Mary Harrod Northend

“ The doorways and porches of the loveliest old Salem homes owe so much either directly or indirectly to the influence of McIntire, that he might almost be termed the architect of Salem beautiful—as for over a quarter of a century he was its master-craftsman, working with an originality of conception, an ingenuity of combination, a freedom from hampering tradition, yet with a restraint and refinement of taste, which render his productions individual, beautiful, and noble, the true notes of the Colonial style at its very best. ”

“ Of all the external features of a dwelling, the doorway, with or without its porch, possesses most interest and character.
Architecturally speaking, it is usually the feature upon which the chief emphasis is placed; and thus it expresses not only the taste and personality of the architect, but to a certain extent also those of the occupant of the home to which it belongs.
For the doorway is more than a mere entrance and exit to a dwelling. It assumes a human aspect, as standing for personal and social elements, and as revealing something of personal and social ambitions and ideals. ”

“ Top-light and side-light come into general use. With the appearance of the square wooden house of three stories, soon after the Revolution, these historic doorways and porches may be said to reach almost their full development, the genius of Samuel McIntire carrying this on to its peak, the full fruition of his work being seen in the entrances to the red-brick mansions of the beginning of the nineteenth century, against whose mellow background the pure white classic forms of porch and doorway stand out in striking and delightful contrast. ”

“ The study of old knockers furnishes a delightful occupation for the lover of antiques. As found upon the doors of old Salem houses, they furnish conspicuous and charming examples, not only of the art of the craftsman in brass, who loved his work and lent to each specimen turned out by him the impress of his individuality, but of the fondness of our forbears for artistic and symbolic forms, together with an appreciation of classic myths and allegories which is very striking, to those who think of the early Colonists as hard [Pg 90] men, with no richness of culture and no love of beauty. ”

“ Would that these old porches could relate the many romances and tragedies they have witnessed since coming into being—to tell us of the days when Salem was a social center, composed of the ship-owners and their families, of which there were a sufficient number to make a story which links itself with her wealth and ventures. It is interesting to trace as far as possible the incentive which they had in designing their homes, with their wide hallways and large, square, white paneled rooms opening on either side, often ending with the old-fashioned garden, laid out at the rear of the houses. ”

“ With but a single exception here and there, Derby Street presents a squalid and forlorn succession of shabby frame houses, occupied mostly by foreigners. Commerce consists in such humble trade as goes on in Greek restaurants and Polish markets. The splendid homes of merchants and ship-owners no longer gratify the eye; and what is of note to-day in architectural beauty and taste in Salem must be sought elsewhere than in its original location. ”

“ The Andrew-Safford estate comprises the house itself, an extensive garden of old-fashioned flowers at one side, and out-buildings and stables in suitable style. The house has suffered from a coat of paint; four-paned sashes have replaced the quaint twelve-paned style of the period. At the rear a beautiful portico resting upon fluted columns extends to the full height of the three stories. The Andrew-Safford house as a whole is as well worth study as any of equal age in Salem.
A thing of genuine beauty is the stately porch at the front entrance. ”

“ Other rooms both upstairs and down are furnished in Colonial style and contain interesting relics. The house is innocent of paint, inside and out, and takes its only color from the mellowing touch of weather without and of time within.
Altogether, with its gables, its lean-to, its batten door and lozenge casements, its overhang and its silvery weathered walls, the John Ward house presents a most interesting example of the Old Salem dwelling of the second period. ”

“ Along one side of the street were the counting-houses of the merchant princes, around which hung the atmosphere and flavor of thrilling maritime romance. Practically the entire male population, young and old, was engaged directly or indirectly in the business of such as go down to the sea in ships. Ship-builders and sailors, craftsmen and navigators—Derby Street hummed with their activities. Before the ports of New York and Boston had acquired touch with Oriental trade, Salem had already dipped deep into the coffers of the East ”

“ The Cook-Oliver house on Federal Street shows rare bits of hand-tooling, in part taken from the Elias Hasket Derby mansion on Market Square, considered the finest house of its day.
Salem has just reason to be proud of these doorways which have given to her a distinctive name in the field of architecture. Little wonder that architects from all over the country are copying these historic doorways for reproduction in modern-day homes, with a realization that they have never been excelled by modern-day work. ”

“ The garlands and festoons about the door-casing and side-lights relieve the severity of the right angles, while elliptical fanlight and side-lights with unique leading complete the harmonious whole. The modern door is again the sole jarring note.
A word must be added regarding the gate-posts, which are the most ornate among many of similar design in Salem. The medallions, carved knots and garlands, the cornice directly below the urns, and the moulded urns themselves with their flames at the top, represent a veritable labor of love on the part of the master-craftsman. ”

“ The warm red-brick, so effective as a background for the pure white of the Colonial porch, has here been hidden by a coat of gray paint. A light and artistic iron fence encloses the yard, stables of a design harmonious with the house itself are located at the rear, and a most attractive and handsome porch invites entrance. ”

“ If every man could choose his own doorway, what revelations there would be, not only of artistic taste or the lack of it, but of personal character, disposition, and temperament as well. Thus, one doorway would express caution, reserve, a nature prone to watchfulness and suspicion. It might bespeak a certain narrowness and penuriousness in its owner, a lack of sympathy with breadth and joyousness, a desire to remain as much as possible aloof from the great currents of human life. ”

“ In the first rude architecture of the colonists no thought was given—for in the exigencies of the situation none could be given—to style and attractiveness, utility being, through stern necessity, the prime factor in the construction of their simple homes.
A love of beauty, however, was by no means wanting; and this soon became evident in the beginning of decoration, simple enough, it is true, as was natural, but showing a desire to make the doorway, always architecturally speaking the keynote of the dwelling’s exterior, as attractive as possible. ”

