This 1987 city map for Portsmouth, NH, and Kittery, Maine, was an inset found in a Portsmouth City Directory in our Shaw Research Library.
Sponsoring the map was Regan Electric Co., Inc., of 236 Union Street, which was started by Daniel Vincent Regan (1922-2004) in 1954.⚡
Born in Portsmouth, Daniel was the youngest child of immigrants Michael Regan (1873-1936) of Caheragh, County Cork, Ireland, and Mary Elizabeth Connor (1880-1937) of Halifax, Nova Scotia. In the 1890s, Michael arrived in America as a young man, and he worked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard powerplant until retirement in 1935. The couple had 11 children, and they lived at 24 Woodbury Avenue in the Creek (pronounced Crick) Neighborhood. The Crick was a predominantly Irish and Irish-American tight-knit neighborhood along Islington Creek (North Mill Pond). Around 1900, many of the residents were employed in the nearby Jones and Eldredge breweries as well as factories on Islington and the shipyard. Descendants still call the Crick home today. 💚
Daniel Regan graduated from Portsmouth High School, class of 1941. According to his obituary, he served in the Submarine Service for the U. S. Navy during WWII. After the war, he worked as an electrician with Edgar Casey Electric, learning the trade.
In 1947, he married Beatrice A. Holt (1921-2011), and the couple raised nine children: two daughters and nine sons. In 1953-1954, he opened his own business, Regan Electric Inc., which is still owned by the family today, now at 94 Langdon Street.
In the early morning of March 10, 1936, a fire broke out in the century-old Franklin Shiphouse at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. According to the Portsmouth Herald, the shiphouse was the last of the original wooden buildings at the navy yard, and during its day, it was the largest shiphouse in the country. It was 343 feet long, 84 feet wide, and 52 feet high.⚓ #thisweekinhistory
The fire of unknown origins broke out in the north side gallery. The galleries were where crowds once gathered to witness the launchings of many wooden navy ships, including the Preble, Congress, Saratoga, Portsmouth, Enterprise, and Franklin (which gave the building its name after the frigate`s hull was laid down in 1854). Submarines, blimps, and tugs were also built in the shiphouse. The USS L-8 was laid down in 1915, the first submarine constructed by the government at any naval station.
By 1936, the shiphouse was too small for building any modern submarines, and it was used for storage by the public works and other departments. During the fire, witnesses heard several explosions from what was believed to be inflammatory material stored in the building. The blaze illuminated the countryside for miles, and even in the dawn hours, hundreds of spectators lined the shores of Peirce Island and Kittery Foreside.
Within an hour, the old timber shiphouse was lost, but the Kittery and Portsmouth fire departments stopped the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. It took seven months to clean and fill the site for a parking lot.
While once numerous in shipbuilding centers, the building was the last of a style that featured the long slanting gambrel roof, the many long square windows set diagonally, and the large folding doors that opened directly onto the water for ships to slide down the ways.
As the Herald editors lamented, "But now its work is done and no more shipwrights come to work or `knock off` within its historic walls."
📷 Franklin Shiphouse in 1913 (PS1135), its interior with scaffolding around the L-8 and men standing on the sub in 1916 (P0001_1730) & it burning in 1936 (PS1137).
Daylight Savings began today, and so we spring ahead one hour. Make sure you: Change. Every. Clock. ⏰🕰️⏱️⌚🤯
Pictured is a steeplejack scaling the spire of the North Church in Market Square, about 1968. Most likely he was doing routine maintenence or painting, but we used this image because sometimes changing all the clocks can feel like Mission Impossible.🫠
The photographer was Athenaeum Proprietor Alvah C. Card (1913-1988) who lived at 466 Marcy Street in Portsmouth. He worked for the Portsmouth Water Department for 40 years, and he volunteered 24 years for the Portsmouth Fire Department, for which he was Captain of Call Men for Engine #3. The slide was processed in June 1968, and the second image is the full slide and Alvah`s perspective.
This Valentine`s Day name tag reads, "In my pretty dress of yellow, I`m a match for any fellow," and it was used for an event attended by Marion Hackett Rogers (1886-1971) around February 14, 1912. Marion was the only daughter of Wallace Hackett (1856-1939) and Abbie Main Winchester (1862-1953). The Hacketts lived on the corner of Middle Street and Miller Avenue (now St. John`s Masonic Lodge), and during the summer, they stayed at Lawn Farm, the Winchester family`s sprawling country estate on Lafayette Road (the site of HIllcrest Estates).
Athenaeum Librarian Robin Silva has cataloged the ephemera in Marion`s three full scrapbooks (1903-1904, 1909 & 1911-1912), containing photographs, invitations, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, calling cards, letters, etc. It`s safe to say that Miss Hackett had a very active social calendar. Like many of the young Portsmouth area women mentioned in her scrapbooks, Marion married an United States Navy officer stationed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. On August 29, 1914, she wed Lt. Robert Emmet Rogers USN (1886-1971) of Ozark, MO, in the Hackett home. Within the year, the couple moved to Annapolis, MD, where they welcomed their first of two children. Marion`s parents also relocated to Annapolis.
The scrapbooks came to the Athenaeum from Beverly Powell-Woodward of Hampton Falls, who acquired them from Marion`s life-long friend Miss Frances Healey (1886-1962) of Hampton Falls.
