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Marblehead On a presidential visit more than 150 years after it was founded, George Washington remarked that Marblehead had the look of antiquity. It still does (even more so, no doubt), particularly in the Old Town historic district near the harbor. It has so many ledges and glacial outcroppings that early settlers simply built where they could. Streets are winding and narrow, many seem to be one-way the wrong way, parking is limited and directional signs are few. A map of town from the seasonal Chamber of Commerce information booth at Pleasant and Essex streets is a must. Even then, it takes most visitors several days to get their bearings. Driving Tour. With said map and a willingness for trial and error, orient yourself by driving along Pleasant Street (Route 114), the main drag from Salem through the uptown commercial center. It eventually intersects with Washington Street, the historic main street winding from uptown through Old Town, where the most notable landmarks are located. Get to the start of one-way Front Street to drive along the harbor and out to the views from Fort Sewall, the 1742 fortification at the mouth of the harbor, where during the War of 1812 the frigate Constitution found shelter from the pursuing British. Another good view is from Old Burial Hill off Orne Street, one of the oldest graveyards (1638) in New England; a plaque notes that 600 Revolutionary heroes and several early pastors are interred at the top of the hill, the highest point in town. Return to Pleasant Street and head west to Ocean Avenue, the access route to Marblehead Neck. At the causeway is Devereux Beach, a sandy strand for sunning and swimming. The other side of the causeway overlooks Marblehead Harbor with all its moored pleasure craft and affords vistas of Old Town and Marblehead Neck. Turn left on Harbor Avenue and then Foster Avenue and pass the posh Eastern and Corinthian yacht clubs and lovely homes beside the harbor. At the tip of the neck is Chandler Hovey Park, where protected benches on the rocks are good vantage points to see Marblehead Light and the passing boats. Continue around to Ocean Avenue with a stop at the alley leading to Castle Rock (one of the many public access points to the water throughout Marblehead). The rock may be of less interest than the multi-million-dollar castle residence beside. More palatial homes face the ocean on the way to the Audubon Bird Sanctuary, unmarked but reached off Risley Road. Head back to the causeway and where Ocean Avenue intersects with Harbor Avenue you’ll be greeted by a stunning view of the Boston skyline across the water. Walking Tour. Thus oriented, get out and walk – the best way to see and sense Marblehead. A Chamber of Commerce map outlines rewarding walking tours of one or two miles. We did ours just after daybreak, when all was still and many Marbleheaders were out walking their dogs and taking their morning constitutional. Go slowly, so as to savor (and not miss) all the little treasures and to make your own discoveries. Here are some highlights, in addition to those itemized below. Colorful houses and gardens enliven winding Lee Street, including a residence marked by one of Marblehead’s ubiquitous plaques, this one saying “Built in 1735 for Thomas Roads, innholder.” (Others to be encountered were built for merchants, bakers, boat builders, blacksmiths, shoremen, fishermen and countless others, giving a fascinating who’s who of early Marblehead.) Off Gregory Street, climb the steps of Prospect Alley to reach Boden’s Lookout, a hilltop aerie above the harbor, next to a gray house built in 1710 for John Boden, shoreman. Pass the Lafayette House, with its cutout corner beside Union Street, and head down Water Street to the imposing Boston Yacht Club, one of the nation’s first, where rockers are lined up on the long waterfront porch. Beyond is Crocker Park, a stony outcrop harbor blessed with long benches for viewing the harbor goings-on. A plaque, dedicated to George Washington’s Navy, tells of “the first American vessels to engage in naval operations against an enemy...the forerunners of the U.S. Navy.” They were manned by Marblehead sailors. Stop at the Town Landing at the foot of State Street to see working fishing boats. From the 1727 Old Town House area in the center of Old Town, take brief side trips to see Old North Church, the Unitarian-Universalist Church and St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. None is quite as imposing as Abbot Hall, the 1877 town hall whose red brick tower is Marblehead’s most visible landmark. The creaky main floor displays much Marblehead memorabilia; foremost is Archibald Willard’s famed “Spirit of ’76” painting, a larger-than-life piece made famous during the nation’s centenary celebration and now framed permanently against a red velvet backdrop in the selectmen’s meeting room here. The walking tour goes near or past many restaurants, B&Bs and shops detailed herein. Jeremiah Lee Mansion, 161 Washington St., Marblehead. Step through the door of this impressive house and you’re back in 1768. Almost every feature of this house, built by one of the richest traders in the local “codfish aristocracy,” is original. Lee’s residence was described by a Boston newspaper at the time as “the most elegant and costly home in the Bay State Colony.” You’re told that Lee emulated the houses of the British aristocracy, from the simulated cut-stone blocks of the Georgian wooden facade to the original rococo carving and architectural features inside. Guides point out the intricate carved spindles and newel posts (bearing spirals within spirals) of the unsupported Santo