MCINTIRE HISTORIC DISTRICT: FINAL REPORT M
CINTIRE HISTORIC DISTRICT: FINAL REPORt!
Salem Historical Commission
CITY HALL, SALEM. MASS. 01970
WINTIRE HISTORIC DISTRICT
Final Report by
Salem Historical Commission
January 1981
Errata 7/81 1 page 4, line 5 "...exclude five buildings on Summer Street
and two buildings on Crombie Street..."
page 13. line 3 "24_�_buildings" NOT "252 buildings"
page 13. line 7 "407 buildings" NOT "410 buindings"
TABLE OF CONTENTS
IINTRODUCTION......................... ...a................... 1
II INVENTORY AND BOUNDARY JUSTIFICATIONS....................... 2
III IESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED DISTRICT........ ...... ..... .... . 4
, .Iv_'. OPTIONS AND WCOWNDATIONS........ ......................... 13
V BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................ 14
VI APPENDICES
Appendix At McIntire Historic District Map................. 16
Appendix Bt Photographs.................................... 17
Appendix Ca Draft Ordinance.*... 23
I
INTRODUCTION
In 19710 when the first historic district in Salem was created,
the Chestnut Street Historic District offered the protection of exterior
design review to 41 buildings located on a street of national architectural
renown. Since that time, the City of Salem has created local historic
districts in the Derby Street and Washington Square areas as well as an
additional district in the western historic section of the city, the
Federal Street Area Historic District. The establishment of the Federal
Street Area Historic District in 1976 recognized the importance of the
historic neighborhood and defined boundaries encompassing not simply
Federal Street but sidestaaets as well. Following this concept of the
value of preservation of an entire neighborhood of fine historic
architecture, the Salem Historical Commission now proposes an enlarged
district merging the Chestnut Street and Federal Street districts and
including Essex Street and a large number of smaller and sidestreets.
Together these constitute a residential neighborhood settled primarily
during the Federal period as homesites were sought away from the busy
commercial activity. Residential use predominates today as visitors
and new and old homeowners alike seek it out in appreciation of the
historic fabric of an area of over four- hundred structures, a fabric
that enhances the finest architecture as well as the vernacular.
II
INVENTORY AND BOUNDARY JUSTIFICATIONS
The Commission first directed its attention to the expansion
of the Chestnut Street district in January, 1978 following passage
of the Washington Square Historic District Ordinance in the fall of
1977. The Washington,Square project completed, the Commission turned
to expanding protection for the Chestnut Street neighborhood. The
vulnerability of Essex Street to uncontrolled change detmimental to
its historic character and its strategic location bisecting the
Chestnut and Federal Street areas strongly influenced the Commission
toward a merged district.
A substantial amount of survey work had been completed in the 1960's
and through the original Salem Historic District Study Committee
Investigation report or was in process through Historic Salem Inc.'e
inventory project. The Commission was, therefore, able to identify
working boundaries constituting a relatively homogeneous neighborhood
of architectural styles from the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Chestnut Street National Register Historic District, established in
1973 and enlarged in 1978, identified substantially similar boundaries
with the exception that the proposed district includes architecture of
the colonial revival style in the Warren Street area which both contributes
positively to the historic quality of the neighborhood as well as recognizing
the continuing influence of architecture of the earlier period. Boundary
decisions were also influenced by requests from homeowners which occured
in the cases of Warren Street, North Street, South Pine Street, North Pine—
Fowler Streets, and Federal _Street beyond Flint Street. Input from the
2
Massachusetts Historical Commission early in the process strongly
supported inclusion of Essex Street.
With rough boundaries identified, the Commission turned directly
to homeowners and residents to assess their interest in historic district
protection. A group of about fourteen homeownes from across the proposed
district met in June, 1978 to ask questions about historic district status
in preparation for meeting with their neighbors to poll their support.
Results of that polling suggested enthusiastic support for the enlarged
district, and, at that time, the Commission proceeded with compiling and
completing inventory, photographs, and other materials for the Preliminary
Report submitted to the Massachusetts Historical Commission on July 18, 1980
and the Salem Planning Hoard on July 21, 1980.
After the minimum sixty day period, the Commission's public hearing
on the proposed district was held on October 19 1980, Hamilton Hall,
7 Cambridge Street, Salem. At that time, statements of endorsement for the
district were in hand from both the Salem Planning Board and the Massachusetts
Historical Commission. Boundary recommendations made by the Massachusetts
Historical Commission resulted in the inclusion of an additional five
structures on Hathorne Street, and these were included in the proposal
presented at the hearing.
Approximately 80 individuals attended the public hearing including
three members of the Salem City Council. The call for expressions of
support or opposition toward the proposal from others attending°brought
53 statements endorsing the district. No statements of opposition were
made. This overwhelming support for the district expressed at the hearing
was supplemented by numerous petitions collected by interested property
owners. , The Commission has also received letters of endorsement for the
3
i
district from the Roped Mansion, 318 Essex Street; the Standing Committee
of the First Church in Salemp 316 Essex Street; and the Vestry at Grace
Church, 381 and 385 Essex Street.
Following the public hearingp a final boundary change was voted by
the Commission to exclude five buildings. on Summer Street already included
in Heritage Plaza—West. Comments made at the public hearing and in
conversations with district property owners also suggested reconsideration
of the proposed district,nama. the Chestnut Street Area Historic District.
A search for a more 'general name began following the Commission's finding
that a number of property owners were not pleased with the narrowness of
the Chestnut Street titlep feeling that it identified and recognized only
Chestnut Street to the exclusion of other streets. After careful thought,
the Commission voted to adopt the name McIntire Historic District, The. T
importance to the district of_noted Salem builder architect Samuel McIntire
exists in the physical form of structures in which he had a direct hand
or influenced through his designs as well as in the symbolic form as a
representative of the artistic and cultural style of the Federal period,
the period from which the district derives its predominate character.
III
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED DISTRICT
Historic and Architectrual Summary
The proposed McIntire Historic District is one of the finest architectural
neighborhoods in America as well as a monument to the mercantile and maritime
ascendancy of Salem in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The
proposed district encompasses a predominately residential area of approximately
fifty actes in the western part of Salem. It contains over four hundred
buildings dating from the seventeenth through the early twentieth centuries
°and designed in a_range of styles including Colonial, Georgians Federal
Adamesque Federal, Greek Revivals Gothic Revivals Italianate# and Colonial
Revival. • The most important streets in the district are those running
east and west: Federal Streets Essex Streetq Chestnut Streets and
parts of Broad Street. It is on these four streets that the finest
architecture and most historically significant buildings appear.
!While Chestnut Street itself is already a local historic districts
as is Federal Street along with the streets adjacent to its these areas
comprise only a portion of a larger coherent neighborhood. This area
includes those sections of western Salem that survived the great fire
of 1914 as well as the abutting streets that were rebuilt with an
architecturally appropriate flavor immediately following the fire.
