A Convivial Social Feed
Here is a 1960s view of the Smith Office Equipment Co., which once stood at 225 Islington Street on the corner of Langdon Street in Portsmouth. #flashbackfriday
In February 1961, local businessman Rudolph R. "Rudy" Smith (1924-2014) established Smith Office Equipment Co. when he rented one-half of the basement in this building. The business had two employees and a part-time bookkeeper, and it started as a franchise dealer in Olivetti-Underwood machines. Within three months, Smith and his wife, Josephine Zanuccoli Vinciguerra (1912-1985), purchased the entire building, and the company grew to sell office supplies and stationery. Shortly after this photograph, Smith Office expanded into the building next door, at left, and built a connecting ell. At the height of business, Smith employed more than 60 people.
[Note: At right is a duplex, which is now the site of a gas station.]
#OTD, January 10, 1976, an early morning fire gutted the Smith Office building, destroying the entire inventory. Over 100 firefighters kept the blaze from spreading, but the fire displaced residents on the upper floors of the business and the adjacent building. The next day, Smith Office rented the old A&P Store at 848 Islington (now Bank of America) until a grand re-opening at its new store at 674 Islington (now CVS) in September 1976.
Smith Office and the adjoining building were demolished on Jan. 28, 1976. In 1983, brick town homes were built on the site.
In 1985, Rudy Smith retired, but Smith Office Supply continued. Shortly after his retirement, Josephine died. Some may remember her as the owner of Tony`s Radio and TV, which was also on Islington Street. Her first husband was Anthony Vinciguerra.
📸 Portsmouth Housing Authority Collection, P0057_0195, and PS0493a
👉 If you have photos or papers related to Smith Office or other Portsmouth area history, we accept donations in our effort to preserve the history of the Piscataqua region. Contact us at info@portsmouthathenaeum.org
#onthisdate #smithofficeequipment #islingtonstreet #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #portsmouthnh
Happy 2025!🎉
Here`s a snowy view of the Thomas Neil House, a Gothic cape also known as the Samuel P. Long House, decorated for the holidays in Portsmouth. The photograph was taken on Dec. 28, 1937. #wherewasthisWednesdays🤔
In this photo, the sign next to the door was for the Emma Bilodeau Smith School of Dancing, which would be perfect if you needed to learn a few moves to ring in the New Year. In the 1936 city directory, the house was occupied by two families: Herman C. and Emma Bilodeau Smith and the widow Jennie Sinclair Neil Knowlton (1861-1961). It was Jennie who grew up in the house, and she had returned to her childhood home after living forty years away.
Included is a snapshot of Jennie with her father, Thomas Neil Jr. (1828-1930), on the front steps of the family house, where he lived for 61 years. Thomas, an Athenaeum member, worked for Charles and Alexander Ladd as a young man. Then he partnered with Nathaniel Raynes in the ship chandlery business and Augustus W. Simpson in the flour and grain business. He became the teller at the Rockingham National Bank from 1886 until about 1906. Thomas Neil was Portsmouth`s oldest resident when he died at 101 years, 5 months, and 22 days.
About 1925, which might be when this photograph was taken, Jennie was returning to her childhood home on Middle Street to care for her elderly father. Her husband was an English professor, and the couple had lived briefly in Providence, RI, & Germany, before settling in Madison, WI, where he taught at the University of Wisconsin for ten years until nerves forced him to resign in 1900. When he died several years later, she was left to raise their five children, ranging from 6 to 19. After they were grown, she returned to #PortsmouthNH. So yes, you can home again.😊
According to the centenarian`s obituary in 1961, Jennie was a dedicated naturalist who enjoyed reading about wildlife & the Bible.
In 1971, Crown International Inc. purchased the former Long-Neil house at 297 Middle Street and demolished it as part of the construction of the Portsmouth Housing Authority`s Margeson Apartments, which opened in August 1973.
📸 PS2769_13 & PS2769_11
#collectpreserveshare📖
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa to all who celebrate! May everyone find happiness, light, and peace during this holiday season. 🎄🕎 🕯🎅 🕊
Here`s a Christmas-time view of a lobster pot tree at the LaCava Lobster Co. at 95 Mechanic Street in Portsmouth`s South End. The photograph was taken for the Portsmouth Press newspaper circa 1990.
Daniel LaCava (1895-1971) emigrated from Italy in 1911, and in 1918, he married Grace Galvagno (1904-1990) in Lawrence, MA. The couple had four children, and by 1930, they were living in Portsmouth. Four years later, he established Dan LaCava & Son (later Dan LaCava & Sons), the seafood and fishing business on Mechanic Street, which was in operation for over 70 years. Sons Antonio "Tony" LaCava (1919-2013) and Salvatore "Sam" LaCava (1920-2003) were lobstermen, and daughter Benedetta "Bessie" LaCava Sheppard (1922-2015) also worked for the family business.
The building above was constructed in 1949 as a fish market and lobster pound. After Tony LaCava`s death, the City of Portsmouth purchased the property. Empty for several years, the store collapsed into the back channel of the Piscataqua River in 2019 and was ultimately demolished.
As the views might change around us, the Athenaeum looks to collect, preserve, and share our local history.
Thank you to all who contributed to the Athenaeum and other archives and historical societies in 2024. We look forward to your continued support in 2025.
As a reminder, we will be closed for the holiday break, and we open on January 2, 2025. As always, you can access more seacoast history in our online catalog 24/7.
