New Photos and the Antique Boat Show!

The Director of Photography for 2011's Bachelor and Bachelorette television series (among many, many others) and camera operator for The Voice last year, Andre Martinez III, was here at The House of the Seven Gables to take photographs to add to our archives.

He spent quite a bit of time here photographing the site and also taking interior shots of The House itself. Martinez reported that he has recently relocated to the East Coast from Los Angeles and is currently reconnecting with a New Hampshire television station, WBIN.

Martinez is also currently working on the upcoming season of The X-Factor.

We are excited to have such a seasoned professional create some images for us to use and please stay tuned for some of the images he took!

In local news, the 30th Annual Antique and Classic Boat Festival is slated to take place this weekend, August 25th and 26th at the Brewer Hawthorne Cove Marina in Salem. They are hosting the event, open to the public, which will feature sailboats, power boats, hand-powered crafts and reproductions. In addition to the boats, there will be judging, exhibits, music and a landside crafts market. You will see ship modelers, artists, photographers and much more.

For information, please call 617-666-8530.

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!

Last Day of MassPoetry Festival!

The Gables has been thrilled to be part of MassPoetry Festival 2012...

Please join us this afternoon! 

Here is a calendar of events:

http://masspoetry2012.crowdvine.com/calendar

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.

Bliss Celebrations to feature The 7 Gables!

The Gables is thrilled to be one of the featured weddings in the upcoming issue of Bliss Celebrations!

Below are the pictures that go along with the featured article in the magazine and a picture of the cover.

Featured, is the goth/steampunk wedding that took place last year at The Gables. It was stunning, to say the very least!




Please visit www.blisscelebrationsguide.com for more information in their beautiful publications!

The magazines will be on newsstands within the next few weeks. 


Thank you for your virtual visit today!

More on the Melopoeia Event at The 7 Gables

In the last post regarding the upcoming Melopoiea event on February 21st, we explored the rich biographies of the two featured poets who will be reciting their love poems. We also will be welcoming a classical guitarist and a vocalist who will be singing love ballads.

John R. Tavano is a teacher, composer and guitarist with a wide repertoire of styles ranging from Renaissance and Baroque to Flamenco as well as Contemporary. Tavano has several recording of his own music including "La Gitana" and "Avila" released in 2003 and 2007, respectively, as well as past performances of "Melopoiea" in 2009 with the poets who will be featured at The Gables' event.

Tavano has performed throughout New England and Europe as a member of the Boston Classical Guitar Society, staff musician at The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and also as a member of The North Shore Musicians Association.

The vocalist we will be hearing, Ann Tucker, has been a featured soloist throughout the North Shore. She performs many classical pieces by Handel, Mendelssohn, Vivaldi, Bach and Mozart as well as Brazilian Bossa Nova, paying homage to her Brazilian roots. She has also worked with many musicians creating varied programs ranging from Spanish music all the way to songs from The Great American Songbook.

Tucker has studied voice with Dorothea Pliatska and Martha Peabody, and currently studies with opera tenor, Neal Ferreira. She received her BFA from Miami University of Ohio and studied music at the American University of Beirut, the University of Mexico and the Escola Panamericana de Arte in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

We cannot wait for this event and the beauty of song, poetry and music together.

Hope you can join us!

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!

More about the Melopoiea event at The Gables!

More information on the musicians and poets will be featured this week.

Thank you for your virtual visit!

Snow at the Gables

Salem FINALLY got some snow! Our first "real" snow of the winter season! It has been a great winter in New England - relatively mild and very dry, so we've been spoiled with unseasonably nice weather!

The Gables looks pretty in the snow - below is a shot of the House of the Seven Gables from our office looking very pretty against the blanket of snow!

And below are a few of the grounds this afternoon. First, the wisteria arbor asleep for the winter!

Our lawn and the ocean looking bright and lovely today:

The garden even looks lovelier with the contrasting snow:

Visitors are coming and enjoying the grounds and tours of the new exhibits and galleries - we hope to see you soon!

Thank you for your virtual visit today!

Seven Gables events

We have been busily going through our photo archives (among other things) and have found some fabulous pictures from the past that we would like to share.

As you may or may not be aware, the House of the Seven Gables has fantastic buildings and gardens for hosting a perfect event. As spring and summer are upon us very shortly, we thought we would show a few pictures of the property during a gala!

Whether a wedding, baby shower, party, auction or a private corporate event, the 7 Gables has the perfect solution to your amazing event! Let us help you plan an experience for your guests creating memories as long-lasting as our House!

For information, please call us 978-744-0991.

Our next blog will feature the finished calligraphy in the Hawthorne House and a bit more about the amazing calligrapher who did the work.

Thanks for your virtual visit to the Gables!

Come back soon for more updates!

The House of the Seven Gables & Big Plans for 2012

Welcome to the official blog for the House of the Seven Gables!

We are excited to introduce our blog and hope that this forum will be able to capture some of the vibrant new changes we have planned for 2012 and beyond. We will also be featuring some of the lesser known facts about the Gables' history and site.

For instance, did you know that Nathaniel Hawthorne added the "w" in his last name after he graduated from college so that he would not be linked to his great-great-grandfather, Justice John Hathorne. Turns out Hathorne was one of the key interrogators during the witchcraft hysteria, and never regretted or apologized for his responsibility in the deaths of the 19 people who were killed. Pretty amazing stuff! And there are loads more really interesting facts to come!

2012 marks the 102nd year the House of the Seven Gables has been in operation in Salem. We plan to offer a variety of new exhibits, tours and programs that pay homage to Caroline Emmerton's original mission to support programs which serve Salem's immigrant population.

The Gables' museum is the first of its kind in the country dedicated to social service work, and this year we are proud to have the Salem Prep Program in operation at The Settlement House. After a year of funding several offsite youth programs around the North Shore last year, we are thrilled to have almost thirty students back onsite!

Salem Prep Program is part of the Salem Public School system. They offer classes to students (up to 21 years of age) who don't do well in traditional classrooms - perhaps they aren't proficient in English, or have learning disabilities. For every two students in any given classroom, there is one teacher, so the students get extra attention and care. We are very glad to have them with us.

Something else we're very excited for you to see are the fascinating changes we have in the Nathaniel Hawthorne's Birthplace House! We have a trove of actual objects from Hawthorne's personal effects that will be displayed. These exhibits will be changed on a regular basis, so you may see his childhood chair, his snuff-box or even the desk where he penned The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables! Come back again and again to enjoy these irreplaceable pieces of history.

This year we will also produce self-guided tours of the other fantastic historic buildings we have onsite, as well as a detailed tour of our spectacular gardens.

Watch for our new website, new brochures and information on our new volunteer/docent program! If you would like to volunteer at the Gables, we'd love to talk to you. Please email us here at sevengablesblogger@gmail.com and our volunteer coordinator can help you.

Check back soon for more updates!

Thanks for reading and be sure to plan a visit!