32 Forrester Street - Salem, Massachusetts

32 Forrester Street

Historic Salem Inc. - 32 Forrester Street

Built for 
Lizzie and Samuel Frank Masury
Tobacconist
1884

The house at 32 Forrester Street was constructed in 1884 in the Queen Anne style. Queen Anne architecture reached the peak of its popularity between 1880 and 1900 and is known for its highly decorative accents, wrap-around porches, and asymmetry. This style appears throughout Salem but is most densely seen on Boardman and Lafayette streets.

Until the late 19th century, Forrester Street extended from 20 Essex Street through what is now known as Washington Square South. The land that now connects Forrester Street to Webb Street, like much of the surrounding area, was previously industrial. The area was filled in around 1872 and steadily transitioned to residential property until 1910. The neighborhood was highly sought after for its proximity to Salem’s downtown and the city’s industrial and maritime industries.

Read more: www.historicsalem.org

Request your own House History: www.historicsalem.org

Spenser: For Hire - Salem, Massachusetts

Spenser: For Hire scene in front of the West India Goods Store

Spenser: For Hire (1985-1988) starring Robert Urich (Spenser) and Avery Brooks (Hawk) chronicled two fictional detectives as they solved crimes in the Greater Boston area. In Fall 1986, the show filmed in Salem, Massachusetts, where the two helped a 12-year-old girl face her nightmares and stop a string of arson attacks. Production filmed in multiple areas around Salem including Chestnut Street and Salem Maritime National Historic Site, where the West India Goods Store was transformed into an occult shop. The episode “Shadowsight” (S2 E9) premiered on December 13, 1986.

Spenser: For Hire,“Shadowsight” (S2 E9) - Warner Brothers

The Historic Derby Street Neighborhood - Salem, Massachusetts

Christmas in Salem, 2018

The Historic Derby Street Neighborhood (HDSN) consists of streets lining Derby Street, stretching from Hawthorne Boulevard to Block House Square. The neighborhood has strong ties to the maritime trade and many of its homes were built for the merchants and tradesmen that worked along the over fifty wharves that once lined the waterfront. When Salem’s wealthy merchant families began relocating to stately mansions along Chestnut Street and Washington Square, HDSN became a middle and working-class immigrant community. As the maritime trade waned, industry prevailed; multiple factories were built throughout Salem and surrounding towns, attracting an influx of immigrants. Between 1890 and 1910, Salem’s population increased by 42%, many single-family homes throughout the city were remodeled or replaced with tenements to accommodate this population surge. The largest immigrant population to settle in the Historic Derby Street Neighborhood was Polish, accounting for 8% of Salem’s overall population in 1911.

The House of the Seven Gables, the namesake of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel, played a crucial role in this community. Caroline Emmerton opened the museum in 1910 to support her adjacent settlement house, which provided classes and workshops to the local immigrant community, a role the museum still honors to this day. The Gables became a neighborhood social center and fostered interactions between Salem’s upper-class and newly arrived immigrants, unseen in other communities.

In the first half of the 20^th century, Salemites advocated the need for a “national shrine” commemorating Salem’s “long extinct shipping glory.” This became a possibility with the passage of the National Historic Sites Act by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935. In preparation for the park, the City of Salem demolished several tenements, homes, and outbuildings, relocating at least three structures to other parts of the city. When the work was complete, five buildings remained: the Hawkes House, the Custom House, Forrester’s Warehouse (non-extant), the West India Goods Store, and the Derby House. On March 17, 1938, Salem Maritime became America’s first National Historic Site.  Since then the Site has continually told the stories of Salem residents and their global significance. In telling these stories, Salem Maritime has added multiple buildings within the Site’s boundaries, including the Narbonne House and St. Joseph Hall, a Polish community center.

In 1976, The Historic Derby Street Neighborhood was designated a National Historic District due in large part to the hard work of neighborhood residents, led by sisters Alice and Dolores Jordan.

* This article was written and researched by Jen Ratliff for publication by Christmas in Salem, Historic Salem Inc.

Accounting for history - Salem Magazine

Salem Magazine, Fall 2018

Accounting for history
Old Salem Savings Bank records gain interest with age

"You meet the most interesting people in the archives of the Frederick E. Berry Library and  Learning Commons at Salem State University.

That’s where Jen Ratliff made the acquaintance of Clarence Murphy, a bank clerk who dominated national headlines in the 19th century, after he stole money from the Salem Savings Bank.

Ratliff, an archivist and Salem State graduate, encountered Murphy’s story recently while investigating 150 ledgers and 50 boxes of papers from Salem Savings Bank, which were donated to the library last December by developer Robert Dunham.

He found them in a building at 120 Washington St. that he bought from Eastern Savings Bank in 2016. The building now houses Ledger Restaurant & Bar, where a few of the historic ledgers were briefly used in the decor..."

Read More: Salem Magazine (September 2018)

Historical Haunts - Salem, Massachusetts

Salem Maritime National Historic Site

Historical Haunts - Things to do in Salem

As you walk through Salem, you can’t help but feel an undeniable magic. The City is alive with stories long passed. Mariners have walked these streets, returning home with treasures from the far east. Nathaniel Hawthorne wandered them, dreaming up his novels. Immigrants dragged their suitcases door to door in search of a familiar language and a piece of the American dream. There are so many tangible connections to the past to uncover, some of them may even surprise you...[1138 more words]

Read more: Thingstodoinsalem.com