1906; Salem Police Station, 17 Central Street.
Erected 19 13.
Salem Architecture To-Day
facade is particularly happy in its fenestration. The
ornamental fire balcony and panels with festooned
drapery beneath the high round-headed windows are
highly decorative, and the urns on the pedestals
above the hooded entrances are pleasingly reminis-
cent of several delightful wooden gateposts. This is
really three buildings in one as it houses the Police
Department, Electrical Department and the First
District Court of Essex County. Each department
is entirely separate from the others and has its
own entrances. The lower floor and basement are
devoted to the Police Department. The Electrical
Department is located in an L on the Charter Street
side of the building, while the First District Court,
the Civil and Juvenile Courts and their accompanying
chambers occupy the second and third stories. The
principal court room is on the front, where the high
round-headed windows are seen, and is the equiva-
lent of two stories in height, with the third story of the
mezzanine type around it. Distinctly Colonial in
character, the room is beautifully finished in mahog-
any with pure white vaulted ceilings and walls
tinted a soft gray.
Of all the recent buildings in Salem, however, the
Masonic Temple at the comer of Washington and
Lynde streets, formerly the site of the Pickman-
Derby-Brookhouse estate alluded to in Chapter
IV, is the largest and most pretentious. Constructed
of brick with limestone trimmings, it was erected in
[ 255 ]
The Colonial Architecture of Salem
191 5 and 1916 at a cost of ^250,000, Lester S. Couch,
of the firm of Little and Brown, Boston, being the
architect. While classic Renaissance rather than
Colonial, no book devoted to the best Salem archi-
tecture would be complete which failed to include it.
Moreover, it recalls old Salem work in several
particulars ; notably the adoption of the Corinthian
order, which predominated in the local brick struc-
tures of a century ago, the application of the Grecian
fret or double denticulated molding to the cornice,
and the design of the ornamental iron fire balconies.
Generally speaking, the facade is reminiscent of
the Roman palaces of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries as well as of the earlier Florentine palaces
by reason of the first story of rusticated stone with
three grouped arches at the main entrance and a
surmounting continuous scroll band, and also because
of the brick walling above, devoid of numerous
pilasters and columns so common to the Renaissance
architecture of Northern Italy. The projecting
pediment supported by Corinthian columns three
stories in height above the entrance, however, was
a more frequent feature of the Renaissance in Eng-
land. The fenestration is most interesting, the oval
windows of the fourth story and the nearly square
ones under the pediment recalling the round and
square windows of Hampton Court, although dif-
ferently employed in this instance. Adam influence
is seen in the decorative stone panels between these
[256]
Salem Architecture To-Day
oval windows and in the garlands over them. Under
the pediment the stone casings of the windows, both
those with entablatures and segmental heads, are of
Italian character. Elsewhere simple gauged arches
with limestone keystones suffice, the only wooden
construction in any instance being the jamb linings
let into the reveals of the brickwork. Casement
sashes prevail on the fourth floor, with sliding
Georgian sashes on the second and third floors. Above
the heavy cornice rises a balustrade, but unlike the
usual classic type, it consists of a solid brick wall and
coping, with occasional projecting piers replacing
the customary pedestals.
Altogether it is a stately building of considerable
distinction and one of the finest Masonic edifices in
Massachusetts. Exteriorly it lives in accord with its
older Colonial neighbors, and interiorly its lodge
rooms are graced with excellent wood finish of appro-
priate character. Like the Police Station, it offers a
type worthy of emulation in future years.
May the complete success of these and a few other
less important recent efforts encourage the continued
use of Colonial motives in municipal and semi-public
work, so that the community as well as its citizens
individually may assist in perpetuating and develop-
ing a building heritage second to none in America,
and that henceforth, as up to 1818, Salem may have a
contemporaneous Colonial architecture in public as
well as domestic work.
[257]
INDEX
INDEX
Abbot house, 130
Activty the, 6
Adam, the Brothers, 74; their
influence, 81, 90, 181, 256;
garlands a favorite motive
of, 120; Mclntire completely
under spell of, 155; balance
between plain surface and
delicate ornament, 156; man-
tel design, 190, 203 ; frieze,
193; urns, 199; chimney
piece, 204 ; festooned gardens,
208; festooned drapery, 216;
mantel glass, 210
Adams, John, 43
Allen, Captain Edward, 170
Allen (Captain Edward) house,
65; interior of, 146, 147;
corner china closet of, 164;
stairway of, 169, 170; mantel
of, 192, 193
Allen, Reverend James, 20
Allen, John Fiske, lOi, 102
Allen-Osgood-Huntington houses,
lOI
Almshouse, Salem, 30
Americay the, 6
Andirons, 153, 192, 194, 203, 207,
210
Andrew, John, 95
Andrew, John A., 95
Andrew-Safford house, 94-96 ;
porch of, 128; centerpiece
and cornice of, 149; interior
doorway of, 163
Andrews, Daniel, 38-40
Andrews, Colonel Joseph, 104
"Annals of Salem." See Felt
Applied work, of the Read man-
sion, 192; of the Captain
Edward Allen house, 193 ;
of the Peabody-Silsbee house,
198; of mantel at Essex
Institute, 199, 210
Archer, Samuel, 8
Arches, keyed round, 80; flat-
tened, 94; elliptical, 165, 166,
181, 182
Architrave casings, 108, 139; of
the house at 19 Chestnut Street,
68 ; of the Cook-Oliver house,
77; of the Bolles-Mansiield
house, 88; of the house at
23 Summer Street, 114; the
preferred form in modern colo-
nial work, 136; of the Stephen
W. Phillips house, 138; of the
P i e r c e- J ohonnot-Nichols
house, 148; of the Crown-
inshield - Devereux - Waters
house, 159
Archivolts, 182
Arthur, Prince, of England, 216
Asby, David, 88
Assembly Hall, Salem, 218, 219 «***'
B
Babbidge (B. Parker) house,
248, 249
Babbidge-Crowninshield - Bowker
house, 31 ; stairway of, 178
Bachelder (Henry M.) house, 242,
243
[261]
Index
Bacon, Samuel, 43
Bainbridge, Commodore William,
223
Baldwin-Lyman house, 91 ; en-
trance porch of, 125
Ball molding, 90, 95, 97, ic», 123
Ball's BlufF, battle of, 70
Balusters, 55, 89; splendid work-
manship in, 174, 175; of
"The Lindens", 176; of
the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
stairway, 180
Balustraded roof, of the General
Israel Putn?m house, 46; of
the Ropes-Orne house, 49;
of "The Lindens", 49; of
the Cabot-Endicott-Low
house, 55 ; of the Timothy
Orne house, 67 ; of the house
No. 19 Chestnut Street, 68;
of the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
house, 68, 80; of the Cook-
Oliver house, 77; of the
Gardner-White-Pingree house,
89, 90; of the Andrew-Saf-
ford house, 95 ; of the Silsbee-
Mott house, 97
Balustrades, 61 ; stair, 96; porch,
92, 93, 127, 170; of the
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols stair-
way, 180; of the Fraternity,
227; of the Custom House,
23 s
Bancroft, Daniel, 66
Barnard, Rev. Thomas, 48, 51
Bars, 105
Barstow-West house, 126
Batten doors, 22, 45, 105
Batten shutters, 158
Bay windows, 81, 133
Bead and reel, 206
Becketi the, 6
Becket, Daniel C, 8
Becket, John, 8
Bdcket, Retire, 6, 8
Becket (Retire) house, 4, 6, 8
Bell pulls, 108
Belvederes, 60-62 ; of the Aaron
Waite house, 67; of the
Boardman house, 67; of the
P i e r c e- J o h o n n o t-N i c h o 1 s
house, 80; of the Peabody-
Silsbee house, 90; of the
Lyman and the Pickman-
Baldwin-Shreve-Little house,
92; of the Andrew-SafFord
house, 95
Benjamin, Asher, 47
Bentley, Dr. William, pastor of
the Second Church, 31, 224;
his diary, 42; lived in the
Crowninshield house, 58 ;
oration of, at banquet, Feb.