Domingan mahogany staircase with its free-standing landing, a focal point of the massive entry foyer. On either side of the landing are copies of portraits of Jeremiah and Martha Lee, among the few full-length portraits by John Singleton Copley. Most unusual is the exotic, hand-painted wallpaper created in England to exact specifications for the hallway and several grand chambers; the Lee is the only public house this old where you can see the original wallpaper on the same walls. The house is full of unique attributes and furnishings, from original fire backs and fireplace tiles to Colonial Revival gold draperies and “important” North Shore furniture – all gifts to the sponsoring Marblehead Historical Society from local families and Louise du Pont Crowninshield, an honorary director who summered in Marblehead and contributed much toward saving the house. The bedchambers and servants’ quarters on the third floor have been turned into museum rooms to display local artifacts, including dolls, children’s furniture, shoes, a wonderful sea captain’s crib and a room full of paintings by local folk artist J.O.J. Frost. This mansion, billed as the most beautiful Colonial mansion in the country, is not to be missed. (781) 631-1768. Open Tuesday-Saturday 10 to 4,
Sunday 1 to 4, June to mid-October. Adults, $5 King Hooper Mansion, 8 Hooper St., Marblehead. Less awesome than the Jeremiah Lee Mansion around the corner, this is a much-used building that’s headquarters of the Marblehead Arts Association. It’s actually two structures joined together: the original built in 1728 and a Georgian front added in 1745. There are fourteen fireplaces, original Delft tiles, pumpkin pine floors, double dentil moldings and formal British gardens in the rear, but the home of the wealthy merchant trader who was respectfully nicknamed King by his sailors is not overly daunting – except perhaps for the arched brick wine cellar off the basement kitchen or the enormous third-floor ballroom, now a handsome display space for changing art exhibitions. The oldest piece in the house is a blanket chest from the 1600s. Here you learn that the powder room was originally used by men to powder their wigs, and that the good-night bidding to “sleep tight” derived from the need to tighten the ropes beneath the mattress on the canopy bed. (781) 631-2608. Open Tuesday-Saturday 10 to 4,
Sunday 1 to 5. Donation. Shopping. Especially good specialty stores are concentrated around Washington Street in Old Town. They're also scattered along School Street, Atlantic Avenue and Pleasant Street in the uptown area. In the heart of Old Town is Uncommon Stock, with an uncommonly choice selection of kitchenware, cookbooks, pottery and accessories that lure us inside at every visit. Across the street is The Flag Hanger, with decorative flags and gifts.. Most unusual is Joan Wheeler's Russian Gallery, a trove of things Russian, including dozens of matrioshka nesting dolls, lacquered boxes, shawls, small colorful pens and eggs, even T-shirts. Downstairs are Russian watercolors and prints. The Marblehead Kite Co. carries everything that says Marblehead – T-shirts, coffee mugs, sweatshirts of sailboats on the harbor titled Marblehead Rush Hour and, yes, kites. Some of the cards here made us laugh out loud. Also specializing in Marblehead items is Arnould Gallery, with many local prints and some carved swans clad in straw hats. Nearby, Much Ado is crammed with rare books and O’Rama’s, which started selling antique lingerie and linens, expanded into a line of jewelry, frames, soaps, teapots and boxes, all very dainty and feminine. The Hilliard-Sanford Gallery shows fine American crafts. Jambu has exotic jewelry and gifts. At the Garden Collection, proprietor Rebecca Ellis stocks all kinds of flowery gifts, botanical note cards, floral aprons and pottery with a floral or garden theme. We liked her T-shirts with cats or bird feeders. Uptown are C’est la Vie with imaginative
gifts of the kind found in decorator show houses, as well as unusual
picture frames, china and glass, and exquisite baby things; Accessories
by Blass, with unusual pins, pocketbooks and umbrellas, and the
excellent Spirit of ‘76 Bookstore. Lavender Home & Table takes
its inspiration from Provence. Extra Special
Hestia Products, 13 Hawkes St., Marblehead. Generally unknown by residents as well as visitors, the little showroom here displays fine miniatures produced in the rear “factory” and sold to collectors across the country. Linda Macdonald, a Marblehead mother of four, turned her hobby of designing unique products in clays and porcelains into a lucrative business. Her original designs, which range from Christmas ornaments and miniature buildings to figurines and garden statues, are first sculpted in clay. Latex molds are made for mass-producing air-dried plaster units, which then are individually hand-painted and sealed by about fifteen women, many of whom work at home. We were struck by the AmeriScape ornaments devoted to different places, from Charleston to Cape May to Breckenridge to Natchez – not to mention Marblehead, for which a different design is produced each year. There are garden statues of cats, rabbits and dogs, as well as nativity scenes (to which collectors add characters over the years). We picked up a few finely sculpted and detailed woodland animals for Christmas gifts. (781) 639-2727 or (800) 365-1262.
www.hestiaproducts.com. Open Monday-Saturday, 9 to 5. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places in New England, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2004.. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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