The earliest houses in the district are the Pickering House (1651)
and the "Witch House" (c. 1674). The Pickering Houses built by John
Pickering and occupied by ten generations of the Pickering family, is
one of the oldest buildings in continuous family ownership in the United
States. Col. Timothy Pickering was a national figure in the early days
of the Republic, serving as Secretary of State and Secretary of War
under Washingtong and Secretary of State and Secretary of the Navy under
John Adams. His song John, was a noted scholar, Ambassador to Portugalp and
one of the principal developers of Salem in the Federal period. On the
other side of the districts the "Witch House" is a restored example of-7
a seventeenth century New England "Great House." It was owned during
the Salem witch hysteria by one of the infamous trial judges. Johnathan
Corwing and is now administered as an historic house museum by the Salem
Park Department.
The money that built the substantial houses and mansions of the
succeeding decades was the product of Salem's maritime trades with the
5 �
West Indies in the eighteenth century, and with the East Indies, China,
and the Pacific Coast of North America from the 1780's through the 1850's.
By the time Salem's maritime primacy had declined (due to ever-increasing
vessel sizes and the shallow Salem harbor), the commercial and cultural
expansion which the port had undergone in the previous one hundred and
fifty years left a lasting impression in the form of architecture. It is
the styles from this greatest period of architectural development, the
Georgian, Federal, and Adamesque Federal modes, which predominate and
establish the area's character.
A fine example of Salem's Georgian architecture is the Joseph Cabot
House (c. 1748) at 365 Essex Street, possibly designed by an Englishman,
and at one time the home of William C. Endicott, Secretary of War under
Cleveland. The Ropes Mansion (1719) at 318 Essex Street was once the
home of the prominent Tory, Judge Ropes. It was one of the first colonial
house museums in the country when it was opened to the public in 1907.
The Cabot and Ropes Houses epitomize the Georgian influence on Salem's
pre-revolutionary architecture and are the finest examples of the two-story
plus gambrel roof house, which type exists throughout the district.
After the Revolution, Salem's merchants made this community the most
important American port in the newly initiated Far East trade. The fantastic
wealth accruing from this trade spurred a period of unprecedented development
lasting over forty years. During this time a number of master builders
created the sophisticated Federal masterpieces that recall the domestic
works of Bulfinch in Boston, and influenced architecture of the period
throughout New Fngland. The coming together of merchant and artisan to
produce these buildings represents one of the first major instances in
America of the artist-patron relationship as it had existed in Europe
6
since the Renaissance. This union of commerce and art signalled the
beginning of the end of America's provincial`aesthetic. Perley Putnam,
Jabez Smith, and David Lord were the master builders working in the Salem
district at this time, but the finest productions were those of the master
builder, carver, and architect, Samuel McIntire (1757-1811). Between
1782 and 1811 he created a series of great residences and public buildings,
often ornamented on the interior and exterior with his masterful carving,
and many of which remain in the Chestnut Street area.
Chestnut Street, itself, is the finest street in the district and
possibly the best Federal period street in America. 'McIntire designed
two buildings here, Hamilton Hall (1805-1807) and the Hodges House (1805)
at 12 Chestnut, but the fine detailing and consistency of excellent design
in the remaining seventeen Federal period houses on this street leaves
little doubt that they are the work of master builders as well. Chestnut
Street's broad, formerly elm-bordered layout enhances its architectural
character and speaks for the importance of the Salem citizens who lived
there. City mayors, General Court representatives, Congressmen, diplomats,
literati, and rich merchants were among the street's residents. Specific
notables include: the Saltonstalls, Nathaniel, the first mayor of Salem
and a U.S. Congressman, and Leverett (43 and 41 Chestnut); Nathaniel
Silsbee, noted merchant, U.S. Congressman, and Senator (31 Chestnut);
Stephen H. Phillips, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Hawaii
(17 Chestnut Street); Elizabeth Elkins Sanders, poetress (39 Chestnut);
and Nathaniel Hawthorne, the famous Salem author (18 Chestnut).
Essex and Federal Streets were also fashionable and built up with
fine Federal period mansions. McIntire's Pierce-Nichols House (1782)
on Federal Street was his first domestic commission and indicates his
7
pre-Federal style. It is located at 80 Federal. Dating from the same
year (1782)p but remodelled by McIntire as a residence in 1796, is the
Assembly House at 138 Federal. The Cook-Oliver House (1802-1803) at 142
Federal has a delicately detailed Adamesque facade,and original McIntire
carved fence. Federal mansions of a scale and elegance equal to those
of Chestnut Street appear at 328 Essex Street (c. 1805),and at 380 Essex,
the Joseph Sprague House (18079 McIntire), a brick structure with flared
window lintels, a delicate Ionic portico, and an original surviving
roof balustrade. This house also retains a period stable. Substantial
houses designed in the Federal style are also found at 346, 3619 364, and
358 Essex Street.
Other notable Federal structures are located at 5 Carpenter (c. 1807),
a three-story brick Federal structure with its original fence, and at
14 Cambridge Street (1806-1807)9 designed by McIntire and retaining all
of its original exterior details intact.
The Chestnut Street area also contains significant structures of
the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The First Unitarian
Church (1833-1836) at 316 Essex Street was designed by the prolific Boston
architectg Gridley Bryant, and belongs to a wholly New England idiom-with
its large granite ashlar walls and giganticized Gothic detailing confined
to a rigorously symmetrical plan. The building was originally built
for the North Church, and the grounds contain the remains of the eighteenth
century Bowditch house garden. The Public Library (1855)9 designed by
Joseph C. Foster and originally built as a residence, is the finest example
of early Italianate architecture in the district. Its sculptural quality
is created through the contrast of smooth pressed brick walls and carved
brownstone trim. Of equal importance are a series of Italianate houses
on Essex Street at 329. 331-333, 355► 3609 and 396, dating from the 18701s.
They are reminiscent of late eighteenth century Salem architecture in
their four-square and symmetrical_compositions, and in the use of such
Georgian motifs as hipped roofs, pedimented and segmental window caps'on
facades and dormers, pilastered and pedimented entrances, as well as
dentils in window and roof cornices. The former American Legion Post
at 329 Essex is an example which, though definitely Victorian-Italianate,
draws its inspiration from the Pierce-Nichols house. These houses are
some of the earliest examples in the country to show stylistic interest
in the eighteenth century and are precursors of the Colonial fivival styles
of the 1880-1910 period.
Orne Square and the section of Warren Street extending from Flint
Street to Essex Street represent--at opposite ends of the economic scale—
the quality of the houses erected in the wake of Salem's great fire of 1914.
The modest English vernacular duplex houses of Orne Square represent a
marked contrast to the stately Colonial Revival mansions of Warren Street,
but both reflect an excellence and sensitivity of design which was pemitted
only a brief flowering in post—fire Salem. Unfortunate subsequent
development has made these early twentieth century houses every bit as
unique and irreplaceable as their distinguished older neighbors elsewhere
in the proposed district.