22, 1793, 222; on Mclntire's
death, 226
Bertram, Captain John, 212, 213
Bertram Home for Aged Men,
113. 213
Bishop, Townsend, 19
Bishop-Nurse house, 19
Blackall, C. H., 252
Blind doors, 240
Blind fasteners, 240
Blinds, 62, 115; for fireplaces,
194, 202
Boardman, Captain, 65
Boardman house, 64, 67, 114
Bolles, Rev. E. C, 88
Bolts, 108
Bonding, 86
Bouve (Alan) doorway, 250
Bowditch, Nathaniel, 10, 58
Brackets, 23; scroll, 170, 179;
double-scroll, 180
Bradstreet, Governor Simon, 10,
26, 215
Bradstreet (Governor Simon)
house, 9, 10
Brandywine, battle of, 17
Brick eastern wall, 77
Brick paved court, 80
Bricks, for chimneys, 5; for
[262]
Index
filling wooden walls, 5 ; first
house of, in Salem, 52; as
building material in New Eng-
land, 53
Brickwork, 21; Flemish, 2;
Georgian, 53 ; characteristics
contributed by, 85 ; limita-
tions imposed by, on window-
panes, 138
Briggs, Enos, 65, 66
Briggs-Whipple house, 65 ; win-
dows of, 141
Brookhouse, Robert, 214
Brookhouse estate, 62
Brooks, Abner, 24
Browne, Dr. Benjamin F., 82
Browne, Colonel William, 228
Browne (Colonel William) man-
sion, 16
Building materials, sixteenth cen-
tury, 2
Bulfinch, Charles, 73, 75, 226,
227
Bull's-eye light, 107, 131
Bunker Hill, battle of, 58
Butts, 158
Cabot, George, 52, 64
Cabot, Joseph, 54
Cabot, Joseph S., 54
Cabot-Endicott-Low house, 53 ;
hall and stairway of, 169, 176-
178
Capitals, 91 ; freestone, 52
Capitol at Washington, D. C, 74
Carlton, Rev. Michael, 214
Casements, early, 131; continued
in favor for about one hun-
dred years, 132
Casings, seventeenth century door
and window, 32. See Window
CASINGS
Castiglioni, Count, 58
Ceiling beams, 7
"Cent shops ", 25
Centerpieces, 148, 149
Centre Grammar School, 24
Chamberlain, Right Honorable
Joseph, 55
Chandelier, in South Church,
Salem, 226
Chandler, Joseph Everett, 15
Charter Street Burial Ground, 83
Chesapeake, the, 70, 225
Chestnut Street, 86, 87
Chickering, Henry, 19
Chimney pieces, of the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house, 81,
156, 193, 194, 208-210; pan-
eled, 150; crowning feature
of the room, 186; develop-
ment of, 186, 187; of "The
Lindens", 187; of the Lin-
dall-Barnard-Andrews house,
204; of the Crowninshield-
Devereux-Waters house, 206
Chimney pots, 30
Chimney stacks, of the Governor
Bradstreet house, 10; of "The
House of the Seven Gables ",
13 ; of the Maria-Goodhue
house, 20; of the Narbonne
house, 25; of the "Witch
house", 41 ; of the Timothy
Orne house, 67
Chimneys, catted wooden, 4;
brick, 5 ; location of, 63-65,
67 ; in Baldwin-Lyman house,
91
Chippendale influence, 180
Choate, Joseph Hodges, 24, 231
Churches, English, 2
City Hall, Salem, 70
Clapboards for wall covering, 5,
23, 59
Clark house, 28
Clark-Morgan house, 36
Classic orders and ornaments, 3
Clay, chimneys plastered with,
4; for brickwork in walls, 5,
[263]
Index
23 ; for stonework, 7 ; for
plastering rooms, 7; for
bricks, 53
Clayboards, 5, 67, 77
Cleopatra s Barge, the, 6
Cleveland, Rev. Charles, 68
Cleveland, Grover, 55, 68
Clifford, D. A., 231
Clock, in South Church, Salem,
225, 226
Closets, stairway, corner, 164,
168
Cockle, James, 232
Coit, Robert, 249
Colonial architecture, character-
istics of, 33 ; the fountain-
head of design, 47; Colonial
traditions supplanted by the
Greek Revival, 59; three-
story square houses of Salem
only remotely colonial, 59;
recurs in recent buildings at
Salem, 237, 238, 250
Colonnades, 80
Colonnettes, 202
Colors for house painting, 23,
55
Columns, engaged, 55 ; square,
64; Tuscan, 70; fluted, 95;
of the porch of the Gardner-
White-Pingree house, 128
Conant, Roger, i
Cook, Captain Samuel, 76, 230
Cook house, 37
Cook-Oliver house, 75-77 ; porch
of, 119; gateposts of, 119,
120; window heads of, 137;
mantels of, 154, 195, 197, 207;
details of wood finish of, 154,
155, 160; stairway of, 173;
wall paper of, 207
Copley, John Singleton, 43
Corbeling, 41
Corinthian order, 55, 85; pre-
dominates from 1 8 16 to 1818,
124; in doorways, 125-128;
in interior wood trim, 156,
157, 162, 163; in halls, 182
Come, the artist, 62
Corner buffet, 25
Corner china closets, 164
Cornices, of the Diman house,
42 ; boxed, without gutters,
50; of the Pickard-Derby
house, 52 ; of the Cook-
Oliver house, 77, 154, 197;
of the Gardner-White-Pingree
and the Peabody-Silsbee
houses, 90; of the Stephen
W. Phillips house, 138; gen-
erally of wood, 148; of
plaster, 148; of the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house, 156,
157; of the Elias Hasket
Derby mansion, 161 ; of the
Home for Aged Women, 162;
of the Captain Edward Allen
house, 193 ; of the Crown-
inshield - Devereux - Waters
house, 206; of the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house, 210.
See Ball molding, Modil-
LIONS
Cornwallis, Lord, 17
Corwin, Jonathan, 37-41
Couch, Lester S., 256
"County Builder's Assistant,
The ", Asher Benjamin, 47
Courthouse of 1785, 66, 219-221
Coved ceiling, 75
Cranch, Richard, 43
Crowninshield, Benjamin W., 31,
149, 179, 214, 234
Crowninshield, Clifford, 71
Crowninshield, Captain George,
6, 3i» 234
Crowninshield, Jacob, 31, 179,
234
Crowninshield (John) house, 58
Crowninshield, Sarah, 71
Crowninshield - Devereux -Waters
house, 70-72; windows of.
