John Bromfield Society
Dedicated to a beautiful and historic Newburyport
The first settlers had to cut their houses literally out of the forest. Surrounded by wilderness, they built efficient, snug houses to keep out the New England weather.
King George was on the throne and England was enjoying its zenith of power. Anyone, who wanted to be anyone; had to live in a Georgian-style home. In England, they were made of stucco and more often, stone. But here, Georgian was uniquely re-configured by the use of wood as it was plentiful unlike in the Mother Country.
As America began to flourish, it also began to trend toward a growing appreciation of democracy. How else to celebrate this Temple of Liberty than by mirroring ancient Greek temples where this form of people power was first codified.
A celebration of the new Republic; the style was ambitious and fresh for the new world. Fashioned with touches of Roman architecture; it was meant to look back at the ancient republic and look toward the future with the New Republic.
Historic Architecture
You really can't renovate or restore an antique house without having a thorough understanding of the architectural style or styles that have been introduced into the structure.
This is a list of the styles and the indicators that will need to be retained to make the house appropriate and to preserve its maximum authentic value.
There is no 'Victorian' architecture. This term is used for a variety of styles that found expression during the long rain of Queen Victoria. First came the Italianate, then the Second Empire as well as Queen Anne, and Gothic. Newburyport is filled with these homes as the Industrial Revolution began to gather steam on the banks of the Merrimack.
As the twentieth-century began, more and more Americans began to look back at the long history of the country. Not exactly sure, and probably not wanting to be too literal; they integrated old styles with modern living (and tighter building codes) to create Neo-classical and Neo-colonial buildings. One of the most beautiful is located at the Northeast corner of State and High, but there are many expressions of this mimicry across the city.
The early twentieth century also so unique, stand alone architecture that reflected the new century.