Proposed Boundaries
heproposedMcIntire_Historic District includes property bounded and
defined in the following manners
Starting at the intersection of the middle of Summer Street and the
extended southern lot line of-61-61R Summer Street;
� Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 61-61R Summar Street
to the back lot line of said property; -- - - ,-
- — 9
Thence running northerly alone the back lot lines of properties
fronting on the eastern side of Summer Street'extended to the midline
of High Street;
Thence running easterly along the midline of High Street to the back
lot line of 51 Summer Street extended;
Thence running northerly along the back lot lines of 479 49, and 51
Summer Street to the midline of Gedney Street;
Thence running westerly along the midline _of Gedney Street to the
midline of Summer Street;
Thence running northerly along-the midline of Sumner Street and North
Street to the back lot line of 85 Federal Street, extended;,
_Thence-runni„a westerly alone the back lot line of_85-FFederal Street
to the western lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly along the western lot line of 85 Federal"Street
to the midline of Federal Street;
Thence running easterly along the midline of Federal Street along the Bridge
Street exit ramp to the back lot line of 80 Federal Street;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of the properties
fronting the northern side of Federal Street to the back lot line of
30 Beckford Street;
Thence running northerly along the back lot line of 30 Beckford Street
to the northern lot line of-'said property;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot line of 30 Beckford Street
to the midline of the public way;
Thence running southerly along the midline of the public way to the
back lot line of 2 River Street, extended;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of properties fronting
on the northern side of River Street, and extending to the intersection
of the northern and back lot lines of 23 River-13 Lynn Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 23_-River-_13,Lynn_S.treet
and the back lot line of 11 Lynn Street to the back lot line of
128-130 Federal Street;
Thence running westerly along the back lot line of 128 130•Federal
Street to the western lot line of said property;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 128-130 Federal
Street to the northern lot line of 10 Carpenter Street;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot lines of 10 and 12
Carpenter Street to the midline of Carpenter Street;
Thence running northerly along the midline of Carpenter Street to the
back lot line of 2-4 Gifford Court;
Thence running northerly along the back lot lines of 2-4 to 8 Gifford
Court to the western lot line of 8 Gifford Court;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 8 Gifford Court
to the back lot line of 10 Gifford Court;
Thence running westerly along the back lot line of 10 Gifford Court to
the western lot line of said property;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 10 Giffox_d,Court
to the northern lot line of 12 Gifford Court; '
10
I
Thence running westerly along the northern'lot line of 12 Gifford Court
to the .back lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly along the eastern lot lure of 5 Harrington
Court to the back lot lure of said property;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of 1 to 5 Harrington
Court, crossing Flint Street to the back lot line of 150-152 Federal
Street;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines--g-f-150-152 to 156-162
Federal Street to the western lot line of '1&-l62`Federal Street;
Thence running southerly_along the western lot line of 156-162 Federal
Street to the back lot lino of 164 Federal Street;
Thence running westerly along„the back lot lines of all property fronting
on the northern side of Federal Street to the western lot line of 194
Federal Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 194 Federal Street
to the midline of Federal Street;
Thence running easterly along the midline of Federal Street to the western
lot line of 185 Federal Street, extended;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 185 Federal Street to
to the back lot lure of said property;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lure of 185 Federal Street to
the to the western lot line of H185 Federal Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot lure of H185 Federal Street
to the rear lot lig of said property;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lures of all property fronting
_—on the southern side of Federal Street to -thee western lot line of 17.
Fowler Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 17 extended to the`
midline of Fowler Street; -
Thence running westerly along the midline of Fowler Street to the rear lot
line of 11-13 North Pine Street, extended;
Thence running southerly along the rear lot lines of $ to 11-13 North
Pine Street to the western lot line of 402 Essex Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 402 Essex Street
extended to the midline of Essex Street;
Thence running westerly along the midline of Essex Street to the western
side of the Choate statue;
Thence running southerly along the midline of Essex Street to the midline
of Warren Street Court, extended;
Thence running southerly along the midline of Warren Street Court to the
southern side of the median strip on Dalton Parkway;
Thence running easterly along the southern side of the median strip on
Dalton Parkway and the midline of Broad Street to the western lot lire
of 3$ Broad Street, extended;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 3$ Broad Street
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lire of 35 Broad Street to -
the back lot ins of-14 4 Hathoime Street; -- —
Thence running southerly along the back lot lines of 14, 209 24, and 26
Hathorne Street, crossing Hathorne Place, to the .southern lot line of
26 Hathorne Street;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 26 Hathorne Street
to the midline of Hathorne Street;
Thence running southerly along the midline of Hathorne Street to the back
lot line of 19 Orne Square extended;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lines of 19 and 15-17 Orne
Square to the back lot line of 9-11 Orne Square;
Thence running northerly along the back lot lines of 911 and $-7 Orne
Square to the southern lot line of 12 Winthrop Street;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot lire of 12 Winthrop Street
extended to the midline of Winthrop Street;
t
Thence running northerly along the midline of Winthrop Street to the
southern lot line of 17 Broad Street, extended;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 17 Broad Street
extended to the midline of Summer Street, the point of beginning.
- - 12 `
Individual Buildingsg Structures, and Sites
See Massachusetts Historical Commission inventory Form B's for
252 buildings and 3 lots for the expansion filed with the Massachusetts
Historical Commission plus Form -B's for 41 buildings and 1 lot filed for
the existing Chestnut Street Historic District and Form B's for 117
buildings filed for the existing Federal Street Area Historic District.
Total Form B's equal 410 buildings and 4 lots.
See also Massachusetts Historical Commission inventory Form C's
for 3 monuments9 filed with the Massachusetts Historical Commissions and
Massachusetts Historical Commission inventory Form E's for 2 burial
groundso also filed with the Massachusetts Historical Commission.
IV
OPTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Salem Historical Commission recommends that the McIntire Historic
District be subject to the same conditions as outlined in the Salem Historical
Commission Ordinance approved by the Mayor on November 30t 1971. See___
Draft Ordinance appendixed to this report.
13
V
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Research
The Salem Historical Commission wishes to acknowledge its great
debt to the original Salem Historic District Study Committee, chaired
under Sumner Low Raymond, and the valuable research of Mrs. Elizabeth
Reardon (Mrs. Theodore Frothingham, III) as submitted to the Mayor in
1968. Much of the historical and architectural information contained
in this report is drawn from
the Salem Historic District Study Committee
Investigation (S.H.D.S.C.I.), the full bibliography for which is listed
in Volume III of said study.
Research by the Historic Salem, Inc. volunteers and CETA_inventory team
has been extremely valuable= their sources_ includes Salem Citv Hall
Street Hooks, Salem Atlases, Essex County Registry of Deeds, Salem
City Directors, Essex Institute Historical Collections, Historic Salem
_I
Inc. research files, and a number of individual sour-res listed in the
S.H.D.S.C.I. bibliography.
Also helpful was the National Register of Historic Places Inventory--
Nomination Form for the Chestnut Street National Register District which
was quoted extensively in section III of this report.
Map
See attached map. Source for base map, Salem Assessor's Map.
14
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Appendix Cs Draft Ordinance
^Mclntire,Historic District
Draft Ordinance
7
In the year one thousand nine hundred and eightyrons.