[264]
Index
141; interior doorways of, 159,
160; chimney piece of, 206
Cupolas, 61, 235
Curwen-Osgood house, 121
Custom House, Salem, 231-235
Cymatium, 207
Dado, 146, 147, 156
Dan vers houses : Prince (Robert),
3, 5 ; Rea-Putnam- Fowler,
19, 20; George Jacobs, 26,
27; John Walcott, 27, 28;
Clark, 28; Judge Samuel
Holten, 29, 30; Jesse Put-
nam, 30; "The Lindens",
49, S4» 55. 57
Davenport, Captain Richard, 38,
39
Decked roofs. Sft Roofs
Dentil course, in Cook-Oliver
house, 155; in the Crownin-
shield-Devereux-Wa t ers
house, 160; in the Home for
Aged Women, 162; in the
Read mansion, 191 ; in the
Derby - Crowninshield - Rogers
house, 196; hand-tooled, 200;
in the Woman's Friend Soci-
ety and the Pickman house,
201
Dentils, 42, 52, 181
Derby, Elias Hasket, born in the
Derby- Ward house, 5 1 ;
Richard Derby house intended
for, 52 ; Pickman- Derby-
Brookhouse mansion residence
of, 61 ; owner of the Grand
Turkt 66; son of, 149; gar-
dens of, 229
Derby (Elias Hasket) mansion,
58, 61, 76, 78, 230, 231;
doorhead and wood trim of,
160, 161
Derby, Ezekiel Hersey, 149
Derby, Richard, 50-52
Derby (Richard) house, 51-53,
86 ; doorway of, 1 1 1 ; win-
dows, 138; interior of, 146,
147, 150; interior of front
door of, 181
Derby-C rowninshiel d- Rogers
house, 148, 149; stairway of,
171, 172, 173 ; hall of, 181,
182; mantels of, 196, 204
Derby- Ward house, 50, 51
Derby fleet, the, 62
Derby gardens, 229
Derby Square, 230
Derby wharf, 65
Devereux, Humphrey, 100
Devereux, Captain James, 71
Diman, Rev. James, 42
Diman (Rev. James) house, 41
Diocletian's palace at Spalato,
190
Dodge, Pickering, loi
Dodge-Shreve house, 92, 93 ;
entrance, 126; lintel of, 140
Door handles, 108
Doorheads, pedimental, 28, 60;
of the Elias Hasket Derby
mansion, 160, 161 ; of the
Post Office, 251
Door trim, 108, 157, 160
Doors, inside, two-panel, 25 ; of
the Narbonne house, 26, 60;
of the Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols
house, 151, 158; of the
Elias Hasket Derby mansion,
161 ; of different paneling,
174
Doors, outside, of the John Ward
house, 22; of the Goodale
house, 27; double, of the
Holten inclosed porch, 29;
of the Lang house, 32; of
the Benjamin Pickman house,
57; of the Aaron Waite
house, 67; of the Rantoui
house, 68; of the Goss-
[26s]
Index
Osgood house, 68; of the
Pierce-Johonnot-Nicho'ls
house, 80; of Hawthorne's
Mall Street house, 83 ; batten,
105 ; framed and paneled,
106; four-part Dutch, 106;
six-panel, 107; four-panel,
107; solid, 107; with bull's-
eye light, 107; with transom,
107; knockers, etc., 108;
double blind, 1 1 1 ; on porch
of Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
house, 115; of Whipple house,
116; eight-panel, 117; three-
piece, 125; of the Market
House, 228
Doorways, of the Bradstreet
house, 9; pedimental, 32;
simplicity of those on early
gambrel-roof houses, 47; of
the Richard Derby house, 52;
of the Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood
house, 53 ; of the Cabot-Endi-
cott-Low house, 54; of the
Briggs-Whipple house, 65 ; of
the George M. Whipple house,
66; of the Crowninshield-
Devereux-Waters house, 70 ;
of the Cook-Oliver house, 77 ;
of the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
house, 80; of the Mansfield-
Bolles house, 87 ; of the house
12 Chestnut Street, 91 ; of the
Baldwin-Lyman house, 91 ;
of the Pickman-Shreve-Little
house and the Dodge-Shreve
house, 92; of the Loring-
Emmerton house, 94; "east
wind" recessed, 103, 105; the
George Jacobs and, Sarah
Prince Osburn, 107; with
gable-roof inclosed porch, 109;
the dominant exterior feature,
109, no; of the Lindall-Bar-
nard- Andrews house, no; of
the Richard Derby house, in;
pineapple, of the Thomas
Poynton house, in, 112; of
the Weir house, 112; of the
Meek house, 113; of the
White-Lord house, 113; of
Putnam birthplace, 116;
open, pedimental, 116; of
the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
house, 117; welcoming, of
Salem, 118; of the Ropes
Memorial,
recessed, 121
Aged Women,
130.
124
121; other
of Home for
121, 122, 129,
162; of the Salem Club,
of the Pickman-Shreve-
Little house, 125; of the Bar-
stow- West house, 126; of the
Mansfield-Bolles house, 129;
of the Abbot house, 130; of
the Crowninshield-Devereux-
Waters house, 159, 160; of the
And rew-S afford house, 163 ;
round-headed, 164; of china
closets, 164; front, interior
of, 180-183 ; of the T. Irving
Fenno house, 241, 242; pic-
turesque new, 249, 250
Dorchester Company, i
Doric porch, 63, 68, 80, 90, 115-
117
Dormers, 22, 30, 44, 47; gable-
roof, hipped-roof, and lean-to,
54; gable in place of, 55,
56
Double houses, 212
Downing, Ann, 10
Downing, Emanuel, 9, 10, 215
Downing, Sir George, 10
Downing College, England, 10
Drop handles, 151, 158
Drops, turned, 16
Dudley, Governor, fire prevention
order, 21
Dutch door, 25
Dutch influences, 44, 49
Dutch tiles, 40
[266]
Index
Eagle, sculptural, 62 ; outdoors,
■• as a sculpture in full relief,
198; indoors, adorning the
frieze of mantels, 199, 200; on
shield, as mantel ornament,
200; wooden, at Essex Insti-
tute, 232; on the Custom
House, 235
East Church, Salem, 31, 42, 224
East India Marine" Hall, 86
Eave-guard, 98
Eaves, 61, 68, 77
Eden-Brown house, 58, 121
Egg and dart motive, 151, 176,
189, 202
Elizabethan house types, 3, 7,
9, 16, 18, 21
Elks, Order of, 218
Emmerton, Caroline O., 9, 15,
24, 94
Endicott, Captain Charles M.,
102
Endicott, Governor John, i, 20,
26, 57
Endicott, John, Jr., 20
Endicott, Mary, 55
Endicott, William Crowninshield.
54. 214
Endicott house, 123
End-to-the-street houses, 72 ;
home of Mclntire, 72 ; house
at 18 Chestnut Street, 81;
the Mall Street house, 83 ;
the Grimshawe house, 83 ; the
Mansfield-Bolles house, 87;
Woman's Friend Society, 212;
the T. Irving Fenno house,
241
English (Philip) house, 1 1, 132
Entablature, 136, 145, 157, 162
Entrances, of the Bishop-Nurse
house, 19; of the Jacobs
house, 26; of the Walcott
house, 28 ; of the Clark house.
28; of the Lindall-Gibbs-
Osgood house, 53 ; of the
Landor house, 69; of Haw-
thorne's Chestnut Street
home, 81 ; of the Cook-Oliver
house, 119, 120; of the Ropes
Memorial, 120, 121; of Home
for Aged Women, 121, 129,
130; of the Salem Club, 124;
of Dodge-Shreve house, 126;
of the Barstow-West house,
126. Sifif Doorways, Porches
Essex, the frigate, 65
Essex County Natural History
Society, 30
Essex Historical Society, 16, 30
Essex Institute, model of Becket
Cottage at, 8 ; site of the
museum building, 9, 11;
painting of the Governor Brad-
street house at, 9; sketches
of Parkman and English
houses at, 11; rough-cast
ornament from the Browne
mansion at, 16; fireback
from the Pickering house at,
16; John Ward house at,
21 ; collection of antiques at,
22 ; painting of trial of George
Jacobs in picture gallery, 27;
origin of, 30; founder of, 35;
Corwin papers at, 38; carved
and gilded codfish from end of
stair at Benjamin Pickman
house, 57; arch from Ben-
jamin Pickman house at, 57;
cupola of Pickman house at,
62; Mclntire plans and tools
at, 74; inclosed porch from
the Grimshawe house in the
garden of, 84; negatives of
witchcraft photographs at, 88 ;
the pineapple doorway of
Thomas Poynton house at,
112; the Tucker-Rice porch
at, 127, 211; casement sash
[267]
Indi
ex
preserved at, 131; fine old
stairway at, 175; reconstruc-
tion of ancient kitchen at,
185 ; mantel with eagle at,
199; profile bas-relief of Wash-
ington at, 221 ; balustrade
of gallery of Washington Hall
at, 222; Mclntire's plans
of Browne's estate at, 229;
wooden cage at, 232; Haw-
thorne's desk at, 233 ; copy
of scarlet-letter law at, 234
"Evangeline", Longfellow, 15
Exterior wood trim, 47, 54
Facade, of the Rea-Putnam-
Fowler house, 18; of square
three-story houses, 60; of
the Simon Forrester house,
63 ; of the Crowninshield-
Devereux-Waters house, 70 ;
of the Gardner-White-Pingree
house, 88, 89; of the house 12
\ Chestnut Street, 90; of the
Pickman-Shreve-Little house
and the Dodge-Shreve house,
92, 93 ; of the And re w-S afford
house, 96; of the Assembly
Hall, 218; of the Masonic
Temple, 256
Fairfax, William, 232
Fanlights, of the Pierce- Johonnot-
Nichols house, 80, 117; of
the Pickman-Shreve-Little
house, 93 ; of the Hoffman-
Simpson house, 100; develop-
ment of, 108, 112; elliptical,
of the Barstow-West house,
126; glazed, with elliptical
arch, 165; segmental, in Mar-
ket House, 228; of Fenno
house, 242
Fanning, George H., 250
Farrington, Dr. G. P., 41
Fascia, 147, 162
Father Mathew Catholic Total
Abstinence Society, 127, 2H
Federal period of architecture in
Salem, 64
"Federal Street", the tune, 76
Federal type of Colonial archi-
tecture, 62
Felt, quoted or cited, 52, 68, lOi,
102, 109, 220, 229
Fence posts, 120
Fences, of the Ropes Memorial,
49; of the Briggs-Whipple
house and the George M.