[Portsmouth Press Photograph Collection, P0031_0057]
#merrychristmas #happyhanukkah #happykwanzaa #lacavalobsterco #lacavafamily #southend #portsmouthnh #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory
With trumpets, horns, and trombones, the Portsmouth Brass Quintet will herald all that is glorious about the season of Advent, Hanukkah, and Christmas. Come one, come all to celebrate and be filled with a joyful mix of traditional music, seasonal favorites, and music from the Renaissance to pop. The concert is the Athenaeum’s gift to its membership and to the community at large, although contributions will be gratefully accepted at the door. 🎄 🕯 🎅 🕎
⛄️ The Portsmouth Brass Quintet includes key brass players from the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra:
• Adam Gallant and Greg Bechtold, trumpets
• Orlando Pandolfi, horn
• Brandon Newbould, trombone
• Chris Quade, tuba
🎶 Here`s the concert program for Thursday, December 12:
❄️ Three English Carols
• I Saw Three Ships arr. Keith Snell
• In the Bleak Mid-Winter by Christina Rossetti and Gustav Holst, arr. Tim Higgins
• Gloucestershire Wassail arr. Richard Price
❄️ Carol of the Drum by Katherine Kennicott Davis arr. Ray Wright, Adam Gallant, and Mary Barba
❄️ Hanukkah Trilogy arr. Chris Hajian and Ronald Romm
• Sevivon
• Maoz Tzur
• Dreydl
❄️ Las Posadas arr. Erroll W. Schlabach
❄️ Farandole by Georges Bizet, arr. Rolf Smedvig
🕯Intermission🕯
❄️ Selections from Home Alone and Home Alone 2
• Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas by Leslie Bricusse and John Williams, arr. Adam Gallant
• Somewhere in My Memory by John Williams, arr. Adam Gallant
❄️ Christmas Waltzes arranged by Angela Morley, arr. Justin Leach
• A Luther Henderson Christmas
• The Christmas Song
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
The FREE concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the South Church, 292 State Street, Portsmouth, NH.☃️
See you there!! 😊
#holidayconcert #portsmouthbrassquintet #portsmouthathenaeum #portsmouthnh
Portsmouth tree lighting in Market Square, Portsmouth, NH. 🎄 😊
#PortsmouthNH
This year, our staff shared some of their Thanksgiving traditions. 😊
We hope you had a safe and happy Thanksgiving!🦃
Reminder, the Athenaeum will be closed to the public for the Thanksgiving break on Friday, Nov. 29 & Saturday, Nov. 30.
The Shaw Research Library reopens at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
#Thanksgiving #traditions #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH
We hope you had a smooth ride on your way to celebrate Thanksgiving.🦃 🌽🥔 🍎
About 1911, this postcard was sent to young Wadleigh Winston Woods (1904-2001) of 23 New Castle Avenue in Portsmouth, NH, and it came with a warning from the sender, identified only as Ethel.
"Do not eat to [sic] much turkey."
So, did you heed Ethel`s warning? Wonder what her thoughts are on pie...🤔 🥧
Happing Thanksgiving! 🍂
[Woods Family Collection, P0072_1129]
#postcards #thanksgiving #newcastleavenue #walterwoods #collectpreserveshare📖 #PortsmouthNH
Today, we honor military veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces. Thank you to these brave men and women.🇺🇸
Here, Civil War veterans are seen marching down Congress Street in Portsmouth in 1912. These men were members of Storer Post No.1, the local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic. This real photo postcard was captured by St. Clair Studio.
In the background is the North Church, and the buildings at right were later lost to fire.
The origins of Veterans Day are from Armistice Day, which began after World War I, so in 1912, this scene was most likely from the Memorial Day parade. The Portsmouth Herald mentioned the day was rainy, but the afternoon parade was described as an impressive sight with a large number of people turning out.
"Major David Urch was, chief of staff, and so carefully had he made his arrangements that there was not a hitch, and the parade started on the time assigned for it."
Born in Wales to English parents, David Urch (1844-1921) and his family immigrated to Boston when he was four years old. After growing up in Portsmouth, his family moved to Illinois, but following his service in the Civil War, he returned to Portsmouth. He and his wife lived on New Castle Avenue, where he was the proprietor of the New Castle Bridge Co. and the Portsmouth Aquarium. He was the owner of a rattan works (in one of the buildings seen in the background of this photo) as well as an alderman, member of the school committee, and a representative in both the NH House and Senate. He was also an inventor and deserves a separate post about his marine bicycle and aquarium, which was featured in a 2016 article by historian J. Dennis Robinson.
PS1804.172.
#veteransday #grandarmyoftherepublic #veterans #civilwar #congressstreet #northchurch #stclairstudio #realphotopostcard #rppc #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH
Did you remember to put your clocks back?🍂
Allll your clocks back?!🤔⏰️🕛🕰😳
Here, Carol Cook stands above a table of wall clocks at the former Sherburne School on Sherburne Road, Portsmouth, NH. Cook was helping to prepare the school for the arrival of the Learning Skills Academy.
Established in 1987, the Portsmouth Press was a local newspaper, a subsidiary of Ottaway Newspapers Inc., which began with a morning edition twice a week. Its final edition was Sept 16, 1993.
📸 Photographer Jane Tyska @tyskagram captured this image, which was published on August 6, 1992.
[Given in memory of Jay Smith, former Press Room owner and journalist, Portsmouth Press Photograph Collection, P0031_1257]
#daylightsavings #clocks #sherburneschool #JaneTyska #PortsmouthPress #90s #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #nh #Maine #seacoast❤