An Ordinance relative to the Establishment of the McIntire-
Historic District by Enlarging and Merging the Chestnut Street
Historic District and the Federal Street Area Historic District
Be it ordained-by the City Council of the City of Salemp as followst
WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Salem has determined that the
Salem Historical Commissions constituted pursuant to the Historic Districts
Ordinance of the City of Salem adopted by the City Councilp November 24,
19719 and approved by the Mayor of the City of Salemy November 309 1971P
under the provisions of Massachusetts General Lawsp Chapter 4000 has
conducted an investigation and reported to the Planning Beard of the
City of Salem and the Massachusetts Historical Commission on the historical
and architectural significance of the buildingsp structuresp or sites
to be included in the proposed Chestnut Street Area Historic District
as provided in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40C; and
WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Salem has determined that
---the Salem Historical Commission has held a public hearing at.least
sixty days after transmitting its report on the proposed McIntire
_ Historic District-to the Planning_%ardof the- City of Salem and
to the Massachusetts Historical�Commissionq pursuant to due notices
all as provided in Massachusetts General Lawsp Chapter 4OC; and
WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Salem has determined that the
Salem Historical Commission has submitted a final report with its
recommandationsp a map of the proposed McIntireHistoric
District and a draft of a proposed ordinance to the City Council;
NOW THEREFORE# Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Salem
as follows:
Section I
C, This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the----.—
McIntire Historic District Ordinance under the authority of the
Historic Districts Actq Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40C and
under the authority of the Historic Districts Ordinance of Salem.
Section II
There is hereby established under the provisions of the Historic
Districts Actj Massachusetts General Lawsq Chapter 40C and under the
23_ --
i
provisions of the Historic Districts Ordinance of Salem, an Historic
District to be known as the McIntire Historic District,
which district shall include all land and buildings bounded and defined
in the following mannert
I
Starting at the intersection of the middle of Summer Street and the
extended southern lot line of 61-61R Summer Street;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 61-61R Summer Street
to' the, back lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly alone the back lot lines of properties
fronting on the eastern side of Summar Street extended to the midline.
of High Street;
Thence running easterly along the midline of High Street to the back
lot line of_51-Summer Street extended;
Thence-:running .northerly along the back lot lines of 47, 49, and 51
Summer Street to the midline of Gedney Street;
Thence running westerly along the midline of Gedney Street to the
midline of Sums Street;.
Thence running northerly along the midline of Summer Street and North—
Street to the back lot line of 85 Federal Street, extended; "
\,__Thence_running_westerly
gong the back lot line of 85 Federal Street
to the western lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly along the western lot line of 85 Federal Street
to the midline of Federal Street;
Therce_running,easterly along the midline of Federal Street along the Bridge
Street exit ramp to the back lot line of 80 Federal Street;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of the properties
fronting the northern side of Federal Street to the back lot line of
30 Beckford Street; -
Thence running northerly along the back lot line of 30 Beckford Street
to the northern lot line of said property;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot line of 30 Bsck£ord Street
to the midline of the public way;
Thence running.southerly along the midline of the public way to the
back lot line of 2 River Street, extended;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of properties fronting
on the northern side of River Street, and extending to the intersection
of the northern and-back lot lines of 23Rivea-13 Lynn Street;
24 41*w1, . �.
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 23_ River-13 Lynn,Street
and the back lot line of 11 Lynn Street to the back lot line of
128-130 Federal Street;
Thence running westerly along the back lot line of 128130 Federal
Street to the western lot line of said property;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 123-130 Federal
Street to the northern lot line of 10 Carpenter Street;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot lines of 10 and 12
Carpenter Street to the midline of Carpenter Street;
Thence running northerly along the midline of Carpenter Street to the
back lot line of 2-4 Gifford Court;
Thence running northerly along the back lot lines of 2-4 to 8 Gifford
Court to the western lot line of 8 Gifford Court;
Thence running-southerly along the western lot line of 8 Gifford Court
to the back lot line of 10 Gifford Court;
Thence running westerly along the back lot line of 10 Gifford Court to
the western lot line of said property;
Thence running southerly along the- western lot line of 10 Gifford Court
to the northern lot line of 12 Gifford Court;
Thence running westerly- along the northern lot line of 12 Gifford Court
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly along the eastern lot line of 5 Harrington
Court to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running--westerly along thebacklot lines of 1 to 5 Harrington
Courts crossing Flint Street to the back lot line of 150-152 Federal
Stray t;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines o£ 150-152 to 156-162
Federal Street to the western lot line of 156762 Federal Street;
Thence running-southerly along the western lot line of 156-162 Federal
Street 'to the back lot line of 164 Federal Street;
Thence running westerly along. the back lot lines of all property fronting
on the northern side of Federal Street to the western lot line of 194
Federal Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 194 Federal Street
to the midline of Federal Street;
Thence running easterly along the midline of Federal Street to the western
lot line of 185 Federal Street, extended;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 185 Federal Street to
to the back lot line of said property;____ _
Thence running easterly along the back lot line of 185 Federal Street to `
the to the western lot line of K185 Federal Street;
Thence=running-southerly-along the- western lot line of KL85 Federal Street
to the rear lot line of said property;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lines of all property fronting
_ on the southern side of Federal Street to -the western lot line of 17 "
Fowler Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 17 extended to the
midline of Fowler Street;
Thence running westerly along the midline of Fowler Street to the rear lot
line of 11-13 North Pine Street, extended;
Thence running-southerly along the rear lot lines of 5 to 11-13 North
Pins Street to the western lot line of 402 Essex Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 402 Essex Street
extended to -the midline_of Essex_Street;
Thence running westerly along the midline of Essex Street to the western
side of the Choate statue; - -
Thence running southerly along the midline of Essex Street to the midline*
of Warren Street Court, extended;
Thence running southerly along the midline of Warren Street Court to the
southern side of the median strip on Dalton Parkway;
Thence_running easterly along the southern side of the median strip on
Dalton Parkway and the midline of Broad Street to the western lot line
of 35 Broad Street,. eXtended;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 35 Broad Street
_ ---- _to_the back lot line of said property; _
Thence running easterly along the back lot"line of 35 Broad Street to
the back lot line of 14 Hathorne Street;
Thence running southerly along the back lot lines of 14, 20, 24, and 26
Hathorne Street, ,,crossing Hathorne Place, to the southern lot line of
26 Hathorne Street;
Thence-running easterly along the southern lot lire of 26 Hathorne Street
_to_the
_midline of Hathorne Street]
Thence running southerly along the midline of Hathorne Street to the
back lot line of 19 Orne Square, extended;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lines of 19 and 15-17 Orne
Square to the back lot line of 9-11 Orne Square;
Thence running northerly along the back lot lines of 9-11 and 5-7 Orne
Square to the southern lot line of 12-Winthrop Street;
-
26 -
-
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 12 Winthrop Street
extended to the midline of Winthrop Street;
Thence running northerly along the midline of Winthrop Street to the
southern lot line of 17 Broad Street, extended;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 17 Broad Street
extended-to-the-midline of Summer Street, the point of beginning.
The boundaries of said district are established as shown on the
attached map entitled "McIntire Historic District" which map is made a
part of this Ordinance.
Section III
The establishment of the McIntire Historic District under Section II
of this Ordinance shall not become effective until the first day of the
third month after the effective date of this Ordinance.
Section IV
All powers and duties set forth in the Historic Districts Ordinance
adopted by the City Council on November 24, 1971, shall be incorporated
in this McIntire Historic District Ordinance, with .the exception that the
authority of the Commission shall be limited to exterior architectural
features within the McIntire Historic District which are subject to view
from all streets named and included within the boundaries of the district.
Section V - -
This Ordinance shall take effect as provided in the City Charter.