Whipple house, 65, 66; of
the Aaron Waite house, 67;
of the Crowninshield-Deve-
reux-Waters house, 71 ; of the
Cook-Oliver house, 76; of
the Pierce - Johonnot - Nichols
house, 80, 117; of the Arthur
W. West house, 91 ; of the
Baldwin-Lyman house, 91,
125; of the Dodge-Shreve and
the Pickman-Shreve-Little
houses, 93 ; of the Mack and
Stone houses, 97 ; of the Gard-
ner-White-Pingree house, 127;
of the George A. Morrill house,
240
Fenestration. See Windows
Fenno (T. Irving) house, 241, 242
Festooned drapery, 62
Fields, James T., 83
Figure work, 196
Fire of 1914, at Salem, 236
Fireback, of the House of the
Seven Gables, 13; of the
Pickering house, 16; early,
184
Fireplace wall, 150, 151; sym-
metrical arrangement of, 152,
153
Fireplaces, in the General Israel
Putnam house, 45, 46; loca-
tion of, 52; early, 184; de-
[268]
Index
velopment of, 185 ; of the
Salem Cadet Armory, 217
Fire sets, 192, 200, 203, 210
First Church, Boston, 20
First Church, Salem, 20, 61
Flagstones, 50
Flemish bond, 86
Flemish brickwork, 2
Flemish tiles, 192
Floor plan, 73
Foreshortening of three-story
houses, 59, 62, 140; at 27
and 29 Daniels Street, 21 ; the
Captain Edward Allen house,
65 ; the Frederick W. Lander
birthplace, 69; the Cook-
Oliver house, 77; the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house, 79 ;
the Gardner-White-Pingree
house, 89; the Peabody-Sils-
bee house, 90
Forrester, John, 217
Forrester (Simon) house, 63, 65 ;
stairway of, 169, 170
Fowler, Augustus, 19
Franklin, the, 71.
Fraternity, Salem, 226, 227
Freestone capitals, 52
"French curb" roof, 35
"French hip" roof, 35
Fresco, 62
Friendship, the, 102
Frieze, of the Stephen W. Phillips
and the Nathan C. Osgood
houses, 138; of "The Lin-
dens", 148; of the Derby-
Crowninshield-Rogers house,
148; of the Crowninshield-
Devereux-Waters house, 159,
160; of the Captain Edward
Allen house, 193 ; of the
Pierce- Johonnot- Nichols
house, 193 ; of the Lindall-
Barnard-Andrews house, 203
Fuller (George W.) house, door-
way of, 250
Furniture, Colonial, 64
Gable-roof houses, 1-17, 18, 62,
72; with gambrel-roof addi-
tions, 47
Gage, General Thomas, 51, 56,
57, 225, 228
Gallier, James, quoted, 224, 225
Gallows Hill, 27
Gambrel roof, introduction of,
30; the prevailing style of
Provincial times, 34; origin
of, 34; derivation of its
name, 36; characteristic pro-
portion and pitch in Salem,
New York, New Jersey, and
Maryland, 37; identified with
the witchcraft delusion, 37;
gambrel lean-to houses (Doc-
tor Henry Wheatland house),
30; gambrel-roof "jut-by"
(Derby-Ward house), 50
Gambrel-roof houses, character-
istics of, 33 ; examples of,
34-57, 246
Gardens, of the Cabot-Endicott-
Low house, 55 ; of Ezekiel
Hersey Derby, 149; the
Derby, 229
Gardner, Captain Joseph, 10
Gardner-White-Pingree house, 88,
89; porch of, 127; windows
of, 141
Garlands, 120
Gateposts, of the Ropes Memo-
rial, 49; of the Aaron Waite
house, 67 ; of the Cook-Oliver
house, 76, 119, 120; of the
Pierce - Johonnot - Nichols
house, 80, 117; of the Bald-
win-Lyman house, 91, 125; of
the Loring-Emmerton house,
94; of the Lindall-Barnard-
Andrews house, no
[269]
Index
Gateways, 60, 64
Georgian architecture, 3, 47, 52-
54, 74, III, 136
Germantown, 7; battle of, 17
Gibson (Lancelot) house, 247
Glass, for windows, 131
Goodale, David, 28
Good ale, Isaac, 27
Goodale (Isaac) house, 27
Goodale, Jacob Oscar, 27
Goodale, Zachariah, 28
Goodell, Zina, 72
Goodhue, Sr., Benjamin, 31
Goodhue, Senator Benjamin, 35
Goodhue (Senator Benjamin)
birthplace, 30, 35, 134
Goodhue (Maria) house, 20, 134
Gothic, last phase of, in England,
2.3
Goss-Osgood house, 68
"Governor's Plain", 20
Grand Turk, the, 65
"Grandfather's Chair", Haw-
thorne, 14
Grangent, Louis, 242
Grates, hob, 189, 197,200,202,208
Graves, Thomas, 7
Gray, John M., 254
Gray, William, Jr., 16
Gray (William, Jr.) residence, 16
Great Swamp Fight, 10, 19
Grecian fret, 147, 156, 182, 191
Greek classics, 74
Greek revival, characteristics, 30,
59, 91, 96, 97, 99
Greenhouse and grapery of John
Fiske Allen, loi, 102
Grimshawe house, 81, 83, 84;
windows of, 141
Guttae, 123
Gutters, 54
H
Half-timber work, 2
Halls, in early Salem houses were
mere entries, 167; an impor-
tant interior feature, 172;
leading to rear door, 172;
of "The Lindens", 175, 176;
of the Pierce- Johonnot-Nich-
ols house, 176; of the Cabot-
Endicott-Low house, 176-178;
of the Pickman-Derby-Brook-
house mansion, 179; arches
in, 181, 182; with semicircular
ends and curved upper por
tion, 182, 183
Hamilton, Alexander, 58, 222
Hamilton Hall, 195, 222-224 <^*>
Hancock, General, 70
Hancock (John) mansion, 56
Hand rails, 93
"Harvard (John) and His An-
cestry", 64
Hathorne, William, 232
Hawthorne, Julian, 82
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, many-
gabled houses of Salem im-
mortalized by, 3, 11-17;
"Note-books", 11, 14; lean-
to house described by, 25 ;
gambrel-roof houses asso-
ciated with, 44, 51; three-
story square houses associated
with, 81-83 '■> ^"<i t^6 Salem
Custom House, 232-234; and
the "Scarlet Letter", 233, 234.
