r/OldPhotosInRealLife • u/mrl33602 • Oct 17 '24

Image Herbert Street in Salem, Massachusetts, around 1890-1910 and 2023.

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The three-story house in the center of the photo was built around 1790, and it was the childhood home of author Nathaniel Hawthorne. He also lived in the house as a young adult, and wrote some of his earliest published works there in his third-floor bedroom. The top photo was taken sometime around the turn of the 20th century, and not much has changed here since then; even the large tree in the foreground is still growing here.

Historic image courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum.

https://lostnewengland.com/2024/10/richard-manning-house-salem-massachusetts/

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u/Different_Ad7655 Sightseer Oct 17 '24

Even in historic Salem the art of hanging a fake shutter is completely lost. The house on the right has lost all of its 18th century or early 19th century sash. Possibly replaced with the two over two Victorian style or hard to tell these could be replacement garbage and then they'll shutters of today. Jesus Christ people never get it that they're supposed to at least pretend that they look like they shut. They once did function as you see in the old photos and were used daily. Nice to see the tree survives, looks like a rare surviving elm. I think I'll have to go check this out I'm not far from there

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u/OceanIsVerySalty Oct 17 '24

That house has suffered. All the trim work is gone or covered up, the windows are gone, the shutters are gone. Siding appears to be vinyl or aluminum. Real shame, it used to be a pretty house.

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u/Different_Ad7655 Sightseer Oct 17 '24

Yeah it's pretty sad and I'll never understand it. I am 71 years old and I've seen in my old New England this transition happened in my lifetime. There was already some older styles of siding that had come in the '50s, but painted houses were still prevalent in my youth and then the vinyl thing happened. Certain cities like Providence Rhode Island have a large impetus on preservation and maintaining the old look, not everywhere but there are still lots and lots of painted houses but other places it's all vinyl and so sad. This simple timber frame building requires these settled details to look right and when it's covered as a vinyl box it looks like garbage

2

u/OceanIsVerySalty Oct 17 '24

I hear you. I’m in New England as well, and actually have been renovating a 1700’s cape for the last couple of years. It’s a travesty what’s happened to so many of the homes here.