Prospect Street · No. 16 · NWB.2708
16 Prospect Street
- Built
- c. 1870
- Style
- Italianate Italianate
- MACRIS
- NWB.2708 ↗
History
This section of Prospect Street features an excellent streetscape of domestic architecture built primarily in the mid-nineteenth century. There are several older homes on the street. The street exists in total, however, as it appeared in the nineteenth century.
Prospect Street, between State Street (formerly Fish Street) and Federal Street (formerly King Street), is adjacent to Market Square, Newburyport’s central business district. As one might expect, the homes in this area relate to the business, trades, and services essential to the center of Newburyport.
In 1851, Prospect Street was home to a variety of skilled craftsmen and shopkeepers. There were also several house carpenters and an occasional seaman. The textile mills established during the 1840s and 1850s created a need for workers’ housing. This need increased further as the shoe industry grew during the 1860s and 1870s. The larger dwellings on Prospect Street undoubtedly housed workers from the nearby industrial area on the other side of State Street.
Planning work on this building?
Reviews that may apply
Newburyport Historic District (National Register, listed 1984), contributing in the 1984 nomination · Downtown Overlay District (DOD) · Parcel 14-13 · 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.2708, NWB.AK