17th Century Saturdays Return

Seventeenth Century Saturdays return for their third year this weekend. Beginning Saturday, June 6, First Period properties throughout the north of Boston region will be open to the public.

This Saturday, June 6, they will all be open free of charge!

Here is a list of the properties in Salem that are participating. Visit EscapesNorth.org for complete information on the program and to download the brochure.

Here are the properties in Salem that are participating:

Gedney House, 1665

21 High Street

June, July, August, Sept., Oct.

(pictured, right)

The House of the Seven Gables, 1668

115 Derby Street

June, July, August, Sept.

Kalmar Nyckel Replica, 1638 ship

Docked at Central Wharf
August only

Narbonne House, 1675

71 Essex Street

June, July, August, Sept., Oct.

Peabody Essex Museum

161 Essex Street

A Point in Time: 1692 tour

June: 1 p.m. only

John Ward House, ca. 1684

(pictured, right)

June: Open house 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Tour at 11:30 a.m. only on other dates

Salem in 1630 (Pioneer Village), 1930 (Replica of 1630)

Forest River Park

June, July, August, Sept.

The Witch House (Jonathan Corwin House), Before 1675

310 Essex Street

June, July, August, Sept., Oct.

Timber Framing Demonstration to take place on Derby Wharf

Seventeenth Century Saturdays will be enhanced this month by a special presentation at Salem Maritime National Historic Site. In addition to hosting an open house in the 1675 Narbonne House on September 6 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, the National Park Service will welcome master carpenter James Whidden and architect Mathew Cummings to Derby Wharf. Cummings and Whidden will demonstrate traditional timber framing techniques at 1:00 and 3:00 pm. In addition to showing some of the ways that posts and beams were joined by colonial carpenters, Cummings and Whidden will talk about the work they have done on some of the most historically significant 17th- and 18th-century houses still standing on the North Shore.

About James Whidden and Mathew Cummings
James Whidden is a master joiner, including timber framing. For over 20 years he has practiced the art of recreating early American woodwork, hoping to preserve a vanishing skill. His woodworking shop is in Ashburnham, Mass., but his projects are primarily on the North Shore including the Day-Dodge House (Ipswich, ca. 1737) and the Captain Sutton House (Ipswich, ca. 1685). Jim serves on the Ashburnham Historic Commission.

Seventeenth Century Saturdays
This presentation is part of 17th Century Saturdays, an Escapes North program to open the North Shore’s 17th century architectural treasures on the first Saturday of the month from June to October. For more information, and a list of participating historic buildings, visit http://www.escapesnorth.com/.

17th Century Saturdays

17th Century Saturdays is (are!) one of my favorite events in the region. Salem and the entire Essex National Heritage Area, or north of Boston region, is incredibly rich in architectural treasures. There are dozens upon dozens of historic properties that are, on occasion, open to the public. The challenge for you, the patient visitor, has always been knowing just when such a historic site is open for visitation and exploration.

Many of the properties are staffed by volunteers who graciously give their time to sharing the sites they love with the public. There are a couple of cases where there is a paid staff, but a single person is responsible for staffing two, three, or five houses. (These are talented site managers, each and every one!)

Well, 17th Century Saturdays takes the guesswork out of the exploration of architectural treasures north of Boston. The program coordinates the first-period properties throughout the region so they are all (or most) open on the first Saturday of the month, June through October. This weekend, on July 5th, the following houses in Salem will be open to the public:

• The Gedney House, 21 High Street. Built in 1665, the well-crafted and sophisticated timber framed house attests to the wealth and social standing of the home's builder and first owner, Eleazor Gedney. Gedney was a successful shipwright related by marriage to John Turner, builder of The House of the Seven Gables.
• The House of the Seven Gables, 115 Derby Street. The House of the Seven Gables, also known as the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion, built in 1668, is the oldest surviving 17th century wooden mansion in New England. The House of the Seven Gables inspired author Nathaniel Hawthorne to write his legendary novel of the same name.
• The Narbonne House, 71 Essex Street. The house is named after Sarah Narbonne, whose grandfather Jonathan Andrews purchased the house in 1780. Sarah was born in the Narbonne house, and lived there for her entire life, which stretched nearly the length of the 19th century.
• The John Ward House at The Peabody Essex Museum (10:30 tour only). Begun about 1684 and added to on several occasions by John Ward, this frame house is an excellent example of the organic, additive process by which most such dwellings developed, growing and changing as family needs and finances dictated.
• Salem in 1630 (Pioneer Village), Forest River Park. Salem's oldest living history museum is a recreation of the English colony established by Roger Conant and his intrepid band of settlers. From these humble beginnings, the seeds of Revolution were planted.
• The Witch House (Jonathan Corwin House), 310 Essex Street. The Witch House is the only surviving building in Salem with ties to the Salem Witch Trials,

If you can't make it this Saturday, many of the sites are open again on Aug. 2, Sept. 6, and Oct. 4. For more information, visit www.EscapesNorth.com.

Photos: Gedney House, 1665; Kitchen hearth in The Corwin House, ca. 1642.

Twilight at the Phillips House

One of Salem's hidden treasures is The Phillips House at 34 Chestnut Street. It is the only house on Chestnut Street that is open to the public, and the collections are an incredible sampling of souvenirs from around the world. The house provides a window into Salem's most elegant era.

The Phillips House is launching a new program this week: Thursdays at Twilight. You are invited to visit the Phillips House at twilight and see how electric light of the early twentieth century transforms a Federal-era house. Selections from Phillips family home movies provide a glimpse of how the family lived in the house and entertained, and where they traveled in their leisure time.

Registration is required, and you can visit historicnewengland.org or call 978-744-0440 for more information. $10 Historic New England members / $15 nonmembers. If you can't go this week, the program will be offered again on July 3, August 7, September 4, and October 2.

Architecture in Salem

It is delightfully sunny here today. Forecasters say spring is really here, and the days will get progressively warmer from here on out. This sort of news inspires me to want to go for a walk. On the off-chance sunny spring weather inspires you to walk and explore, too, here's a Salem suggestion:

Experience Salem's glorious boom of the 18th century by following the Samuel McIntire Historic District Walking Tour. McIntire was one of America's most remarkable wood carvers and architects, and he left an indelible mark on Salem in the homes and decorative arts he carved here. The walking tour was redone last year by the Peabody Essex Museum and National Park Service, with a grant from the Essex National Heritage Commission, and it will be both guide and interpreter for your self-guided tour of Salem's Federal Architecture heritage.

If you want more architecture, the National Park Service produced a walking guide to all of the architectural periods in Salem - First Period, Federal, and Colonial Revival are the three big ones. The properties highlighted in the guide are those that are open to the public.

You can download your copy of Architecture in Salem from the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, or pick one up at the Salem Regional Visitor Center at 2 New Liberty Street.

Salem's rich architectural history gives the city a remarkable sense of place. Because of great preservation efforts, we are fortunate that our streets are lined with homes and public buildings from the past 400 years. Through buildings, we are able to learn about how people lived, how they spent their wages, and where they spent their professional and personal time.

Discover the magic of architecture in Salem.