27 ---
� ttI 0
Salem Historical Como f
CITY HALL, SALEM. MASS. 01970
CHESTNUT STREET AREA HISTORIC DISTRICT
Preliminary Report by
Salem Historical Commission
July 1980
TABLE OF CONTENTS
IINTRODUCTION .. ... .. ... ... . . . ...... .... .. .. . .. .. ... . .. . . ..... 1
II INVF NTORY AND BOUNDARY jUSTIFICATIONS........................ 2
III -EESCRIPTION OF THF, PROPOSED DISTRICT.. .. .. ... . .. .. . . . ... .. ... 3
IV OPTIONS AND RRCOWNDATIONS......... ...... ......... .. ..... ...13
V BIBLIOGRAPHY. .... .. .... ... . ... .. ......... . ...................14
VI APPENDICES
Appendix A: Chestnut Street Area Historic District Map......16
Appendix B: Photographs....... .. ............................17
Appendix C. Draft Ordinance.., **.*.*****.*..................23
Appendix D: Inventory Forms................................. 29
I
INTRODUCTION
In-1971, when the first historic district in Salem was created,
the Chestnut Street Historic District offered the protection of exterior
design review to 41 buildings located on a street of national architectural
renown. Since that time, the City of Salem has created local historic
districts in the Darby Street and Washington Square areas as well as an
additional district in the western historic section of the city, the
Federal Street Area Historic District. The establishment of the Federal
Street Area Historic District in 1976 recognized the importance of the
historic neighborhood and defined boundaries encompassing'not simply
Federal Street but sidestreets as well. Following this concept of the
value of preservation of an entire neighborhood of fine historic
architecture, the Salem Historical Commission now proposes an enlarged
district merging the Chestnut Street and Federal Street districts and
including Essex Street and a large number of smaller and sidestreets.
Together these constitute a residential neighborhood settled primarily
during the Federal period as homesites were sought away from the busy
commercial activity. Residential use predominates today as visitors
and new and old homeowners alike seek it out in appreciation of the
historic fabric of an area of over four-hundred structures, a fabric
that enhances the finest architectureas well as the vernacular.
II
INVENTORY AND BOUNDARY JUSTIFICATIONS
The Commission first directed its attention to the expansion
of the Chestnut Street district in January, 1978 foil—owing passage
of the Washington Square Historic District Ordinance in the fall of
1977• The Washington Square project completed, the Commission turned
to expanding protection for the Chestnut Street neighborhood. The
vulnerability of Essex Street to uncontrolled change detrimental to
its historic character and its strategic location bisecting the
Chestnut and Federal-Street areas strongly influenced the Commission
toward a merged district.
A substantial amount of survey work had been completed in the 1960's
and through the original Salem Historic District Study Committee
Investigation report .or was in process through Historic Salem Inc.'s.
inventory project. The Commission was, therefore, able to identify
working boundariesconstitutinga relatively homogeneous neighborhood
of architectural styles from the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Chestnut Street National Register Historic District, established in
1973 and enlarged in 1978, identified substantially similar boundaries
with the exception that the proposed district includes architecture of
the colonial revival style in the-Warren+Street area which both contributes
positively to the historic quality of the neighborhood as well as recognizing
the continuing influence of architecture of the earlier period. Boundary
decisions were also influenced by requests from homeowners which occured
in the cases of Warren Street, North Street, South Pine Street, North Pine—
Fowler Streets, and Federal Street beyond Flint Street. Input from the
2
Massachusetts Historical Commission early in the process strongly
supported inclusion of Essex Street.
With rough boundaries identified, the Commission turned directly
to homeowners-and-residents to assess their interest in historic district
protection. A-group of about fourteen homeowners from across the
proposed district met in June, 1978 to ask questions about historic
district status in preparation for meeting with their neighbors to poll
their support. Results of that polling suggested enthusiastic support for the
enlarged district, and, at that time, the Commission proceeded with
compiling and completing inventory, photographs, and other materials
for this preliminary report.
III
WSCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED DISTRICT
Historic and Architectural Summary
The proposed Chestnut Street Area Historic District is one of the
finest architectural neighborhoods in America as well as a monument to
the mercantile and maritime ascendancy of Salem in the eighteenth and
early nineteenth centuries. The proposed district encompasses a
-predominantly residential area comprising approximately fifty acres in
the western part of Salem. It contains over four hundred buildings
dating from the seventeenth through the early twentieth centuries and
designed in a range of styles including Colonial, Georgian, Federal,
Adamesque Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, and Colonial
3 ;
Revival. The most important streets in the district are those running
east and wests Federal Street, Essex Street, Chestnut Street, and
parts of Broad Street. It is on these four streets that the finest
architecture and most. historically significant buildings appear.
Vhile Chestnut Street itself is already a local historic district,
as is Federal Street along with the streets adjacent to it, these areas
comprise only a portion of a larger coherent neighborhood. This area
includes those sections of western Salem that survived the great fire
of 1914 as well as the abutting streets that were rebuilt with an
architecturally appropriate flavor immediately following the fire.
The earliest houses in the district are the Pickering House (1651)
and the "Witch House" (c. 1674). The Pickering House, built by John
Pickering and occupied by ten generations of the Pickering family, is
one of the oldest buildings in continuous family ownership in the United
States. Col. Timothy Pickering was a national figure in the early days
of the Republic, serving as Secretary of State and Secretary of War
under Washington, and Secretary of State and Secretary of the Navy under
John Adams. His son, John, was a noted scholar, Ambassador to Portugali and
one-of the principal developers of Salem in the Federal period. On the
other side of the district, the "Witch House" is a restored example of_ _..
a seventeenth century Naw England "Great House." It was owned during
the Salem witch hysteria by one of the infamous trial judges, Johnathan
Corwin, and is now administered as an historic house museum by the Salem
Park Department.
The money that built the substantial houses and mansions of the
succeeding decades was the product of Salem's maritime trade, with the
4
West Indies in the eighteenth century, and with the East Indies, China,
and the Pacific Coast of hbrth America from the 17806s through the 1850's.
By the time Salem's maritime primacy had declined (due to ever-increasing
vessel sizes and -the.-shallow-Salem harbor), the commercial and cultural
expansion which-the-port had-undergone in the previous one hundred and
fifty years left a lasting impression in the form of architecture. It is
the styles from this greatest period of architectural development, the
Georgian, Federal, and Adamesque Federal modes, which predominate and
establish the area's character.
A fine example of Salem's Georgian architecture is the Joseph Cabot
House (c. 1748) at 365 Essex Street, possibly designed by an Englishman,
and at one time the home of William C. Endicott, Secretary of War under
Cleveland. The Ropes Mansion (1719) at 318 Essex Street was once the
home of the prominent Tory, Judge Ropes. It was one of the first colonial
house museums in the country when it was opened to the public in 1907.
The Cabot and Ropes Houses epitomize the Georgian influence on Salem's
pre-revolutionary architecture and are the finest examples of the two-story
plus gambrel roof house, which type exists throughout the district.
