Salem Heritage Days August 1-12

The House of the Seven Gables will be offering free programs on our site and reduced admission for Senior and Families for Salem residents.

Residents of Salem (proof of residency required) will receive 20% off Senior and Family Admission (children under 18).

In addition, The Gables is offering several free activities throughout Salem Heritage Days:

Wednesday, Aug. 1 from 1pm-4pm, Take a break from the summer heat. Enjoy free story time at The Gables (children 7 and under). We have an assortment of new and classical stories.

Thursday, Aug. 2 from 1pm-4pm, Experience 17th Century games on our beautiful seaside lawn.

Friday, Aug. 3 from 1pm-4pm, Come watch the lost art of lace-making in Hooper Hathaway Great Room.

Saturday, Aug. 4 from 1pm-4pm, Free exhibit of five ship models, past and present, with a demonstration of re-rigging a brig of the 19th century in the Hooper Hathaway Great Room.

Sunday, Aug. 5 from 1pm-4pm, Free exhibit of five ship models, past and present, with a demonstration of re-rigging a brig of the 19th century in the Hooper Hathaway Great Room.

Wednesday, Aug. 8 from 1pm-4pm, Take a break from the summer heat. Enjoy free story time at The Gables (children 7 and under). We have an assortment of new and classical stories.

Thursday, Aug. 9  from 1pm-4pm, Experience 17th Century games on our beautiful seaside lawn.

Friday, Aug. 10 from 1pm-4pm, Come watch the lost art of lace-making in Hooper Hathaway Great Room.

Saturday, Aug. 11 from 1pm-4pm, A short slide show of sailing ships abandoned in the Falkland Islands 150 years ago and still intact. Show runs continuously.

Sunday, Aug. 12 from 1pm-4pm, A short slide show of sailing ships abandoned in the Falkland Islands 150 years ago and still intact. Show runs continuously.

There are loads of other programs throughout the city for Salem Heritage Days and also the kickoff of the Salem Maritime Festival which starts on Saturday, August 4th.

For more information on all the events please visit the City of Salem's website.

Summertime at The Gables and The Museum Store

The Gables is happy that summer is upon us and that our visitors are enjoying our newly designed exhibits and the gorgeous seaside gardens in their full summer glory.

Of course, part of the visitor experience at The Gables is perusing the many gifts and souvenirs available at our wonderful Museum Store. There are always new arrivals to surprise and delight our visitors, regular patrons, neighbors and even the employees of The Gables! I know this blogger has bought many a gift at The Museum Store!

In celebration of our mascot, Dusty the cat, The Museum Store has some new cute pieces available:

Everything you might need for summertime pastimes from board games, to beach bags to book marks, take some time to peruse the goodies - there is a little something for all ages:

Pride, Fourth and Lecture!

Saturday, June 30 - Salem's first annual Pride Parade to take place as part of North Shore Pride Parade and festival. Please visit North Shore Pride's website for the parade route and further information.

Wednesday, July 4 - Salem celebrates the Fourth of July at Derby Wharf! There will be music featuring two different bands during the day, followed by the Hillyer Festival Orchestra performing a Pops Concert and finally, a grand fireworks display at approximately 9pm. Please visit Destination Salem's blog for specific information or The City of Salem's website, www.salem.com.







Wednesday, July 18 - 7 Lectures at 7 Gables: Strong Women of The Gables lecture series continues. Megan Marshall will be presenting her lecture entitled Sophia Peabody and her Sisters at The House of the Seven Gables on July 18, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. Marshall is the winner of the Francis Parkman Prize and Pulitzer finalist for her book, The Peabody Sisters, Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism.

In her upcoming lecture at The Gables, Marshall will speak on the formative years of Salem's best known sisterhood, whose youngest member, Sophia Peabody, grew up to marry native son Nathaniel Hawthorne. Marshall will also speak about the relationships among the sisters and their suitors, who also included the politican and educator Horace Mann. The Peabody and Hawthorne families together made Salem one of the most significant sites, along with Boston and Concord, of America's nineteenth-century renaissance in arts and letters.

Contact information for ticket purchases or information: (978) 744-0991, ext. 105, or email:  anuncio@7gables.org. Admission to the lecture:  $10 Members, $15 Non-Members.

Celebrity sighting at The Gables!

Actor/director, Mark Ruffalo made a surprise appearance at The House of the Seven Gables this week! His wife, children and he enjoyed a nice afternoon at The Gables...He graciously introduced himself and then took the full tour of The Gables. His family and he came and went very quietly!