Hawthorne (Nathaniel) birth-
place, 44
Herbert Street residence of Haw-
thorne, 51
Heussler, George, 229
High School, Salem, 230, 231
Hinges, strap, 25, 105 ; wrought-
iron strap or L, 131, 158
Hipped roofs, 62, 67; of the
Hosmer - Townsend - Waters
house, 64; of the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house, 80;
of the house at 1 8 Chestnut
Street, 81 ; of the Wall Street
^>
[270]
Indt
ex
house, 83 ; of the Peabody-
Silsbee house, 90
Hob grates, 189, 197, 200, 202,
208
Hodges, Captain Jonathan, 90
Hodges-Webb-Meek house, 58
Hoffman, Captain Charles, 100
Hoffman house, 123
Hoffman-Simpson house, 100, 139,
182
Holten, Benjamin, 29
Holten, Judge Samuel, 29
Holten (Judge Samuel) house, 29
Home for Aged Women, entrance
of, 121, 129, 130; wood-trim
of, 161-163 ; mantel of, 201,
202; history of, 214
"Homewood", 253, 254
Hooper, Benjamin, 23
Hooper (George L.) house, 249
Hooper, Robert ("King"), 56
Hooper ("King") house, 177
Hooper-Collins house. S^^ "The
Lindens"
Hosmer, Captain Joseph, 64
Hosmer-Townsend-Waters house,
64, 65 ; windows of, 141 ; man-
tel of, 199, 200
" House of the Seven Gables,
The", 3, 11-14, 24, 25; win-
dows of, 133, 134; stairway of,
168
House of the Seven Gables Settle-
ment Association, 9
Hubon house, 175
Hull, Captain Isaac, 223
Hunt (Lewis) house, 11
Huntington, Asahel, 103
I
Ingersoll, Horace, 14
IngersoU, Susan, 13, 14
Interior woodwork, of " The
House of the Seven Gables "
parlor, 12; of the Narbonne
house, 25 ; eighteenth in
seventeenth century houses,
32; of the "Witch house",
41 ; of the Cabot-Endicott-
Low house, 54; of "The
Lindens ", 56, 145, 146; of the
Benjamin Pickman house, 57;
of post-Revolutionary houses,
60; of the Hosmer-Townsend-
Waters house, 64; of the
Pierce - Johonnot - Nichols
house, 78, 81, I50-I53» ^l^-
158; white, charm of, 143;
balance between plain surface
and decoration important,
144; of the Derby-Crown-
inshield-Rogers house, 148,
149; of the Richard Derby
house, 150; of the Putnam-
Hanson house, 152; of the
Pitman house, 152, 153; of the
Cook-Oliver house, 154, 160;
of the Salem Club,i5S; of the
Crowninshield-Devereux-
Waters house, 159, 160; of
the Elias Hasket Derby man-
sion, 160, 161 ; of the Home
for Aged Women, 161-163
Ionic order, 49, 61, 85, 122-124
Iron, wrought and cast, 128
Jacobean house types, 3
Jacobs, George, Sr., 27
Jacobs (George) house, 26; door-
way of, 107; windows, 134
Japan, 71
Jenks, Elisha, 16
Jig-saw work, 71
Johonnot, George, 79
Jones, Inigo, 187, 188
Josselyn, John, 7
"Jut-bys", of the Jacobs house,
26; of the Goodale house,
27; of the Walcott house.
[271 ]
Index
27; of the Derby- Ward house,
50 ; of the Cook-Oliver, 77
K
Kernwood Country Club, The,
218
Keyed lintels, 92, 93, 95, 98
Kimball house, porch of, 122
King Philip's War, 10, 19
Knights of Columbus, 218
Knobs, io8, 115, 240
Knockers, 80, 105, 108, 115, 240
Lafayette, 218, 222
Lander (General Frederick W.)
birthplace, 69, 141
Lander (General Frederick W.)
house, 69
Lang, Benjamin J., 32
Lang, Jeffrey, 32
Lang (Jeffrey) house, 31, 134
Latches, wrought iron, 25, 32;
thumb, 25, 32, 105, 108, 117,
240
Latchstring, 26, 105
Latrobe, B. H., 75, 226
Lawrence, Captain, 70
Leaded glass, 108, 116
Lean-to, of "The House of the
Seven Gables", 12; of the
Pickering house, 16; for en-
largement and also as one
with the main house, 18; a
downward continuation of the
main roof, 18 ; of the Goodhue
and Silsbee houses, 20 ; typical
three-story, 21; of flatter
pitch than main roof, 21 ;
joining house below main
roof, 24 ; with a gambrel roof,
25; the "jut-by" lean-to,
26, 27; across the gable end
of the main house, 29, 45 ;
springing from the eaves of a
gambrel roof, 31
Lean-to houses, 18-33, 37; as
prototype for modern build-
ings, 238; the George A.
Morrill house, 239-241; the
Noyes house, 241
Ledge-stone houses of Pennsyl-
vania, 7
Lee (Jeremiah) mansion, 56
Lenox, Mass., 82
Leslie, Colonel, 51, 56, 63
"Life of Longfellow", Samuel
Longfellow, 15
Lime, for mortar, 7, 8 ; of shells,
7
Lindall, Timothy, 48
Lindall-Barnard-Andrews house,
47; doorway of, 110; stair-
way of, 171, 174; mantels of,
203, 204
Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood house, 53,
58; windows of, 141
"Lindens, The", balustraded roof
of, 49; architect of, 54; ex-
terior features of, 54, 55 ;
named by Francis Peabody,
57; paneling of, 145, 146;
hall and stairway of, 175,
176; back stairway of, 178;
chimney piece of, 187; mantel
of, 191
Lintels, 138; of the Baldwin-
Lyman and the Pickman-
Shreve-Little houses, 92, 140;
of the Loring-Emmerton
house, 93 ; of the Andrew-
Safford and Dodge-Shreve
houses, 95 ; of the Mack and
Stone houses, 98; of the
Hoffman-Simpson house, 100,
139; of the James W, Thomp-
son house, 139; of the Charles
Sanders house, 140; of the
Salem Cadet Armory, 216
Little, Philip, 87
[272]
Index
Little and Brown, 242
Locks, 22, 108
Log cabins, i
Longfellow, Samuel, 15
Looney, Caroline O., 28
Loring, George Bailey, 94
Loring-Emmerton house, 93, 94
Lothrop, Captain Thomas, 19
Low, Daniel, 31, 55
Lowestoft ware, 188
L's, 62, 70, 73 ; of the Aaron
Waite house, 67; of the
William G. Rantoul house,
68 ; of the Cook-Oliver house,
77; of the Gardner-White-
Pingree house, 88
Ludlow, Lieutenant, 70
Luscomb, Samuel, 225
Lyndhurst, Baron, 44
M
MacDuff, a. J., 241
Mack, Esther, 213
Mack and Stone houses, 97, 98
Mack Industrial School, 212, 213
Mahogany, 174
Manning homestead, 44
Manor houses, English, 2
Mansard, Francois, 34
Mansard roof, origin of, 34; in
America, 35 ; in Paris, 36
Mansfield-Bolles house, 87, 88;
porch of, 129
Mantels, in the Narbonne house,
25 ; in Mclntire's house, 75 ;
in the Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols
house, 81, 188, 189; of the
Derby -Crowninshield - Rogers
house, 149, 204; of the
Putnam-Hanson house, 152;
of the Pitman house, 152;
of the Cook-Oliver house,
154, 19s. I97» 207; develop-
ment of, 185; crowning fea-
ture of the room, 186; articles
displayed on, 188; designs
of Mclntire in, 189, 190;
designs of the Adam brothers
in, 190; in Adams manner,
placed against shelfless panel-
ing, 191 ; of the Read Man-
sion, 191, 192; of the Cap-
tain Edward Allen house, 192,
193; of the Cook-Oliver house,
i95> 1975 of Hamilton Hall,
195; of the Derby-Crownin-
shield-Rogers house, 196; of
the Peabody-Silsbee house,
197, 198; of the Hosmer-
Townsend-Waters house, 199,
2CO; of the Woman's Friend
Society and the Pickman
house, 200, 201, 202; of the
Home for Aged Women, 201,
202; of the Lindall-Barnard-
Andrews house, 203 ; of the
Daniel P. Waters house, 204,
205 ; of the Crowninshield-
Devereux-Waters house, 206
Mantel-tree, 185
Marble, exterior bands of, 88 ;
lintels, 139, 140
Margaret, the, 6
Market House, Salem, 76, 78,
227-230
Marston, Benjamin, 52
Marston (Benjamin) house, 52
Maryland Historical Society, 75
Masonic Temple, Salem, 61, 217,
255-257
Massachusetts Magazine, quoted,
219
Massachusetts State House, 73
Mather, Rev. Cotton, 27
Matterson, the artist, 27
McClellan, General, 70
Mclntire, Joseph, 43
Mclntire, Samuel, Read house
designed by, 10, 191 ; Ruck
house owned by his father, 43 ;
birthplace and home of, 43 ;
[273 ]
Index
added porch to the Benjamin
Pickman house, 57; Elias
Hasket Derby mansion de-
signed by, 61, 62; Stearns
house porch by, 63 ; Hosmer-
Townsend-Waters house by,
64 ; Pierce- Johonnot- Nichols
house by, 66, 78, 117, 188,
189; Courthouse of 1785 by,
66 ; Crovvninshield-Devereux-
Waters house by, 71 ; home
of, 72, 74; Salem architecture
for thirty years dominated by,
73 ; obtained individuality
through variation of the
floor plan, 73 ; enriched the
Colonial house type of his
day by the beautiful details
of his doorways, porches, win-
dows, cornices, deck roofs,
belvederes, pilasters, 73 ; suc-
cessful in foreshortening third
stories, 73 ; adapted his mo-
tives directly from the Greek
and Roman classics, 74; his
doorways, chimney pieces, and
wood trim have influenced
more modern Colonial work
than those of any other early
American architect, 74; plans
and tools of, at the Essex In-
stitute, 74; his design for the
national capitol at the Mary-
land Historical Society, 74;
his shop, music room, and
organ, 75; Cook-Oliver gate-
posts hand-tooled by, 76;
architect of the Cook-Oliver
house, 76, 119, 154; displayed
his best efforts on the wood-
work, mantels, and chimney
pieces of the Pierce- Johonnot-
Nichols house, 81; brick
houses which are the work of,
or show his influence, 86;
Gardner-White-Pingree house
designed by, 88, 127; Pea-
body-Silsbee house designed
by, 89; Home for Aged
Women designed by, 121, 161 ;
house at 14 Pickman Street
erected by, 122; window-
heads in Cook-Oliver house
t>y> 137; excelled in interior
woodwork, 144; "Oak Hill"
designed by, 150; under the
spell of the Adams brothers,
155; his use of the broken
flight, 169; David P. Waters
house designed by, 171 ; under
the spell of Chippendale, 180;
his mantels, 190, 197, 203-
205, 207; his eagles, 198, 200,
223, 232; Tucker-Rice house
designed by, 211; Assembly
Hall designed by, 218; Court-
house of 1785 designed by,
219; his bas-relief of George
Washington, 221; Washing-
ton Hall designed by, 222;
South Church erected by,
224; architect of many public
buildings, 226; Bentley's
diary on, 226
Mclntire (Samuel) house, 43
Medallions, 147
Meek house, 113
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
161
Miller, General James, 214, 232
Minerva, the, 71
Mocha trade, 71
Modillions, of the Cook-Oliver
house, 77 ; of the Arthur W.
