Address: 161 Washington Street
Pricing: Free, $5 for Lee Mansion
Phone: 781-631-1069
Hours: Tue.-Sun. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
How To Get There:
Take Routes 93 or 95 to Route 128 North. Exit at Route 114 East, and travel 6 miles, through Salem, to Marblehead. Route 114 in Marblehead ends in a "T" intersection at Washington St. Turn right on Washington St., and follow to the Lee Mansion and the 170 Washington St. Gallery.
Parking:On-street metered parking
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Door tour: Size matters in Marblehead
Jul 24, 2010
With the front doors of Marblehead's historic homes, size definitely matters.
At least, that's what Judy Anderson--volunteer with the non-profit Col. Jeremiah Lee Mansion found in the city's picturesque historic district--insists when she recently gave an impromptu "door tour" in one of the oldest fishing towns in the country.
"During the economic boon of the 1820s and ‘30s, the wealthier families in Marblehead would update three things: the heating systems, the windows and, of course, the front doorways,” she says.
The Revolutionary War brought economic devastation to the city, caused by heavy loss of men, ships and land. Things didn’t improve until 1815, when active trade resumed with the European ports across the Atlantic.
Many of the doors of the historic homes found near Washington Square reflect the city’s economic revitalization and the homeowners’ desire to show off their wealth.
“There was definitely a lot of one-upmanship going on,” Anderson says, in front of the Col. Jeremiah Lee Mansion, adding that the three-story building was the town’s premiere showpiece back in the day.
Anderson adds that the Lee Mansion was like the Trump Towers of the early 1800s.
HelloMetro Tip: While visiting Marblehead’s historic Washington Square, check out the late colonial Georgian mansion built in 1768 by wealthy ship-owner and patriot Col. Jeremiah Lee, a historic house museum located at 161 Washington Street. Inside, there are copies of the full-length portraits of Jeremiah and Martha Lee by the accomplished portrait artist John Singleton Copley.
- by Sam Baltrusis, Boston Reporter for HelloMetro
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Sam BaltrusisSam Baltrusis has worked for WHDH.com, Spike-TV, VH1, Independent News, Seventeen, Newsweek, and as a regional stringer for The New York Times. He's currently a full-time freelance editor and writer in Boston, where he's an instructor for Mediabistro.com and contributes to various regional publications including Boston Spirit Magazine. Sam also publishes a successful pop culture site, LoadedGunBoston.com, and was recently featured on WCVB-TV's "Chronicle" and Boston's NPR affiliate WBUR.