This Friday, February 16, please join us in the Randall Gallery for the opening reception of our new exhibit, "First in the Nation: New Hampshire Presidential Primaries - 1920 to 2020," by co-curators Mary-Jo Monusky, Ceal Anderson, and Mara Witzling. The reception runs from 4 to 7 p.m. At 5 p.m., retired Associated Press photographer Jim Cole will host a gallery talk on photographs in the exhibit. 🗣️🇺🇸
This Portsmouth Herald press photo of John F. Kennedy in Portsmouth was captured the day before the NH Primary on March 7, 1960. According to the Herald, one of Portsmouth`s oldest Democratic voters received a personal greeting when James T. Whitman, 91, was introduced to Sen. Kennedy by John Loughlin, center, at an event at the Rockingham Hotel. A former city councilor, Whitman worked as a building inspector for the city, and before that, he worked for 32 years as a cooper at the old Frank Jones Brewery. Sen. Kennedy and Republican candidate Vice President Richard Nixon set voting records in each of their respective parties in the 1960 NH Primary.
👉You can learn more about the exhibit by clicking the link in bio to read Sherry Wood`s latest "At the Athenaeum: All politics is personal" on seacoastonline.com.
Our NH Primary exhibit is free, and after Friday night, it`ll be open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m., Tuesday thru Saturday. The exhibit open hours are dependant on volunteer gallery greeters, so please plan ahead by calling (603) 431-2538. If you are interested in volunteering with us, please email our volunteer and outreach coordinator Stephanie Hewson directly at shewson@portsmouthathenaeum.org.
[Thomas C. Wilson Photograph Collection, P0001_1158]
The dream of playing in the big game begins for some when they were young. Pictured are members of the Haven School Football team in 1956: Angie Katsanos, Eric Cunningham, Henry Pettiford, Richard Young, Eddie McCann, Jerry Bennett, and Joe Harris. The photograph comes from the Haven Athletic Committee scrap album owned by Arthur C. Clough Sr. (1913-2001), the coach and custodian for the Haven School at 50 South School Street, Portsmouth, NH.
At the end of the 1968-1969 school year, Haven closed after 123 years, and thereafter, South End elementary students attended Little Harbour School. In 1978, the Haven School was converted into condominiums.
#throwbackthursday to this snowy view of Atkinson Street from the corner of Newton Avenue in Portsmouth, circa 1963.❄️
The image comes from the Alvah C. Card slide collection and developed in February 1963. [P0054_0081]
Today, this is on the site of @strawberybankemuseum.
You may notice that windows are boarded up as the former Puddle Dock neighborhood was under redevelopment.
Initially, the area was slated for demolition through the federal government`s Urban Renewal Administration and the Portsmouth Housing Authority`s (PHA) controversial redevelopment plan to replace what it called slums and blight in the South End with private "garden" type apartments.
👉In our online catalog, we have the appraisal report for the PHA`s 1955 South End Urban Redevelopment Project.📝
The boundaries for the South End Urban Redevelopment Project was at first about four acres (Marcy-Washington Streets Project) before expanding to four times that size to include the area bounded by Court, Pleasant & Marcy streets and Meeting House Hill. Approximately 200 families lived within the project. When faced with criticism & strong opposition from residents, the project boundaries changed again & the southern section (Gates Street vicinity) was removed due to "a number of meetings with the owners and because of the lesser degree of blight."
When the PHA plans were finally submitted to the Urban Renewal Administration, it was determined the garden-style apartment plan would be too costly & the project was at a standstill. The PHA attempted to find an alternative use for the land, but with no final determination.
In 1958, in an effort to save the early historic structures, Strawbery Banke was incorporated with a proposed plan to buy the property for a mixed-use "colonial village." In 1960, Strawbery Banke received approval to acquire the property from the PHA, which was still slated for urban renewal. In 1965, Strawbery Banke opened with two fully restored houses. Since then, the museum has evolved from the "colonial village" to interpret a comprehensive history of the area from Indigenous history to the present day.
We hope you and your family have a safe and happy New Year! This 1907 New Year greeting comes from the Woods Family photograph collection. In December 1906, Walter S. Woods (1875-1951) was in Newark, NJ, when he sent this postcard to his young son Wadleigh W. Woods (1904-2001) back home on New Castle Avenue in Portsmouth.
Born in Rye, Walter was a professional baseball player, playing in the National League from 1898 to 1900 and in the minor league from 1895 until 1914. While away, Walter often sent postcards to both his son and his wife, Mary Tucker Woods (1874-1953). Eventually, Wadleigh collected three postcard albums from his father and other members of the Woods-Tucker family.
Wadleigh was a tennis professional at Wentworth-by-the-Sea (1946-1981), and a teacher-coach in independent schools in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
This year, the albums and family photos were donated to the Athenaeum, and member Andy Jaffe is volunteering to digitize the postcards. Thank you, Andy!
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and Happy Holidays!🎄
As of last Friday, our days are getting longer! We thank you for being with us through a very memorable year. The theme for Portsmouth 400 was “History Lights Our Way.” At the Athenaeum, our way is blazing alight with history, literature, music, art, and meaningful discussion. As our days become lighter, we will keep the torch aloft for you, and together, we will make 2024 brighter.
This "Winter Season" advertising card comes from David Kimball & Co. Apothecaries, No. 36 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH. Kimball was a druggist in Portsmouth from 1822-1883. [E 0237V]
Happy winter and best wishes for the holiday season from the Portsmouth Athenaeum!❄️