Please Keep Away from Puddle Dock Wharf
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460 detail 00SeacoastNH.com Presents 
Historic Portsmouth #460  

The "newbies" who have recently moved to Portsmouth for its trim sidewalks, renovated homes, and lush gardens have no clue how recently this was a hardscrabble port city. Back in the day, instead of snappy sailboats and pleasure craft, the South End waterfront docks were less than family friendly. (Continued below)

Instead of a performances like "Annie" and top name musicians, visitors saw crumbling warehouses, dilapidated wharves, and derelict boats. As far back as the mid-1800s mothers warned their children to stay away from the wharves on Puddle Dock. The transformation of Water Street from a colonial world trade center to desolate docks and coal pockets to gardens and parks mirrors the shifting seacoast economy over hundreds of years.  (Courtesy Strawbery Banke Collection) 

Puddle Dock wharf now Prescott Park / Strawbery Banke Colelction

BONUS CLOSE-UPS

460 detail boat

Water Street scene, Portsmouth, NH