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1623: The Untold Story of New Hampshire’s Founding Family by J. Dennis Robinson

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Nov 8, 2023 | Announcements, Events

November 30, 2023 5:30 p.m. Shaw Research Library   Why do we know so little about David and Amias Thompson of Plymouth, England? And why is the little we know so often wrong? Our first European couple “settled” at Rye, NH in 1623. Within five years the Thompsons...

2023 Lecture Series: Water Has a Memory: Sea Level Rise, Our Past, Our Future with Rodney Rowland

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Nov 2, 2023 | Announcements, Events

Wednesday, November 15, 2023 5:30 p.m. Shaw Research Library & Zoom   This year’s series concludes on November 15 when Rodney Rowland presents Water Has a Memory: Sea Level Rise, Our Past, Our Future. Strawbery Banke Museum is confronting the impacts of and...

2023 PACM Concert: ASMI Trio

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Oct 13, 2023 | Announcements, Events, Performance

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 3 p.m. ASMI TRIO at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 101 Chapel Street, Portsmouth The Altschuler Summer Music Institute develops musicians of all ages through participation in masterclasses, private lessons, and performances with renowned...

2023 Lecture Series: At Home in Portsmouth, 1750 – 1850, with Jane C. Nylander

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Oct 6, 2023 | Announcements, Events

Wednesday, October 18, 2023 5:30 p.m. Shaw Research Library & Zoom   A long-time student of New England interiors, Jane C. Nylander’s talk on October 18, At Home in Portsmouth, 1750 – 1850 will weave together a host of primary sources to expand our...

2023 PACM Concert: Rasa String Quartet

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Sep 26, 2023 | Announcements, Events, Performance

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8, 3 p.m. RASA STRING QUARTET at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 101 Chapel Street, Portsmouth Currently in residence at Philips Exeter, Boston-based Rasa String Quartet violinists Maura Shawn Scanlin and Kiyoshi Hayashi, violist Emma Powell, and...

Nancy R. Hammond Book Signing and Talk

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Sep 21, 2023 | Announcements, Events

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 5:30 p.m. Shaw Research Library   A presentation and book signing by Proprietor Nancy R. Hammond, whose new book, The Life and Times of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall, 1748-1808, Poet – Lawyer – Patriot, resurrects a forgotten Portsmouth...
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Recent News

  • July 2026: The Red Light District
  • Exhibit Shines the Red Light on City’s Past
  • Portsmouth Athenæum Chamber Music 2026
  • Athenæum Interim Director
  • A Letter from Tom Hardiman, Keeper and Executive Director

Events Calendar

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5:30 PM - Franklin Club
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5:00 PM - Opening Reception for "The Red Light District: Vice in Portsmouth, NH, at the Turn of the 20th Century"
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1:30 PM - 1805 Building Tour
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Franklin Club
Franklin Club
July 1, 2026    
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Franklin Club
Franklin Club, Sawtelle Reading Room
The Junto, also known as the Leather Apron Club, was a club for mutual improvement established in 1727 by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. The Leather [...]
More Info
Opening Reception for "The Red Light District: Vice in Portsmouth, NH, at the Turn of the 20th Century"
Opening Reception for "The Red Light District: Vice in Portsmouth, NH, at the Turn of the 20th Century"
July 10, 2026    
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Art Round Town
  • Exhibit Events
Exhibits, Randall Gallery, Red Light District
Join us for Portsmouth's Art 'Round Town featuring our latest exhibit "The Red Light District: Vice in Portsmouth, NH, at the Turn of the 20th [...]
More Info
1805 Building Tour
1805 Building Tour
July 11, 2026    
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Building Tours
1805 Building, Building Tours, Library Room, Sawtelle Reading Room
Come view our 200+ year-old historic membership library. This 45-minute tour takes you through spaces usually reserved for our members. The tour will start at [...]
More Info
1805 Building Tour
1805 Building Tour
July 18, 2026    
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Building Tours
1805 Building, Building Tours, Library Room, Sawtelle Reading Room
Come view our 200+ year-old historic membership library. This 45-minute tour takes you through spaces usually reserved for our members. The tour will start at [...]
More Info
1805 Building Tour
1805 Building Tour
July 30, 2026    
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
$0.00 - $10.00
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Building Tours
1805 Building, Building Tours, Library Room, Sawtelle Reading Room
Come view our 200+ year-old historic membership library. This 45-minute tour takes you through spaces usually reserved for our members. The tour will start at [...]
More Info Book Now!
Events on July 1, 2026
Franklin Club
Franklin Club
1 Jul 26
Portsmouth
Events on July 10, 2026
Opening Reception for "The Red Light District: Vice in Portsmouth, NH, at the Turn of the 20th Century"
Opening Reception for "The Red Light District: Vice in Portsmouth, NH, at the Turn of the 20th Century"
10 Jul 26
Portsmouth
Events on July 11, 2026
1805 Building Tour
1805 Building Tour
11 Jul 26
Portsmouth
Events on July 18, 2026
1805 Building Tour
1805 Building Tour
18 Jul 26
Portsmouth
Events on July 30, 2026
1805 Building Tour
1805 Building Tour
30 Jul 26
Portsmouth

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