West house, 91 ; of the Pick-
man-Shreve-Little and the
Dodge-Shreve house, 92 ; of
the Andrew-Saff^ord house, 95,
163 ; of the Meek house, 113 ;
of the Home for Aged Women,
162
Molding, ball, 90, 95, 97, 100,
[274]
Indt
ex
123; rope, 162, 197, 202;
bolection, 163, 187; dentic-
ulated, 181, 208; ovolo, 189,
209; ogee, 189,208; double-
denticulated, 193, 209; hand-
planed, 195; hand-tooled
vertical, fluted, 195 ; of the
Derby - Crowninshield - Rog-
ers mantels, 196; of the
Hosmer - Townsend - Waters
house, 200
Monroe, President, 214, 228
Morgan, J. Pierpont, 57
Morgan sisters, 36
Morrill, George A., house of,
239-241
Mount Vernon, the, 6
Musical instruments, 206, 207, 208
Mutules, 122
N
Narbonne house, 24, 134
Naumkeag, i, 130
Newels, 55; spiral, 162; struc-
tural uprights, 168; cork-
screw, 170; splendid work-
manship in, 174, 175; in
the C a b o t-E n d i c o t t-L o w
house, 178; accompanying
twisted balusters, 178; at
"The Lindens", 178; of the
Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols house
stairway, 180
Nichols, George, 78, 79
Nichols-Shattuck house, 123
North American Review, quoted,
224, 225
North Bridge, 17, 48, 51, 57, 63
North Church, Salem, 48
North River, Plymouth County,
North River, Salem, 78
" Notes", Hawthorne, 11, 14
Noyes (Mrs. L. E.) house, 241
Noyes, Rev. Nicholas, 61
Now and Then Association, 218
Nurse, Francis, 20
Nurse, Rebecca, 19, 20
O
"Oak Hill", 150
Oblong three-story houses, 62,
72, 73, 87; the William G.
Rantoul house, 68; at 18
Ch«tnut Street, 81 ; the Mall
Street house, 83 ; the Gard-
ner-White-Pingree house, 88
"Old Bakery", 15
Old North Church, Boston, 27
"Old Salem ", 36
Oliver, General Henry Kemble,
76, 23 1
Oliver Primary School, 230
Openings, round-headed, 165;
elliptical-headed, 165
"Orchard Farm ", 20
Orders, free use made of, 119
Orne, Timothy, 67, 68
Orne (Timothy) house, 67
Orthodox Congregational Society,
225
Osburn, Alexander, 5
Osburn, Sarah Prince, 5, 6
Osburn (Sarah Prince) house,
doorway of, 107
Osgood (Nathan C.) house, 137
Outbuildings, 5, 80
Overhang, 21 ; on the Prince
farmhouse, 5 ; on the Becket
cottage, 6, 9; in England, 7;
on "The House of the Seven
Gables", 16; on the "Old
Bakery", 23; on the "Witch
house", 38; gambrel gable
overhang on the Diman house,
42; the primitive cornice, 42
Overmantel, 188, 189, 191 ; of
the Pitman house, 153; of
the Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols,
209, 210
[275]
Index
Palings and posts, 67, 68
Palladian windows, of the George
M. Whipple house, (^\ in
the fafade, 91-93 ; of the
Pickman-Shreve-Little house
and the Dodge-Shreve house,
92, 93 ; of the Loring-Em-
merton house, 94; of the
Whipple house, 116; of porch
of the Pickman-Shreve-Little
house, 125; of the Dodge-
Shreve entrance, 126; of the
Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood house
and the Pierce- Johonnot-
Nichols house, 141, 142, 176,
180; of "The Lindens", 176;
of Hamilton Hall, 223 ; of the
Market House, 228; of the
Custom House, 235; of the
T. Irving Fenno house, 242;
of the B. Parker Babbidge
house, 248; of the Peabody
Building, 252
Paneling, in the Narbonne house,
25 ; of the Forrester house
door, 63 ; of the Richard
Derby house door, 63 ; of
the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
house doors, 80, 150, 151;
square, flat, and sunken, 106;
beveled sunken, 106; molded
and raised, 107; molded and
flat, 107; six-panel doors,
107; four-panel doors, 107;
of the Lind all- Barnard-An-
drews doorway, 1 10 ; of "The
Lindens", 145, 146; in the
Elias Hasket Derby mansion,
161 ; in the Cabot-Endicott-
Low house, 177; in hall of
the Babbidge-Crowninshield-
Bowker house, 178; bas-relief,
197
Panes, square, 106; diamond.
