- Built
- 1889 (documented)
- Style
- Queen Anne/Panel Brick Queen Anne
- Neighborhood
- Pleasant Street Industrial District
- MACRIS
- NWB.2005 ↗
History
The former Griffin Block is a three-story brick block built in the Queen Anne/Panel Brick style in 1889. It is impressive for the variety of its brick and terra cotta detailing. Significant alterations to the building include removing the original cornice, replacing the original storefronts and new windows, removing the adjacent building, and exposing the Griffin Block’s southeast elevation.
The Griffin Block’s first-floor storefronts were replaced around 1990 with large display windows with anodized aluminum frames, metal bulkheads, and transom panels. The second and third floors are ordered by two brick piers with incised centers, which divide the building horizontally into three windows flanked on each side by a pair of windows. Horizontal bands are located below the third-floor windows and midway between the windows on the second and third floors. The wide band below the third-floor windows is embellished by egg-and-dart moldings and continuous foliate medallions of at least ten designs. Varying bands of terra-cotta tiles and moldings are visible on the second and third floors.
The windows on the second floor are all capped by low sandstone pediments resting on a square lintel with a rounded bottom, which rests on two corner blocks. The third-floor windows are linked by a continuous lintel of more steeply pitched gables with incised foliate detailing in the center. All of the original windows have been replaced with modern, blocked-down units. Those on the second floor contain 6/1 sash, while the third-floor openings are filled with 6/6 sash with clear transoms. There are square terra-cotta tiles on the piers, aligned with the transoms. The central section of the building is capped by corbelling.
In contrast, the two outer sections are capped by low-graduated brickwork arches. Historic photographs indicate that as originally constructed, the building was capped by a prominent bracketed cornice with four larger brackets rising from the roofline. This heavy cornicework was apparently removed before the 1940s.
CONTINUED IN COMMENTS...
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 1-23 · Zone B2
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. 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 →
From the archive
1 item · maps, papers, old photographs
More built 1860–1900
Sources
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, NWB.2005
- Biff Bouse, Instagram post (@newburyportarchitecture), 2025-04-17