- Built
- c. 1890
- Style
- Italianate Italianate
- MACRIS
- NWB.2685 ↗
History
Otis Place was laid out about 1880. Nearly all of the homes on this Street were built in the next thirty years. The development of the area was apparently carried out, at least in part, by Orlando and Willard Hatch. These two men were carpenters and ship joiners.
They owned interests in several homes on Otis Place, including 14-16 and 19-25 Otis Place. Neither of the men lived on the Street. Orlando lived on Forrest Street, and Willard lived on Federal Street.
The homes along Otis Place are characterized by a vernacular style. They reflect many of the Victorian styles that had been popular in the preceding decades. The house at 15-17 Otis Place features the bold turned brackets and projecting bay windows, as well as roof dormers, characteristic of the earlier Italianate styles.
Otis Place was developed because there was a need for middle-class housing near Newburyport’s central business district. The homes built on Otis Place were inhabited by the clerks and managers of the businesses in Market Square. In 1889, William P. Dame, living at 17 Otis Place, was a baggage master. Otis Place developed as a residential area for the middle class. It remains almost unchanged today since the turn of the twentieth century.
Planning work on this building?
Reviews that may apply
Newburyport Historic District (National Register, listed 1984) · Downtown Overlay District (DOD) · Parcel 14-18-A/D · Zone R3
Planning Board decides
Downtown, new construction, alteration or demolition of a historic building (individually listed or contributing in 1984) needs a DOD special permit, judged against the Secretary of the Interior's Standards; the Historical Commission sends an advisory report. Replacing windows, doors, signs, awnings or fences is reviewed by the Planning Office at staff level, with a window inventory; a new opening in a wall needs the Board. This lot is in an underlying R3 district, where alterations (not demolition) of a one- or two-family house are excluded from DOD review. The demolition delay ordinance does not apply downtown except to work the Zoning Administrator excludes from DOD review.
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 1860–1900
Sources
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System - NWB.2685, NWB.AO