After the Revolution, Salem's merchants made this community the most
important American port in the newly initiated Far East trade. The fantastic
wealth accruing from this trade spurred a period of unprecedented development
lasting over forty years. During this time a number of master builders
created the sophisticated Federal masterpieces that recall the domestic
works of Bulfinch in Poston, and influenced architecture of the period
throughout New England. The coming together of merchant and artisan to
produce these buildings represents one of the first major instances in
America of the artist-patron relationship as it had existed in Europe
5
since the Renaissance. This union of commerce and art signalled the
beginning of the end of America's provincial aesthetic. Perley Putnam,
Jabez Smith, and David Lord were the master builders working in the Salem
district- 'at-this times but _the finest productions were those of the master
builder, carver, and architect, Samuel McIntire (1757-1811). Between
1782 and 1811 he created a series of great residences and public buildings,
often ornamented on the interior and exterior with his masterful carving,
and many of which remain in the Chestnut Street area.
Chestnut Street# itself, is the finest street in the district and
Possibly the best Federal period street in America. McIntire designed
two buildings here, Hamilton .Hall (1805-1807) and the Hodges House (1805)
at 12 Chestnut, but the fine detailing and consistency of excellent design
in the remaining seventeen Federal period houses on this street leaves
little doubt that they are they work of master builders as well. Chestnut
Street's broad, formerly elm-bordered layout enhances its architectural
character and speaks for the importance of the Salem citizens who lived
there. City mayors, General Court representatives, Congressmen, diplomats,
literati, and rich merchants were among the street's residents. Specific
notables include: the- Saltonstalls, Nathaniel, the first mayor of Salem
and a U.S. Congressman, and Leverett (43 and 41 Chestnut); Nathaniel
Silsbee, noted merchant, U.S. Congressman, and Senator (31 Chestnut);
Stephen H. Phillips, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Hawaii
(17 Chestnut Street); Elizabeth Elkins Sanders, poetress (39 Chestnut);
and Nathaniel Hawthorne, the famous Salem author (18 Chestnut).
Essex and Federal Streets were also fashionable and built up with
fine Federal period mansions. McIntire's Pierce-Nichols House (1782)
on Federal Street was his first domestic commission and indicates his
6
pre-Federal style. It is located at 80 Federal. Dating from the same
year (1782), but remodelled by McIntire as a residence in 1796, is the
Assembly House at 138 Federal. The Cook-Oliver House (1802-1803) at 142
Federal has. a..delicately detailed Adamesque facade and original McIntire
carved fence. Federal mansions of a scale and elegance equal to those
of Chestnut Street appear at 328 Essex Street (c. 1805) and at 380 Essex,
the Joseph Sprague House (1807, McIntire), a brick structure with flared
window lintels, a delicate Ionic portico, 'and an original surviving
roof balustrade. This house also retains a period stable. Substantial
houses designed in the Federal style are also found at 346, 3619 364, and
358 Essex Street.
Other notable Federal structures are located at 5 Carpenter (c. 1807),
a three-story brick Federal structure with its original fence, and at
14 Cambridge Street (1806-1807), designed by McIntire and retaining all
of its original exterior details intact.
The Chestnut,Street area also contains significant structures of
the-later-nineteenth-and=early-twentieth-centuries. The First Unitarian
Church (1833-1836) at 316 Essex Street was designed by the prolific Boston
architect, Gridley Bryant, and belongs to a wholly New England idiom with
its large granite ashlar walls and giganticized Gothic detailing confined
to a rigorously symmetrical plan. The building was originally built
for the North Church, and the grounds contain the remains of the eighteenth
century Bowditch house garden. The Public Library (1855)9 designed by
Joseph C. Foster and originally built as a residence, is the finest example
of early Italianate architecture in the district. Its sculptural quality
is created through the contrast of smooth pressed brick walls and carved
brownstone trim. Of equal importance are a series of Italianate houses
7
on Essex Street at 329* 331-333* 355* 360, and 396, dating from the 1870's.
They are reminiscent of late eighteenth century Salem architecture in
their four-square and symmetrical compositions, and in the use of such
Georgian motifs as hipped roofs* pedimented and segmental window caps on
facades and dormers, pilastered and pedimented entrances, as well as
dentils in window and roof cornices. The former American Legion Post
at 329 Essex is an example which* though definitely Victorian-Italianate,
draws its inspiration from the Pierce-Nichols House. These houses are
some of the earliest examples in the country to show stylistic interest
in the eighteenth century and are precursors of the Colonial Revival styles
of .the_1880-1910-period. .
Orne Square and the section of Warren Street extending from Flint
Street to Essex Street represent—at opposite ends of the economic scale—
the quality of the houses erected in the wake of Salem's great fire of 1914.
The modest English vernacular duplex houses of Orne Square represent a
marked contrast to the stately Colonial Revival mansions of Warren Street,
but both reflect an excellence and sensitivity of design which was pemitted
only a brief flowering in post-fire Salem. Unfortunate subsequent
development has made these early twentieth century houses every bit as
unique and irreplaceable as their distinguished older neighbors elsewhere
in the proposed district.
Proposed Boundaries
The proposed Chestnut Street Area Historic District includes the
property bounded and defined in the following manner:
Starting at the intersection of the middle of Summer Street and the
extended southern lot line of 61-61R Summer Street;
=hence running easterly along the southern lot line of 61-61R Summer Street
to, the back lot line of said property;
8
Thence running northerly alone the back lot lines of properties
fronting on the eastern side of Summer Street extended to the midline
of High Street;
Thence running easterly along the midline of High Street to the back
lot line of 51 Summer Street.extended;
Thence- running northerly. along the back lot lines of 479 49, and 51
Summer Street to the midline of Gedney Street;
Thence running westerly along the midline of Gedney Street to the
midline of Summer Street;
Thence running northerly along the midline of Summer Street to the
southern lot line of 23 Summer Street, extended;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 23 Summer Street
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly along the back lot line of 23 Summer Street
to the southern lot line of 15 Summer Street;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 15 Summer Street
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly along the back lot line of 15 Summer Street to
the southern lot line of 16 Crombie Street;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 16 Crombie Street
to the back lot line of 18 Crombie Street;
Thence=-rur.Hing southerly along-the back lot line of 18 Crombie Street
to the southern lot line of said property;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 18 Crombie Street
to the midline of Crombie Street;
Thence running northerly along the midline of Crombie Street to the
northern lot line of 16 Crombie Street, extended;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot line of 16 Crombie Street
to the back lot line of 11-13 Summer Street;
Thence running northerly along the back lot lines of 11-13P 9, and 5-7
Summer Street to the northern lot line of 5-7 Summer Street;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot line of 5-7 Summer Street
the midline of Summer Street;
Thence running northerly along the midline of Summer Street and North
Street to the back lot line of 85 Federal Street, extended; '
Thence running westerly along the back lot line of 85 Federal Street
9 '
to the western lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly along the western lot line of 85 Federal Street
to the midline of Federal Street;
Thence-running_easterly along the midline of Federal Street along the Bridge
Street exit ramp to the back lot line of 80 Federal Street; ,
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of the properties
fronting the northern_ side of Federal Street to the back lot line of
30 Beckford Street;
Thence running northerly along the back lot line of 30 Beckford Street
to the northern lot line of said property;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot line of 30 Beckford Street
to the midline of the public way;
Thence running southerly along the midline of the public way to the
back lot line of 2 River Street, extended;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of properties fronting
on the northern side of River Streetp and extending to the intersection
of the northern and back lot lines of 23 Lynn Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 23 River Street
and the back lot line of 11 Lynn Street to the back lot line of
128-130 Federal Street;
Thence running westerly along the back lot line of 128-130 Federal
