FRESH STUFF DAILY
Seacoast New Hampshire
& South Coast Maine
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
|
|
| |
|
|
|
d1a
lexapro united pharmacy buy cialis levitra sales online viagra online no prescription propecia 5mg viagra canada viagra usa cheap prescription free viagra canadian oharmacy prescription drugs on line levitra 10 online viagra without prescription cheap prescription free viagra cialis what is the best online pharmacy for viagra viagra canada pharmacy viagra on line in australia pharmacy canada get viagra without a prescription canada viagra free cialis levitra online propecia, prescription cialis online viagra with no prescription generic propecia
0
|
Among the Ghosts of Gardner Street
|
 |
 |
|
Written by J. Dennis Robinson
|
|
Page 1 of 3  HISTORIC HOMES
It was almost demolished as a slum in 1972. But Portsmouth’s South End survived the onslaught of urban renewal and today is among the most sought after and ritzy places to live in Portsmouth. That’s because it’s history is as old as Portsmouth itself and its new residents live among a host of ghostly neighbors.
Portsmouth's Ancient South End
"You don’t buy a house around here," a longtime South-Ender says. "You buy a neighborhood."
 One stroll through the Portsmouth, New Hampshire waterfront validates his claim. Down Hunking Street toward the Piscataqua River, two-story clapboard homes lean toward each other like ancient trees. A couple holding hands with their arms outstretched can almost touch the buildings on both sides. Colonial, Georgian, Federal and modern homes are jig-sawed together, some touching, others only slightly less familiar.
Pressed against the fast-flowing Piscataqua River, Portsmouth’s historic South End is among the nation’s longest surviving neighborhoods, dating to the 1650s. Just over from Hunking, at the head of Gardner Street, two neighbors have renovated their ideal home. Susan and Larry Benedict, both educators, have settled in for good. They are part of the South End renaissance of retiring couples drawn to this refurbished maritime setting. Five years ago they bought a 1778 Federal home the first day it came on the market.
"We both walked in and we knew this was it," Susan Benedict says. "We are never going to live anywhere else. We’ll die with our boots on here."
True to its Federal style, the unadorned exterior draws little attention. The shy 2 1/2-story structure is positioned sideways on a tiny lot, just 34 by 79 feet. Visitors approach from the back that offers only two small central windows and two towering chimneys at each end. There is room for two cars tucked end-to-end and a pocket garden with three raised wooden beds, a tool shed and nothing more. It isn’t everybody’s cup of tea.
The original tenants had just four simple rooms and a habitable third floor attic. The current house has a fifth room, the modern kitchen, built on the footprint of an old shed, plus bathrooms up and down. Another small shed has been adapted into a breakfast nook off the kitchen and both look out onto the garden that is wrapped in a high wooden fence. A simple boxy stairway, almost primitive by Portsmouth standards, rises like an elevator up the center of the building. All four original rooms have high ceilings and working fireplaces. Just to the right of the beehive fireplace is a narrow door where a precipitous "secret" staircase leads to the attic. There is a dark spooky basement where nobody goes.
CONTINUE WITH STREET ARTICLE
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 Next > End >>
|
Please visit these SeacoastNH.com ad partners.
Portsmouth Herald
|
Portsmouth Herald Latest Headlines
|
| Portsmouth Herald News from SeacoastOnline.com |
-
Thief stole charity jar from donut shop, say police
PORTSMOUTH — While a Dunkin' Donuts clerk turned her back to fill an order, Derrick Rice stole a counter-top jar filled with donations for children with cancer, allege police.
-
Portsmouth police log
7:08 a.m. Arrested Shari Webber, 29, of 258 Leslie Dr., for a count of driving after alcohol-related suspension.
-
City resident arrested on child porn charges
PORTSMOUTH — Eight months after a woman accused him of viewing child pornography, a Salmon Avenue man has been arrested on multiple counts of possessing child porn and a single...
-
Boys soccer: STA falls in double overtime
EXETER — For 110 minutes the St. Thomas Aquainas and Coe-Brown High School boys soccer teams battled for a spot in the Class I final, taking a 0-0 game into...
-
High School football: Clippers need to start strong
Like a stubborn man who refuses to take his medication, the Portsmouth High School football team has been living dangerously this season.
-
High School football: Weekend game capsules
WINNACUNNET VS. SPAULDING
-
Montreal edges Bruins in shootout
BOSTON — Patrice Bergeron's goal with 52 seconds left in regulation helped the Bruins avoid a historic third straight shutout, but Michael Cammalleri scored in the shootout to give the...
-
Little Clippers advance
-
High School football: Playoffs begin with York and Portsmouth
If you look at the Mountain Valley High School football team's two most recent games — losses to second-seeded York (33-14) and top-seeded Cape Elizabeth (34-0) ˆ' you might conclude...
-
UNH hockey regroups after Wisconsin losses
After spending much of their time in scrambling to get the puck out of their own zone against Wisconsin last weekend, the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team is...
-
Seacoast mourning Bavicchi, a 'visionary'
PORTSMOUTH — There is a granite slab outside the Shoals Building at Portsmouth Regional Hospital that recognizes the tireless work of three men who guided the health care facility to...
-
Ferris G. Bavicchi
RYE BEACH — Ferris G. Bavicchi, 84, died Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, at Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
-
Stephen M. Carroll
PORTSMOUTH — Stephen Michael Carroll, beloved son, brother and uncle, died peacefully Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, after a brief illness.
-
William C. Wilson
HAMPTON — William C. Wilson of Hampton Beach and Cape Coral, Fla., husband of Maryann T. (Fitzgerald), died Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009.
-
Gov. Lynch helps Red Cross honor 'Heroes'
PORTSMOUTH — Heroes may not be as rare as thought.
-
Community asked to welcome home Jordyn Boucher
BRENTWOOD — Jordyn Boucher is coming home after a two-month stay at Children's Hospital in Boston, and her family is asking the Seacoast community to help welcome her.
-
Plea deal follows police call alleging man had firearm
RYE — Arrested after police responded to a 911 call about an intoxicated man with a gun, Sean Tichey was absolved of a Class A misdemeanor Thursday as part of...
-
UNH study: Child porn probes take physical, mental toll on police
PORTSMOUTH — Police officers exposed to child pornography as part of criminal investigations live with "mental health problems," according to a University of New Hampshire study based on interviews with...
-
Woman on trek to feed need in Maine
If you see a lively lady in a bright yellow hard hat walking along the highways and streets of Maine, be sure to stop and say hello — and while...
-
Portsmouth shop to give away cupcakes Saturday
PORTSMOUTH — If there's one thing Debbie Mugherini, owner of the Old Stove Bake Shoppe, wants people to take away from her shop, it's a smile.
|
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, November 07, 2009 |
|
|
|