131; size of, 132; number
of, 132, 133
Parkman, Deliverance, 39
Parkman (Deliverance) house, il
Peabody, Francis, 57, 89
Peabody, Colonel Francis, 215
Peabody, George, London banker,
89, 216
Peabody, Colonel George, mer-
chant, 98, 217
Peabody, Captain Joseph, 1 1, 71,
191, 215
Peabody, Joseph Augustus, 215
Peabody, Dr. Nathaniel, 82, 84
Peabody, Sophia Amelia, 84
Peabody, S. Endicott, 89
Peabody and Stearns, 251
Peabody Building, 252, 253
Peabody-Silsbee house, 89, 90;
porch of, 122, 123, 140; man-
tel of, 197, 198
Peabody, Mass., 89; houses, 27
Peabody Museum, 62
Peaked-roof houses, 1-17, 37, 41
Pediment, segmental, 54, 56;
triangular, 54
Pedimental porches and door-
ways, 45, 47, so, 109-113, 116
Peele, Willard, 91
Penthouse roof, 6
Perpendicular Gothic, 3
" Peter Goldthwaite's Treasure",
Hawthorne, 11
Phillips, Stephen C, 9
Phillips, Stephen W., 244
Phillips (Stephen W.) house, 137
Pickering, Henry, 98
Pickering, John, 16, 98
Pickering, John, son of Timothy,
17, 223, 225, 229
Pickering, Colonel Timothy, 17,
223
Pickering (Colonel Timothy)
house, II, 16
Pickering-Mack house, 127
Pickets, 71
[276]
Indi
ex
Pickman, Benjamin, 44
Pickman, Benjamin, Jr., 61
Pickman (Benjamin) house, 54,
57> 177 > mantel of, 200, 201
Pickman-Derby-Brookhouse man-
sion, 61, 179
Pickman-Shreve-Little house, 86,
92, 93 ; doorway of, 125 ;
lintel of, 140
Pierce, Betsey, 79
Pierce, Jerathmel, 66, 78
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols house,
finest wooden house in New
England, 66, 78; decked
roof of, 68 ; designed by
Mclntire, 78; gradual de-
velopment of, 78 ; garden
of, 78, 79; sold to George
Johonnot in 1827, 79; pur-
chased by the Essex Institute
for preservation in 1917, 79;
more pleasing than most
square Salem houses, 79;
decked roof and corner pilaster
treatments its particular dis-
tinction, 80; porches, door-
ways, and fences of, 80; out-
buildings and brick paved
court, 80 ; woodwork, mantels,
and chimney pieces of, 81;
porches of, 114, 115, 117;
windows of, 140, 141; sur-
base in, 147, 148; fireplace
wall in, 150, 151, 153; doors
and embrasured windows of,
151, 152; the east parlor of,
155-158; stairway of, 168,
174,179,180; Palladian win-
dow of, 1 76 ; interior of front
door of, 180, 181 ; mantel of,
188, 189; chimney-piece of,
193, 194, 208-210
Pilaster treatments, 50, 80, 156
Pilasters, 53, 110, 114, 116, 117;
paneled, 162, 192, 204, 209;
reeded, 198, 199, 209
Pineapple doorway, iii, 112
Pitman house, 152
Planters, i
Plaster, on oak laths, 2; on
walls, 7, 23
Plaster coving, 20
Plummer, Caroline, 253
Plummer, Ernestus Augustus,
253
Plummer Hall, 253
Police Station, Salem, 254, 255
Pope, Nathaniel, 28
Porches, inclosed, of the Becket
cottage, 9; of the Rea-Put-
n am- Fowler house, 18; of the
Holten house, 29; of the
Dr. Henry Wheatland house,
30 ; of Hawthorne's Dearborn
Street house, 45 ; of the
General Israel Putnam house,
46 ; of the Derby-Ward house,
50; of the Benjamin Pick-
man house, 57; of the Stearns
house, 63 ; of the Forrester
house, 63 ; of the Hosmer-
Townsend-Waters house, 64;
of the Boardman house, 64;
of the Captain Edward Allen
house, 65 ; of the George M.
Whipple house, 66; of the
William G. Rantoul house, 68 ;
of the Crowninshield-Deve-
reux-Waters house, 70; ellip-
tical, 70; of the Cook-Oliver
house, 76, 77; of the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house, 80;
of the Grimshawe house, 83,
84; Doric, of the Gardner-
White-Pingree house, 90; of
the house 12 Chestnut Street,
91 ; Corinthian, of the Pick-
man-Shreve-Little house and
the Dodge-Shreve house, 92,
93 ; best hand-carved Corin-
thian, in America, 93 ; of the
Loring-Emmerton house, 94;
[277]
Index
of the Andrew-SafFord house,
96; of the Hoffman-Simpson
house, 100; with seats, 109;
gable-roof inclosed, 109, 113,
114; Doric, on house at
23 Summer Street, 114; of
the Boardman house and
the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols
house, 114, 115, 117; of
Whipple house, 115, 116; of
Stearns house, 117; of the
Cook-Oliver house, 119; of
the Kimball house, 122; of
the Peabody-Silsbee house,
122, 123; other similar, 123;
of the Gardner and Thompson
houses, 124; of the Salem
Club, 124; of the Baldwin-
Lyman house, 125; of the
Barstow-West house, 126; el-
liptical, 127; of the Tucker-
Rice house and the Gardner-
White-Pingree house, 127, 128,
211; of the Andrew-Safford
house, 128; of the Assembly
Hall, 219
Portico, 95 ; used as veranda,
213
Post Office, Salem, 251
Pownall, Governor, 58
Poynton (Thomas) house, in,
112
Prescott, William Hickling, 10,
191
Prince, Dr. Jonathan, 29
Prince, Robert, 5, 6
Prince (Robert) farmhouse, 3, 5
Prince, Sarah, 5, 6
Privateers, 6
Public buildings, English, 2; of
Salem, 211-235
Putnam, Anne, 133
Putnam (Anne) house, 133
Putnam, Benjamin, 20
Putnam, Captain Edmund, 19
Putnam, Eleanor, 36
Putnam, Elias, 19
Putnam, General Israel, 28, 45,
46
Putnam (General Israel) birth-
place, doorway of, 116
Putnam (Jesse) house, 30, 134
Putnam, John, 20, 28, 45
Putnam, Joseph, 28, 45, 46
Putnam, Deacon Joseph, 30
Putnam, Lieutenant Thomas, 45
Putnam-Hanson house, 152
Puttenham family, 45
Q
QUOINED CORNER BOARDS, 53, 55,
60, 63, 67
Rafters, 42
Rantoul, William G., 68, 244,
254
Rantoul (William G.) house, 68,
69, 141
Rea, Bethia, 19
Rea, Daniel, 19
Rea-Putnam- Fowler house, 18,
26, 134
Read, Nathan, 10, 191
Read (Nathan) house, 11, 191
Recovery, the, 6
Redemptioners, 5
Reed, spiral, 160
Reeded ovolo, 157
Reedings, 160
Renaissance in England, 2
Returns on gable ends, 50
Revere, Paul, 17, 51
Revolution, American, 19, 46, 59,
62, 67, 79
Richardson, A. G., 238, 248
Robinson, John, 62, 88, 104
Rogers, John, 61
Rogers, Mrs. J. C, 150 ^
Rogers, Richard S., 150
[278]
Index
Roman classics, 74
Roofs, gable and peaked, 1-17;
steep pitched for thatch, 4, 6,
7, 16, 21, 24; less steeply
pitched, 18; single-pitched,
18; mansard, 34-36;
"French curb" and "French
hip", 35 ; decked, 49, 60,
61, 67-69, 77, 80, 89, 90;
hip, 60, 61 ; segmental, 52.
See Balustraded
Ropes, Eliza Orne, 49
Ropes, Mary Pickman, 49
Ropes, Nathaniel, 48
Ropes Memorial, 37, 48, 120, 121
Rubble masonry, 2
Ruck, Thomas, 43
Ruck (Thomas) house, 42, 43
Rumford ovens, 58
Run, stairway, 169
Running bond, 86
Rusticated boarding, 53, 55, 59,
61, 67
St. John's Normal College, 6
Salem, Mass., first houses of, i, 3 ;
beginnings of its architectural
history, 2; many-gabled
houses in, 3, 12; thatch roofs
in, 4, 5; merchant marine
of, 6; overhang character-
istics of seventeenth-century
dwellings, 6; brickwork in
architecture of, first brick
house, 21 ; Colonial and Pro-
vincial periods in, 34; three-
story square houses excel in,
59; widely known for its
Colonial residences and build-
ings, 73 ; the architecture of,
between 1818 and 191 8, 99-
104 ; the welcoming doorways
of, 118; excellence of work
of wood-carvers of, 144; in-
stitutions of, housed in old
dwellings, 211-235; fire of
1914 at, 236; recent buildings
of, Colonial in design and mo-
tives, 237, 238, 250
Salem Athenaeum, 253, 254
Salem Cadet Armory, 215-217
Salem Club, 217; entrance of,
124; detail of a private
dining room in, 155; hall of,
181-183
Salem Public Library, 218
"Salem Witchcraft", Upham, 103
Saltonstall, Leverett, 124
Saltonstall-Tuckerman house, 124
Sand as a floor covering, 26
Sanders (Charles) house, 140
Sashes, 42 ; diamond-shaped, 9,
22, 131; square-paned, 106;
sliding, 131, 132; many-
paned, 132, 133 ; twelve-
paned, 133; eight-paned, 133 ;
nine-paned, 134; six-paned,
I34> 13s; single and ■ two-
piece, 140; three-pane and
six-pane, 140; double six-
pane, 141 ; double eight-pane,
141 ; double three-pane, 141 ;
solid, 141 ; nine-paned solid,
141 ; fifteen-paned, 242
"Scarlet Letter", Hawthorne, 82,
83. 233. 234
Screw bead, 191, 201
Screw reeds, 201
Seaman (Francis A.) house, 246,
247
Seaman's "Bethel", 15
Seaman's Orphan and Children's
Friend Society, 218
Second Church, Salem, 31, 42,
224
Semi-detached houses, merits of,
243, 244; example of houses
resembling, 244-246
Shannon, the, 70, 225
Sheffield patent, I
[279]
Index
Sherman, General William T.,
55
Shingles, on steep-pitched roof,
perpetuating the thatch tra-
dition, 4, 7; as a roof cover-
ing, 7
Ship's lamp, 240
Ships, merchant, 6
Shutters, 25, 158, 159
Sidelights, 107, 108; of the house
26 Dearborn Street, 45; of
the Derby-Ward house, 50; of
the Arthur W. West house,
91 ; of the Dodge-Shreve and
the Pickman - Shreve - Little
house, 93 ; of the Hoffman-
Simpson house, 100; of the
Whipple house, 115
"Sign of the Globe" tavern, 10
Silsbee, Nathaniel, 20, 102
Silsbee (Nathaniel) house, 20
Silsbee-Mott house, 96, 97
Simpson, Dr. James E., 100
Skirting, 168
South Church, Salem, 224-226
South Salem, 66
Spheres, band of, 201
Sprague, Colonel Joseph, 63
Square three-story brick houses,
examples, 85-104
Square three-story wood houses,
examples, 59-84
Stable doors, 67
Stables, 61, 80, 90, 91
Stackpole, Charles R., 27
Stage Point, 66
Stair ends, 57, 180
Stair rails, 128, 169, 174
Stairways of " The House of the
Seven Gables", 13 ; of the
John Ward house, 22; of
"The Lindens", 56, 175;
in form of broken flights, 168,
169; of the Captain Edward
Allen house, 170; "winders",
170-172; direction of flight
reversed, 173; of the Cook-
Oliver house, 173 ; of the
Derby- Crowninshield - Rogers
house, 173 ; of the Daniel P.
