- Built
- c. 1845
- Style
- Greek Revival Greek Revival
- MACRIS
- NWB.2690 ↗
History
On July 24, 1845, the county commissioners laid out a way, called Park Street, from High St. to Harris St., through land owned by Stephen Hodge on the northwest side of Sewall Place. By 1851, five of the seven buildings on Park St. today had been built, nearly all of them in the predominant Greek Revival style.
Nos. 5, 6, and 7 Park Street are all simple 2½-story homes with wide, continuous cornices forming a pediment in the gable facing the street. Nos. 5 & 6 have flush boards in the pediment. Each of these houses has a simple Greek Revival doorway and cornerposts, characteristic of the style. As is typical in later Greek Revival dwellings, the classical orders flanking the doors are stylized with little or no detail. The houses, with that at No. 1 Park Street, also Greek Revival, set the character of this short street.
By 1869, Reverend W. A. McGinley was the owner of 5 Park 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 13-8 · 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 1830–1860
Sources
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, NWB.2690, NWB.AP
- “For Sale, the House and Land, No. 5 Park Street” Newburyport Daily Herald, Monday, January 25, 1869, p. 3.