- Built
- c. 1845
- Style
- Greek Revival Greek Revival
- Neighborhood
- Ocean Mills District
- MACRIS
- NWB.1901 ↗
History
This building is an excellent example of the type of multiple dwellings commonly built during the mid-nineteenth century to house workers associated with the mill industries in Newburyport. It is one of three similar buildings on Munroe Street.
The details of these tenements are simple yet typically Greek Revival in style. Notable architectural features include the cornerboards and doorways, which are modestly detailed to evoke the classical orders. The doorway is trabeated, featuring a wide fascia above the door, sidelights, and applied pilasters on either side.
This building is one of three tenements constructed on Munroe Street across from the Ocean Steam Mills. The buildings were erected in 1845 by James Blood, a Merrimac Street resident who was heavily involved in real estate speculation in Newburyport’s North End. That same year, the Ocean Steam Mill Company was incorporated for the manufacture of cotton cloth and built a large, four-story brick factory on Monroe Street, opposite these tenements.
By 1872, ownership of the three tenement buildings had transferred to the Ocean Mills, which used them as boarding houses for factory workers until the end of the nineteenth century. Following the discontinuation of cotton cloth manufacturing in 1889, the mill was subsequently occupied by Burley, Stevens & Company, a manufacturer of shoes and boots.
Today, these buildings serve as multiple-family dwellings and remain essentially unchanged from their original 1845 construction.
Planning work on this building?
Reviews that may apply
Newburyport Historic District (National Register, listed 1984), contributing in the 1984 nomination · Demolition Control Overlay District (DCOD) · Parcel 54-63 · Zone R2
Zoning Board of Appeals decides
Listed as contributing in 1984, so removing more than 25% of its exterior walls, counted cumulatively since 2014 and including walls enclosed by an addition or openings filled in, needs a DCOD special permit; the Board may grant one only if the building retains no substantial remaining market value or reasonable use. The Historical Commission sends an advisory report. Replacing siding, or windows and doors in their openings, does not count.
Newburyport Historical Commission decides whether to impose a delay
Built c. 1845, so 75 or more years old: removing more than 25% of its exterior walls, changing the roofline (pitch, towers, cupolas, anything projecting above the roof), moving it, or adding a dormer that misses the setback and pitch rules is "demolition" under the demolition delay ordinance. The Commission holds a hearing within 30 days and may impose a delay of up to 18 months. In the DCOD the wall test goes to the Zoning Board instead; the Commission keeps roofline, roof pitch and dormer work. Parts of the building documented as younger than 75 years are excluded on a written determination by the Zoning Administrator.
Code of Ordinances ch. 5 art. X, §§5-307–5-308 (June 2026) ↗
Zoning Administrator first stop
Every project starts with a zoning determination from the Zoning Administrator, which says which of these reviews apply and whether the work also needs zoning relief (a special permit for a non-conformity, or a variance). Fees, forms and filing deadlines are on the City’s site.
Not legal advice, not an official City publication, and not the position of the Historical Commission or any board. Says what the ordinances say as of September 30, 2026; the Zoning Administrator decides what applies. Boundaries: Merrimack Valley Planning Commission / City of Newburyport GIS (MIMAP); 1984 status from the National Register nomination's district data sheets. City's quick guide to the DCOD and demolition delay ↗ · Do I need approval? Project by project →
More built 1830–1860
Sources
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS), NWB.1901