Ruffalo has been in several movies recently including The Avengers (he was The Hulk), The Kids are All Right and Shutter Island. Ruffalo was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Kids are All Right.

We thank him for his visit and hope that he and his family enjoyed their time with us.

Lecture three of Seven Lectures at Seven Gables

Robin Woodman, Assistant for Harvard Art Museums Archaeological Exploration of the Sardis, Turkey Expedition, will present a lecture entitled Susannah Ingersoll and Her Role in the Business Community on June 20^th, 2012 at 7:00pm at The House of the Seven Gables as part of their ongoing lecture series, Seven Lectures at Seven Gables: Strong Women of The Gables.

Woodman’s lecture will examine the life of Susannah Ingersoll, who inherited the Turner/Ingersoll mansion (better known as The House of the Seven Gables). Ingersoll, a first cousin to author Nathaniel Hawthorne, became a successful businesswoman during the male-dominated merchant/mariner era of late eighteenth, early-nineteenth century Salem.  

These were extraordinary times for the newly formed United States of America, for the city of Salem, and self-identified “singlewoman,” Susannah Ingersoll, who faced this unprecedented era on her own. Ingersoll profited from, and must have marveled at, mighty merchant ships as they sailed past her window on their way to the Orient and other exotic places during Salem’s Golden Age of Sail.  Although women had not yet won the right to vote, Ingersoll defied many social restrictions during her lifetime and died a very wealthy woman at the age of seventy-two. 

During the upcoming lecture at The Gables, Robin Woodman hopes to illuminate the fascinating connections between the events of the merchant/mariner era and Susannah Ingersoll’s extraordinary life.

Ms. Woodman was born and raised in Salem and reports that as a child she was fortunate enough to have benefited from classes (cooking and dancing) through The Gables and is very happy to be able to present this lecture at such an iconic Salem institution as The House of the Seven Gables.

Woodman earned her master’s degree in Museum Studies at Harvard University and has worked as a Special Projects Librarian at Harvard. She also has done work for the Maine Historical Society, as well as the Adams National Historical Park.

Contact information for ticket purchases or information: (978) 744-0991, ext. 105, or email:  anuncio@7gables.org. Admission:  $10 Members, $15 Non-Members.

Strong Women of The Gables Lecture Series continues...

On Wednesday, June 20th, 2012 at 7:00pm Robin Woodman will present her lecture entitled Susannah Ingersoll and Her Role in the Business Community. Woodman is
Assistant for Harvard Art Museum's Archaeological Exploration of the Sardis, Turkey Expedition and earned her Master’s degree in Museum Studies at Harvard University.

This lecture will look at the life of Susannah Ingersoll, who inherited the Turner/Ingersoll mansion, now known better as The House of the Seven Gables. Ingersoll became a successful business woman during the male-dominated merchant/mariner era of early nineteenth century Salem.

Ticket Price:  $10 Members, $15 Non-members. For ticket purchases, reserve by phone (978) 744-0991, ext. 105, or email:  anuncio@7gables.org 


Stay tuned for more to come!

Phoenix Girls' Chorus visits The Gables

The Gables staff would like to sincerely thank the Phoenix Girls' Chorus for your visit and for singing to the staff and visitors in the Visitor Center yesterday (June 5, 2012). The choir consists of students from 6th to 12th grade.

The mission of the chorus is to provide membership opportunity to all girls who demonstrate the ability, desire and commitment to excellence in vocal and choral performance, to enhance the quality of life in the community through music education and performance, and to create public awareness of the positive 
benefits of the choral art for girls and young women.


For more information, visit their official website.

Dusty then and now

Dusty, our tried and true mascot at The Gables, has been a fixture for many years. Here are some of the early pictures of Dusty when he was...let's say...a bit more lithe?!

Here are more current pictures of Dusty gracing the wrapping paper in the Museum Store 

(one of his favorite spots!): 

We think it's only fitting that Dusty sleeps next to the picture of Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

Come visit The Gables soon and maybe you'll be lucky enough to see Dusty among the beautiful seaside gardens, the beautiful historic buildings or inside the Museum Store!

Thank you for your virtual visit today!

The Gables is Gorgeous!

The flowering trees are doing their duty at The Gables right now! And the garden inside the site is still stunning despite the tulips being past their prime! Even on this rainy, dreary day, the garden and amazing wisteria in full bloom are something to behold. If you have a chance for a visit, be sure to come by...