Street to the western lot line of said property;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 128-130 Federal
Street to the northern lot line of 10 Carpenter Street;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot lines of 10 and 12
Carpenter Street to the midline of Carpenter Street;
Thence running northerly along the midline of Carpenter Street to the
back lot line of 2-4 Gifford Court;
Thence running northerly along the back lot lines of 2-4 to 8 Gifford
Court to the western lot line of 8 Gifford Court;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 8 Gifford Court
to the back lot line of 10 Gifford Court;
Thence running westerly along the back lot line of 10 Gifford Court to
the western lot line of said property;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 10 Gifford Court
to the northern lot line of 12 Gifford Court;
10
Thence running westerly along the northern lot line of 12 Gifford Court
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly along the eastern lot line of 5 Harrington
Court to the back lot line of said property;
Thence- running westerly along the back lot lines of 1 to 5 Harrington
Court. crossing Flint Street to the back lot line of 150-152 Federal
Scree t;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of 150-152 to 156-162
Federal Street to the western lot line of 156=162 Federal Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 156-162 Federal
Street to the back lot line of 164 Federal Street;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of all property fronting
on the northern side of Federal Street to the western lot line of 194
Federal Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 194 Federal Street
to the midline of Federal Street;
Thence running easterly along the midline of Federal Street to the western
lot line of 185 Federal Street, extended;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 185 Federal Street to
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running easterly along the back lot line of 185 Federal Street to
the to the western lot line of R185 Federal Street;
Thence=-running southerly along-the western lot line of R185 Federal Street
to the rear lot line of said property;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lines of all property fronting
on the southern side of Federal Street to -the western lot line of 17
Fowler Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 17 extended to the
midline of Fowler Street;
Thence running westerly along the midline of Fowler Street to the rear lot
line of 11-13 North Fine Streets extended;
Thence running southerly along the rear lot lines of 5 to 11-13 North
Pine Street to the western lot line of 402 Essex Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 402 Essex Street
extended to the midline of Essex Street;
Thence running westerly along the midline of Essex Street to the western
side of the Choate statue;
ll
Thence running southerly along the midline of Essex Street to the mi.dlino
of Warren Street Court, extended;
Thence running southerly along the midline of Warren Street Court to the
southern side of the median strip on Dalton Parkway;
Thence running easterly along the southern side of the median strip on
Dalton Parkway and the midline of Broad Street to the western lot line
of 35 Broad Street, extended;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 35 Broad Street
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lines of 35 Broad Street and
31 Broad Street extended to the midline of Hathorne Street;
Thence running southerly along the midline of Hathorne Street to the
back lot line of 19 Orne Square, extended;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lines of 19 and 15-17 Orne
Square to the back lot line of 9-11 Orne Square;
Thence running northerly along the back lot lines of 9-11 and 5-7 Orne
Square to the southern lot line of 12 Winthrop Street;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 12 Winthrop Street
extended to the midline of Winthrop Street;
{
4
Thence running northerly along the midline of Winthrop Street to the
southern lot line of 17 Broad Street, extended;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 17 Broad Street
extended to the-midline of Summer-Street, the point of beginning.
Individual Buildings, Structures, and Sites
See .Massachusetts Historical Commission inventory Form B's for
253 buildings and 1 lot for the expansion, some of which are appendixed to this
report -and others previously filed with the Massachusetts Historical Commission
plus Form B's for 41 buildings and 1 lot filed for the existing Chestnut
Street Historic District and Form B's for 117 buildings filed for the
existing Federal Street Area Historic District. Total Form B'ss 411
buildings and 2 lots.
See also Massachusetts Historical Commission inventory Form C's
12
for 3 monuments, 2 of which are appendixed to this report, another
previously filed with the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and
Massachusetts Historical Commission inventory Form F's for 2 burial
gorands, both previously filed with the Massachusetts Historical
Commission..
IV
OPTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Salem Historical Commission recommends that the Chestnut
Street Area Historic District be subject to the same conditions as
outlined in the Salem Historical Commission Ordinance approved by the
Mayor on November 30, 1971 except for the recommendations that the
ordinance establishing the Chestnut Street Area Historic District
delete all exceptions listed under Section 6, Items 2 and 3 in the
Salem Historical Commission Ordinance except antennae and window
air conditioners. That is, the Commission recommends the deletion
of the exemption of: terraces, walks' dirveways, sidewalks, and
similar structures or any one or more of them, provided, that any
structure is substantially at grade level and storm doors, and
windows, screens, lighting fixtures, and similar appurtenances or
any one or more of them. See Draft Ordinance appendixed to this
report.
13
V
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Research
The Salem Historical Commission wishes to acknowledge its great
debt to the original Salem Historic District Study Committee, chaired
under Sumner Low Raymond, and the valuable research of Mrs. Elizabeth
Reardon (Mrs.' Theodore Frothingham, III) as submitted to the Mayor in
1968. Much of the historical and architectural information contained
in this report is drawn from the Salem Historic District Study Committee
Investigation (S.H.D.S.C.I.Yo the full bibliography for which is listed
in Volume SII of said study.
Research by the Historic Salem, Inc. CETA inventory team has
been extremely valuable, and their sources includes Salem City Hall
Street Books, Salem Atlases, Essex County Registry of Leeds, Salem
City Directory Essex Institute Historical Collections, Historic Salem
Inc. research filesp and a number of individual souxoes listed in the
S.H,D.S.C.I. bibliography.
Also helpful was the National Register of Historic Places Inventory—
Nomination Form for the Chestnut Street National Register District which
was quoted extensive) in section III of this report.
4 Y
Map
See attached map. Source for base map, Salem Assessor's Map.
14
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Appendix C: Drat Ordinance
Chestnut Street Area Historic District
Draft Ordinance
In the year one thousand nine hundred and eighty.
An Ordinance relative to the Establishment of the Chestnut Street Area
Historic District by Enlarging and Merging the Chestnut Street
Historic District and the Federal Street Area Historic District ,
Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Salem, as follows:
WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Salem has determined that the
Salem Historical Commission, constituted pursuant to the Historic Districts
Ordinance of the City of Salem adopted by the City Council, November 24,
1971, and approved by the Mayor of the City of Salem, November 30, 1971,
under the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40C, has
conducted an investigation and reported to the Planning Board of the
City of Salem and the Massachusetts Historical Commission on the historical
and architectural significance of the buildings, structures, or sites
to be included in the proposed Chestnut Street Area Historic District
as provided in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40C; and
WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Salem has determined that
the Salem Historical Commission has held a public hearing sixty days
after transmitting its report on the proposed Chestnut Street Area
Historic District to the Planning Board of the City of Salem and
to ,the_.Massachusetts_Historical-'Commission; pursuant to due notice,
all as provided in Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40C; and
WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Salem has determined that the
Salem Historical Commission has submitted a final report with its
recommendations, a map of the proposed Chestnut Street Area Historic
District and a draft of a proposed ordinance to the City Council;
NOW THEREFORE, Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Salem
as follows:
Section I
This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the Chestnut
Street Area Historic District Ordinance under the authority of the
Historic Districts Act, Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40C and
under the authority of the Historic Districts Ordinance of Salem.