“ This impression is somewhat relieved by the elaborate decorations—four handsome Ionic pilasters rising above the roof of the porch nearly to the eaves, while a gable or pediment extends across almost the full width of the façade. The porch itself is of generous breadth, Ionic pillars with a beautifully ornamented frieze, representing grape leaves and clusters, forming a fitting frame for the hospitable entrance just behind. [Pg 36] Probably the porch is of more recent date than the building itself, although this is a matter of conjecture. ”

“ Wearing their famous scarlet uniforms, and swinging down Chestnut Street, their favorite parade-ground, with handkerchiefs waving from the classic porches on either side, the Salem Cadets lend a touch of color and life which is most attractive against the Colonial background.
Famous Names in Salem
The house is nothing without its inhabitant; and thus Salem architecture, however beautiful, would lack in significance if dissociated from the persons, men and women, who have passed in and out of these hospitable doors, or spent years of life beneath the sheltering roofs. ”

“ The porch itself, the work of Samuel McIntire, [Pg 20] is in the semi-oval composite style. The tall, slender, fluted columns with their flanking pilasters seem almost to spring into the air, so light is the effect produced by their perfect proportions. The roof of the porch is borne aloft without a semblance of effort, while the easy grade of the stone steps with their wrought-iron railings provides a solid and handsome base for the whole. ”

“ When one recalls the fact that early vessels were usually not over sixty tons burthen, while their skippers were commonly no more than boys—the captain and mates of the first Salem India-man being still in their teens—the wonder grows. Interesting touches are found here and there; as, for example, that the first elephant ever seen in the United States came over from Bengal in 1796, in the ship America, of which Captain Jacob Crowninshield, of Salem, was owner and master.
One of these old-time merchant adventurers was Captain William H. Neal, for whom was built the house at 13 Chestnut Street. ”

“ The central feature of the garden is an ancient summer-house, covered with a thick growth of ‘Dutchman’s Pipe,’ the vine being over eighty years old.
For sheer beauty and taste, the porch and doorway of this old mansion are scarcely surpassed by any in Salem. The fluted columns are Ionic, the architrave directly above ornamented with guttæ, while beneath the cornice is a line of ball moulding. The fine old door bears a brass knocker; the leaded glass of top- and side-lights [Pg 74] is of exceptional charm. The casing of the doorway is finely moulded ”

“ Oblong houses in Old Salem stood sometimes with the front to the street, sometimes with the end; the latter is the case with the Mansfield-Bolles house at 8 Chestnut Street, built in 1810. The house is of brick, painted, which has spoiled the mellow effect. It is entirely covered as to the front with a close growth of ampelopsis. At the center is the handsome doorway, nearly flush with the façade, the spreading fanlight, oval-paned side-lights, and proper Colonial paneled door producing a most pleasing effect. ”

“ The latch-string was supplanted by the quaint thumb-latch, and very late in the Colonial period glass door-knobs and bell-pulls made their appearance. Outside the door, double blinds with shutters faced on the inner side with screen cloth were commonly used. Thus the tiny stuffy entries and hallways managed to receive something of the breath of life.
Too many old Salem doorways, beautiful otherwise, have been spoiled by the addition of modern ugly or inappropriate doors. It is to be hoped that a revival of the old-time Colonial taste may correct this fault. ”

“ Wealth accumulated in Salem, but men did not decay. Few towns in New England can boast of such striking history and such valuable achievements on the part of their citizens, within a like period of time, as can Old Salem by the Sea. ”

“ This was called ‘foreshortening.’ The severity of outline presented by these simple structures was relieved by various devices—sometimes by quoined corner-boards, an ornamental cornice, a balustraded roof, or decorative lintels above the windows; very rarely by rusticated front-boards in imitation of stone blocks. The chief glory of the house as one viewed it from the outside was of necessity the entrance, with its porch, open or enclosed; and it was hither that the loving attention of architect and wood-carver was most assiduously directed. ”

“ In color, Salem doors were usually painted white. Only rarely is one found which is stained instead of painted. With the increasing elaborateness of doorways and porches, in which so much pure white was necessarily used, doors were often for the sake of contrast painted dark green—an effective background for the brightly polished brass knocker and latch. Very rarely was the entrance-door of mahogany. A notable example is on the Andrew-Safford house, 13 Washington Square, built in 1818 by John Andrew, uncle of War Governor John A. Andrew. ”

“ The young Salem dames whom we saw at the doorway of the John Ward house a few moments ago, have apparently transferred themselves, by means of some witchcraft, from the seventeenth century, to which the Ward house belongs, to the beginning of the nineteenth, in which was built the Tucker-Rice house, upon the steps of which we now find them. They are still, however, in the garden of the Essex Institute, for this fine portico has been removed from its original location, on the house at 129 Essex Street, and brought here for preservation. ”

“ English cottages were commonly thatched, and a very steep pitch of the roof was necessary to carry off the water. For a considerable time after the founding of Salem, many houses were thatched; and even when the roofs began to be covered with shingles or tiles, habit still retained the steep slope from ridge to eaves. As to the overhang, tradition persists in declaring that the purpose of this was to provide floor loopholes through which a musket might be fired at Indians who had come [Pg 18] too close to the building to be reached from openings in shutter or wall. ”

“ The approach to the steps is flanked by handsome gate-posts of the Tuscan order, surmounted by ornamental urns carved from a single block of wood.
At the side of the house, and serving as a carriage entrance, is an enclosed porch, similar in type to that at the front, and admirable in its effect upon the eye. This enclosed porch as a side-entrance is indeed characteristic of Old Salem houses—the particular one in question being of exceptional attractiveness. Oval side-windows [Pg 32] afford light, and the door itself is of the correct ancient pattern. ”