Also, a reminder about our upcoming lecture...Dr. Lucinda L. Damon-Bach will give her lecture on May 16, 2012 at 7pm. It is entitled “Catherine Maria Sedgwick’s Literary Legacy.” Admission is a suggested donation of $10 for members of The Gables, $15 for non-members.

Presented by Dr. Damon-Bach, Professor of English at Salem State University and co-editor of Catharine Maria Sedgwick: Critical Perspectives. Internationally acclaimed in the 19th century and admired by her U.S. contemporaries, Catharine Maria Sedgwick’s life and works inspired male and female readers alike. This lecture will focus on Sedgwick’s early novels, friendships, and interactions with fellow authors (including James Fenimore Cooper, Lydia Maria Child, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne), exploring her role as a founder of American literature.

Damon-Bach earned her Ph.D. in English, at the State University of New York at Buffalo and has received many honors including the National Endowment for the Humanities Long-Term Fellowship. Damon-Bach is currently at Salem State University, but has also taught at Boston College and was a preceptor for the Expository Writing Program at Harvard University.

Her second co-edited book, Transatlantic Women: Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers and Great Britain, with Beth L. Lueck and Brigitte Bailey, is forthcoming from the University Press of New England in July 2012. In addition to publishing articles on other nineteenth-century American authors, Damon-Bach has helped to organize many conferences on Sedgwick and her contemporaries, including “Transatlantic Women,” at the Rothermere American Institute of the University of Oxford, U. K., which spawned her most recent book. She has delivered a great number of presentations across the United States, from Hawaii and California to Michigan and Massachusetts.

For more information, please call The Gables at 978-744-0991.

The Gables in Florida?

It appears that even The House of the Seven Gables needs a trip down south at times!

Thanks to the keen supporter of The Gables for snapping this photo and sending it to us! We had to laugh when we saw that "The House" even donned summer colors for its trip to Florida!

Spring is in its full glory at The Gables right now. We hope you'll come for a visit very soon! Our next blog post will feature the tulip garden in its full glory! 

Caroline Emmerton Day returns!

Emmerton as a young woman.

From Destination Salem:

"Once upon a time, the Salem Chamber of Commerce organized an annual Caroline Emmerton Day to encourage residents to visit the sites and museums in Salem. This was a 'tourist in your own backyard' celebration before communities were celebrating residents as visitors.

Caroline Emmerton Day is returning for one day, April 16, 2012. Museums, attractions and all businesses in Salem are invited to offer admission for $1 to Salem Residents, and donate that $1 to the Salem Foundation for Public Education. (Note: Each business is responsible to making their own donation to the Foundation, but please track the donation and let Destination Salem know how much was raised!)"

The House of the Seven Gables will be participating in this day honoring our visionary founder, Caroline Emmerton. Please come by during our regular business hours on the 16th, 10am-5pm, and we'll be happy to show you all of the amazing changes we've implemented in both The House of the Seven Gables and also Nathaniel Hawthorne's Birth Home. As a bonus, the Seaside Gardens are already showing beautiful spring color, so make sure you spend some time wandering the grounds at The Gables, there's a lot to see!

Caroline Emmerton at work with the Settlement students.

Spring has sprung!

Though we're still having some cold weather here and there, the inevitable emergence of spring has happened at The Gables!!

The misty cool weather has not been a deterrent to the hundreds of tulips 

soon to emerge from the raised beds in the vintage garden. 

Dusty has also emerged!! Instead of spending his time in the warmth of the Museum Shop, he has taken to patrolling the grounds at the Gables, in search of a stray mouse! 

We caught him in the act of prowling yesterday!

Come visit us soon to see the gardens in bloom and to possibly catch a glimpse of our mascot, Dusty!

The Coins of The Gables

A Brazilian Coin Gives a Glimpse of Salem’s Maritime Glory Days

“Who has the most interesting job at The Gables, I ask you!” exclaimed our Director of Maintenance and Preservation at The Gables.

“I’d say it’s ME,” he said proudly, as he plunked down a Brazilian coin dated 1803 in front of Gables staff.  On one side, the weathered old coin showed a globe of the Earth encircled by lines. After doing minor research, White saw a resemblance between the coin’s engraved image and the image on Brazil’s modern-day flag.

To dispel any doubt, the Latin words, “circumit orbe” (encircling the orb, or world) along with “pecunia” (money) appear along the edge of the coin. On the coin’s other side, the etched letters are harder to read, but a large roman numeral “XX” appears above the date, “1803”.

White described where he found the old coin as he repaired a window in the Phippen House, which is part of The Gables historic landmark site. The coin was in a crack in the window frame, having slipped in there likely after it fell on the floor.