Section II
There is hereby established under the provisions of the Historic
Districts Act, Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40C and under the
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provisions of the Historic Districts Ordinance of Salem, an Historic
District to be known as the Chestnut Street Area Historic District
which district shall include all land and buildings bounded and defined
in the. following manners
Starting at the intersection of the middle of Summer Street and the
extended southern lot line of 61-61R Summer Street;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 61-61R Summer Street
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly alone the back lot lines of properties
fronting on the eastern side of Sumner Street extended to the midline
of High Street;
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Thence running easterly along the midline of High Street to the back
.lot line of 51 Summer Street extended;
Thence running northerly along the back lot lines of 47, 49, and 51
Summer Street to the midline of Gedney Street;
Thence running westerly along the midline of Gedney Street to the
midline of Summer Street;
Thence running northerly along the midline of Summer Street to the
g
southern lot line of 23 Summer Street, extended;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 23 Summer Street
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly along the back lot line of 23 Sumter Street
to the southern lot line of 15 Summer Street;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 15 Summer Street
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly along the back lot line of 15 Summer Street to
the southern lot line of 16 Crombie Street;
Thence running easterly along the southern:lot line of 16 Crombie Street
to the back lot line of 18 Crombie Street;
Thence=running -southerly along the back-lot line of 18 Crombie Street
to the southern lot line of said property;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 18 Crombie Street
to the midline of Crombie Street;
Thence running northerly along the midline of Crombie Street to the
northern lot lire of 16 Crombie Street, extended;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot line of 16 Crombie Street
to the back lot line of 11-13 Summer Street;
Thence running northerly along the back lot lines of 11-13r 9, 'and 5-7
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Summer Street to the northern lot line of 5-7 Summer Street;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot line of 5-7 Summer Street
the midline of Summar Street;
Thence runninn northerly along the midline of Summer Street and North
Street to the back lot line of 85 Federal Street, extended;
\ Thence running westerly along the back lot line of 85 Federal Street
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to the western lot line of said-property;
I
Thence running northerly along the western lot line of 85 Federal Street
to the midline of Federal Street;
Thence _running .easterly along the midline of Federal Street along the Bridge
Street exit ramp to the back lot line of 80 Federal Street;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of the properties
fronting the northern side of Federal Street to the back lot line of
. 30 Peckford Street;
Thence running northerly along the back lot line of 30 Backford Street
to the northern lot line of said property;
Thence. running westerly along the northern lot line of 30 Beckford Street
to the midline of the public way;
Thence running:southerly along the midline of the public way to the
back lot line of 2 River Street, extended;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of properties fronting
on the northern side of River Street, and extending to the intersection
of the northern and back lot lines of 23 Lynn Street;
Thence running-southerly along the western lot line of 23 River Street
and the back lot line of 11 Lynn Street to the back lot line of
128-130 Federal Street;
Thence running westerly along the back lot line of 128-130 Federal
Street to the western lot line of said property;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 128-130 Federal
Street to the northern lot line of 10 Carpenter Street;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot lines of 10 and 12
Carpenter Street to the midline of Carpenter Street;
Thence running northerly along the midline of Carpenter Street to the
back lot line of 2-4 Gifford Court;
Thence running northerly along the back lot lines of 2-4 to 8 Gifford
Court to the western lot line of 8 Gifford Court;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 8 Gifford Court
to the back lot line of 10 Gifford Court;
Thence running westerly along the back lot line of 10 Gifford Court to
the western lot line of said property;
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1
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 10 Gifford Court
to the northern lot line of 12 Gifford Court;
Thence running westerly along the northern lot line of 12 Gifford Court
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running northerly along the eastern lot line of 5 Harrington
Court to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running:westerly -along the .back lot lines of 1 to 5 Harrington
Court# crossing Flint Street to the back lot line of 150-152 Federal
Strea t;
Thence running westerly along the back lot lines of 150-152 to 156-162
Federal Street to the western lot line of 156462 Federal Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 156-162 Federal
Street to the back lot line of 164 Federal Street;
Thence running westerly along. the back lot lines of all property fronting
on the northern side of Federal Street to the western lot line of 194
Federal Street,-
Thence
treet;Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 194 Federal Street
to the midline of Federal Street;
Thence running easterly along the midline of Federal Street to the western
lot line of 185 Federal Street; extended;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 185 Federal Street to
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running easterly along the back lot line of 185 Federal Street to
the to the .western lot line of P185 Federal Street;
Thence-running-southerly along the western lot line of 8185 Federal Street
to the rear lot line of said property;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lines of all property fronting
_. . on the southern side of Federal Street to -the-western lot line of 17
Fowler Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 17 extended to the
midline of Fowler Street;
Thence running westerly along the midline of Fowler Street to the rear lot
line of 11-13 North Pine Streets extended;
Thence running southerly along the rear lot lines of 5 to 11-13 North
Pine Street to the western lot line of 402 Essex Street;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 402 Essex Street
extended to the midline of Essex Street;
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Thence running westerly along the midline of Essex Street to the western
side of the Choate statue;
Thence running southerly along the midline of Essex Street to the midline
of Warren Street Court, extended;
Thence running southerly along the midline of Warren Street Court to the
southern side of the median strip on Dalton parkway;
Thence running easterly along the southern side of the median strip on
Dalton Parkway and the midline of Broad Street to the western lot line
Of 35 Bead S-reett extanded;
Thence running southerly along the western lot line of 35 Broad Street
to the back lot line of said property;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lines of 35 Broad Street and
31 Broad Street extended to the midline of Hathorne Street;
Thence running southerly along the midline of Hathorne Street to the
back lot line of 19 Orne Square, extended;
Thence running easterly along the back lot lines of 19 and 15-17 Orne
Square to the back lot line of_9 11 Orne Square;
Thence running northerly along the back, lot lines of 911 and 5-7 Orne
Square to the southern lot line of 12 Winthrop Street;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 12 Winthrop Street
extended to the midline of Winthrop Street;
Thence running northerly along the midline of Winthrop Street to the
southern lot line of 17 Broad Street, extended;
Thence running easterly along the southern lot line of 17 Broad Street
extended to the midline of Summer Street, the point of beginning.
The boundaries of said district are established as shown on the
attached map entitled "Chestnut t Street Area Historic District' which
ma de a art
is made of
p this Ordinance.
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Section IIT `
The establishment of the Chestnut Street Area Historic District
under Section II of this Ordinance shall not become effective until the
first day of the third month after the effective date of this Ordinance.
Section IV
All powers and duties set forth in the Historic Districts Ordinance
adopted by the City Council on November 24, 1971, shall be incorporated
in this Chestnut Street Area Historic District Ordinance, with the exceptions
that the authority of the Commission shall be limited to exterior
architectural features within the Chestnut Street Area Historic District
which are subject to view from all streets named and included within
the boundaries of the district, and that Section 6, 2 shall be deleted
and Section 6, 3 shall specify onlys 3. Window air conditioners and antennae.
Section V
This Ordinance shall take effect as provided in the City Charter.
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