Historic Houses & Gardens
Salem has a uniquely rich architectural heritage. Every major American architectural style is represented within its borders. PEM’s physical campus of historic houses and other buildings encompasses three city blocks.
PEM’s campus is an accredited arboretum and offers numerous gardens and greenspaces for exploration, including the: the 5,000-square-foot Museum Garden designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects and the Colonial Revival Ropes Mansion Garden that is open to the public from dawn to dusk each day.
Currently, Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home is open year-round for self-guided tours. Timed reservations are required and entry is included in general admission. Enjoy seasonal walking tours of over a dozen select historic houses and properties. Choose from: Brick by Brick: Salem's Hidden Architectural Stories or Sinister Streets: Witch Trials, Murders and Literary Legends.
Curious to know what goes into keeping all of these historic houses in tiptop shape? Visit our recently-launched House Keeping page to learn more.
McIntire Historic District
Located a short walk from PEM, this district is rich with Georgian- and Federal-style houses designed or influenced by renowned architect Samuel McIntire (1757–1811).
Ropes Mansion and Garden
Built in 1727–1729
0.4 miles from PEM
Peirce-Nichols House
Built in 1782
0.4 miles from PEM
Cotting-Smith Assembly House
Built in 1782
0.6 miles from PEM
Essex Block Neighborhood
This is the center of the museum’s architectural collection. Three centuries of extraordinary New England architecture, set in Federal-style gardens, may be found within this one square city block. As a rule, the buildings whose exteriors are wood-clad have been moved to the site from elsewhere; those clad in brick or stone are original to the site.
Quaker Meeting House
Built c. 1688
0.1 miles from PEM
Lye-Tapley Shoe Shop
Built in 1783
0.1 miles from PEM
John Ward House
Built in 1685-1699
0.1 miles from PEM
Andrew-Safford House
Built in 1818
0.2 miles from PEM
Crowninshield-Bentley House
Built in 1729
0.2 miles from PEM
Daniel Bray House
Built in 1766-1806
0.1 miles from PEM
Gardner-Pingree House
Built in 1804–06
0.2 miles from PEM
Derby-Beebe Summer House
Built in 1796
0.1 miles from PEM
Plummer Hall and Daland House
Built in 1856
Across the street from PEM
Main Campus
Located at the corner of Essex Street and New Liberty Street, this is the site of most of the museum’s gallery and office space, housed in buildings of various periods. Several historic structures comprise this part of the campus.
Samuel Pickman House
Built in 1672
Located behind the museum
East India Marine Hall
Built in 1824–25
Incorporated into the main museum building
Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home
Built c. 1790s
Enter from inside the museum
Architectural Styles
First Period or Post-Medieval is the earliest style of architecture found in New England. Look for massive central chimneys; steeply pitched, many-gabled roofs; asymmetrical door and window patterns; wooden batten doors; diamond-paned leaded casement windows; and second-floor overhangs.
Georgian style is based on classical models popular in Britain in the early 18th century. Look for orderly, symmetrical façades, usually of two stories; transom lights or small rectangular windows over doors; double-hung sash windows; and classical details such as pediments, pilasters and columns.
Federal style is an American adaptation of the Neoclassical, Roman or Adam style popular in Britain in the late 18th century. Look for orderly, symmetrical façades, usually of three stories; fanlights above doors and sidelights beside doors; semicircular porches; hipped roofs; and classical details such as pediments, pilasters and columns.
Greek Revival structures are usually one or two stories with a facade that resembles a Greek temple. Columns or pilasters typically have Doric or Ionic capitals. Details such as dormer windows have prominent pediments.
Italianate town houses are usually made of sandstone in dark brown or reddish colors. They are meant to evoke the farmhouses of northern Italy. These houses are often square or cube-shaped with round-topped windows and cupolas.
Gardens
Museum Garden
PEM’s serene 5,000-square-foot garden offers a mental and acoustic break from your museum experience. Designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, the garden space features nearly 300 varieties of shrubs, 60 trees, 37 species of flowers, an 11-foot cascading water feature and multiple benches to sit and relax.
Ropes Mansion Garden
Located at 318 Essex Street (a 10-minute walk from PEM), the Ropes Mansion garden blooms with plant life that’s as appealing to bees and butterflies as it is to visitors. Designed by Salem botanist and horticulturist John Robinson in 1912, the one-acre Colonial Revival garden welcomes thousands of visitors each year. Located in Salem’s McIntire Historic District, the tranquil space is open to the public 365 days a year, from dawn to dusk, at no charge. Leashed dogs are welcome in the garden.
Did you know we’re an arboretum?
PEM’s unique and varied campuses have recently been designated as a Level 1 Arboretum by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum. The museum’s gardens and greenspaces reflect horticultural efforts from the 17th century to today and cover 4.1 acres in the Downtown and McIntire Historic Districts of Salem, MA. An additional 5.3 acre campus in Rowley, MA is home to the PEM’s Hawkes Collection Center and its associated grounds. Notable plantings in the PEM Arboretum include a 100-year-old copper beech tree at the Ropes Mansion Garden and a unique array of species along the museum’s Axelrod Walkway property, including Dawn Redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), Carolina Silverbells (Halesia carolina), Cryptomeria and Ginkgos.
Events that may interest you
Walking Tour
Sinister Streets: Witch Trials, Murders and Literary Legends
Tours run at select times Thursdays-Mondays through Sunday, November 17.
Walking Tour
Brick by Brick: Salem's Hidden Architectural Stories
Tours run at select times Thursdays-Mondays through Sunday, November 17.
In-person event
Music in the Atrium: Celebrating Diwali with the Sitar and the Sarod
Sundays, November 10 | Noon-2 pm, November 17 and 24 | 11:30 am-1:30 pm
Keep exploring
Blog
Peeling back the layers
4 min read
PEMcast
PEMcast 8 | Part 1: Historic House Crush
15 min listen