With a little imagination, one can picture a visiting seaman (or a Phippen ancestor) casting off his breeches at the end of a long day, with the coin falling out of the pants’ pocket and rolling across the floor to the edge of the room. It may have wobbled briefly before slipping into a crack along the wall. Over time, the shifting building made the coin “shimmy down” to the top of the window frame in the story below. There it lay for over two centuries, waiting for an appreciative soul to find it, in the person of Kevin White.

In addition to the Brazilian coin, other coins have been found onsite at The Gables. These include a Massachusetts penny dated 1783 (significant because it was issued before the Federal Reserve issued copper cents in 1793); a French penny dated 1783; a Spanish piece of eight dated in the late 1700s, and a Canadian two-cent piece. These coins have been inventoried and are part of the archives at The House of the Seven Gables.

Thanks to Ana Nuncio at the Gables for this fascinating story! And thank you for your virtual visit today.

Sneak Peek!

Here is the new cover of The House of the Seven Gables' newsletter! We hope you like the new look!

Our fresh, re-worked exhibits and galleries gave us inspiration to create a new look for our newsletters. If you would like to receive our newsletters, please email us!

info@7gables.org

Thanks for your virtual visit today!

Settlement House Update

The Settlement House is looking great again! After about a month of intensive labor, the masons at Avico have replaced hundreds of bricks and mud, and have restored much of the northern side of the building.

The first part of the process was to rip down all of the bricks and cement filling and get down to the undamaged underbelly of the building. Note the cement blocks at the top being cover over with new bricks and mud...

The next steps are to fit the bricks precisely so that the corners match up perfectly...

The corners of the building are the some of the most labor intensive areas.

The nearly finished product is impressive. They took time to even "age" the bricks so they would not be so glaringly different than the rest of the building which was erected in 1806/07.

The Salem Prep School that inhabits The Settlement House is on vacation this week, and they have settled in nicely to the area. The kids attending there are very appreciative that they have a building with a gymnasium and kitchen for their enrichment. 

Spring plans including possibly putting in a vegetable/herb garden, 

as well as beautifying the Settlement House with pretty annuals and some perennials!

We are glad to have them as part of The Gables' site!

Thank you for your virtual visit today. Hope to see you at The Gables soon.

More on Melopoiea Event at The Gables

Melopoiea, quite simply put, is the making of lyric poems or music...

The event on February 21st from 7pm-9pm will feature two amazing poets, a classical guitar / mandolin accompanist as well as a vocalist, Ann Tucker, performing 18th century love ballads.


The celebrated poets are Rhina P. Espaillat and Alfred Nicol. Espaillat has an amazing career as a writer, and her bio reads like a book itself! Here are excerpts: 


"Espaillat has published poems, essays, short stories and translationg in numerous magazines and over fifty anthologies, in both English and her native Spanish, as well as three chapbooks and eight full-length books, including three in bilingual format..."


"Her honors include the Wilbur Award, the T.S. Eliot Prize in Poetry, the Robert Frost "Tree at my Window" Award for Translation, the May Sarton Award, a Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award from Salem State College, and several prizes from the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Culture."


Needless to say, we are enthralled that she will be performing some of her works for us on the evening of the 21st.


Alfred Nicol, the second celebrated poet also has an impressive background. His poems have appeared in Poetry, The New England Review, Dark Horse, First Things, Atlanta Review, Commonweal, The Formalist, The Hopkins Review and many other literary journals and anthologies.


His honors include "...the first Anita Dorn Memorial Prize, the Richard Wilbur Award, the Academy of American Poets Prize at Dartmouth, hwere he studed with Sydney Lea and Richard Eberhart, and participated in the fabled "Thursday Poets" Workshop...He is also a member of the Powow River Poets since 1999, ...and edited The Powow River Anthology, published in 2006.

More on our musicians and vocalist next week!

Thank you for your virtual visit to The 7 Gables today! 

Hope you can come to this amazing event!

"New" rooms at the Gables

Though The House of the Seven Gables is still the very same historic building, the inside exhibits are probably not as you last saw them! Curator, Alan Collachicco, has changed things up significantly in the interior rooms...

Featuring authentic, period furniture, objects d'art, fabrics and wallpaper, the 7 Gables has a fresh look! Collachicco has breathed new life into our beautiful landmark, and we are very excited for our visitors to see the amazing changes.

Below are a few views of the new exhibits and objects on display:

Thank you for your virtual visit today! We hope to see you here at the 7 Gables soon!