- Built
- c. 1895
- Style
- Vernacular Queen Anne Queen Anne
- Neighborhood
- Victorian Residential District
- MACRIS
- NWB.1726 ↗
- Formerly
- 42 Marlboro Street
History
Architecturally, this home and its surrounding neighborhood, the Victorian Residential District, are noteworthy for their high concentration of late nineteenth-century domestic architecture. Most of it is vernacular in style, and some buildings were built on speculation for workers at nearby factories.
The dwellings in the Victorian residential district are generally two-story clapboarded homes with pitched roofs and minimal architectural ornament.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This section of the City of Newburyport remained undeveloped until the second half of the Nineteenth century. It was during this period, as the City came to depend upon textile mills and shoe manufacturers for its prosperity, that the growing population settled into several new neighborhoods. Speculative building and the division of large parcels of land into house lots were widespread in the district bounded by High, Bromfield, Chestnut, Marlboro, and Lincoln Streets and the Newbury town line.
The earliest documented owner of this home was Leon W. Menard, who appears to have owned it (48 Marlboro, formerly 42) for speculative purposes and lived in the house next door (50 Marlboro, formerly 44).
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 24-16 · 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. 1895, 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 →
Details
1 close-up
From the archive
2 items · maps, papers, old photographs
More built 1860–1900
Sources
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System - NWB.1726, NWB.G
- 1914 Sanborn map, sheet 28 (Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, Sanborn Maps Collection)