Waters house, 173; of the
Cabot-Endicott-Low house,
176-178; back, at "The Lin-
dens", 178; of the Babbidge-
Crowninshield-Bowker house,
178; of the Pickman-Derby-
Brookhouse mansion, 179;
transition, style, and later
development of the Colonial,
179; of the Pierce- Johonnot-
Nichols house, 179, 180
Stearns house, 62, 63 ; porch of,
117
Stone, Deacon John, 88, 103
Stone, quarried, 2 ; as a building
material in New England, 53
String course of cornice, 156
Strings, qlose and cut, 168
"Studio, The", 103, 104
Summer beams, 22,23, 25, 45, 151
Sun porch, 81
Sun Tavern, 16
Surbase, surmounting die, 147;
a horizontal molding or group
of moldings, 147; resembling
upper fascia, 147; in Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house, 147,
148; in Derby-Crowninshield-
Rogers house, 148; festoon
scheme of, 148
Tabernacle Church, 225
Thatch roofs, 4, 5, 18
Thayer, John, 88
Thayer, Captain Oliver, 225
Thompson, Benjamin (Cou
Rumford), 58
Thompson, Rev. James W., 104
Thompson (Rev. James W.)
house, 139
[280]
Indi
ex
Thornton, William, 75
Three-story houses. See Square
Thumb latches, 25, 32, 105, 108,
117, 240
Tiles, as a roof covering, 5;
Flemish, 192
Tip table, 177
Tontine Block, 79, 244; houses
erected on site of, 244-246
Top-lights, 32, 107, 108
Town Hall, Salem, 228
Transoms, 91, 97, 107, 165
Transverse or tie courses, 86
Tucker-Rice house, porch of,
127, 211; purchased by the
Father Mathew Catholic Total
Abstinence Society, 211
Tudor characteristics, 3, 20
Turner, Ross, 128
Tuscan order, 70
"Twice Told Tales", Hawthorne,
12
U
Upham, Rev. Charles W., 103
Upham, William P., 88
Urns, 80, no, 117, 226
Verandas, 69, 124
Verge boards, 32, 54; double,
the forerunner of moldings,
SO
Victoria regia, the, lOi
Victorian decadence, 17, 35, 81,
99
W
Wainscots, paneled, 150, 169
Waite (Aaron) house, 66
Walcott, John, 28
Walcott (John) house, 27
Wall papers, advent of, 8, 146;
in the General Israel Putnam
house, 45; of the Putnam-
Hanson house, 152; of the
Pitman house, 153; of the
Cook-Oliver house, 155, 207;
of the Elias Hasket Derby
mansion, 161; of "The Lin-
dens", 17s, 176
Ward, John, 21
Ward (John) house, 21-24, 133,
134
Ward, Miles, 51
Washington, George, 46, 64, 218,
221
"Washington (George) and His
Ancestry, An Examination
into", Fitz-Gilbert, 64
Washington Hall, 222
Water table, 53
Waters, Abigail, 71
Waters (David P.) house, stair-
way of, 171, 173; mantel of,
204, 205
Waters, Henry Fitz-Gilbert, 64
Waters (John) house, 30
Waters, Captain Joseph, 213
Waters, Judge Joseph G., 213
Waters, Richard, 26
Waters, William Crowninshield,
71
Waters, Captain William Dean,
71
Webb, Dr. William, 23
Weir house, 112
West, Arthur W., 90
West (Benjamin) house, 58
West, Nathaniel, 71, 104
Wheatland, Dr. Henry, 30, 35
Wheatland (Dr. Henry) house,
30» 35
Wheatland, Mrs. Richard, 104
Whipple (George M.) house, 66;
porch, 115, 116
White-Lord house, doorway of,
113 ; windows, 135
White pine, 143
[281]
Indt
ex
Whitewashing plastered walls, 8
"Winders", 170-172
Window beads, 52, 68, 77, 136,
137
Window casings, 80; early, 135,
136; molded after manner
of architrave, 136; with beads
above architrave, 136
Window frames, 52, 68, 77;
limitations imposed by brick-
work on, 138
Windows, many-paned, 15, 25,
29, 32, 42, 50; oval, 18, so;
of the Bishop-Nurse house,
19; foreshortened, 21, 62,
65,69; peaked, 22; dormer,
22, 30, 44, 47, 54-56; case-
ment, 22 ; of the George
Jacobs house, 26; of the
Clark house, 28 ; of the house
at 8 Hardy Street, 42; oval-
topped, 55; of the Rantoul
house, 69; of the Cook-
Oliver house, 77; of the
Mansfield-Bolles house, 87;
of the Peabody-Silsbee and
the Gardner-White-Pingree
houses, 90; of the Baldwin-
Lyman house, 91 ; of the
Dodge-Shreve entrance, 126;
eighteen-paned, 134; fifteen-
paned, 134; sixteen-paned,
134; twelve-paned, 135; four-
paned, 135; three-sash, 139;
of the Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols
house, 140, 156, 158; em-
brasured, 150-152, 156;
of "The Lindens", 176; of
the Bertram Home for Aged
Men, 213; of the Salem Cadet
Armory, 216, 217; of the
Market House, 228; of the
old High School, 231; of
the Morrill house, 240, 241 ;
thirty-paned, of the T. Irving
Fenno house, 242; of the
Post Office building, 251;
of the Peabody Building, 253 ;
of the Masonic Temple, 256.
See Palladian, Sashes
Wings, 4, 62 ; of the Crownin-
shield - Devereux - Waters
house, 70, 72; of the Pierce-
Johonnot-Nichols house, 80;
of the house at 18 Chestnut
Street, 81; of the Mall Street
house, 83 ; of the Mansfield-
Bolles house, 87; of the house
at 23 Summer Street, 114
Winthrop, Governor John, 10
Winthrop, Lucy, 10
" Witch house", 37, 133
Witchcraft delusion, 6, 19, 27,
28, 34, 61
Witchcraft photographs, 88
Woman's Friend Society, mantel
of, 200, 201, 202, 212
Wood as a building material, 2
"Wood-Carver of Salem, The",
Cousins and Riley, 72
Wood-carvers, ablest work of,
in three-story square Salem
houses, 59; of Salem, ex-
cellence of their work, 144
Wood finish. See Interior
Wood trim, 32, 75
"Yesterdays with Authors'
Fields, 83
Yorktown, battle of, 59
[282]
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