- Built
- c. 1895
- Style
- Queen Anne Queen Anne
- Neighborhood
- High Street District
- MACRIS
- NWB.1463 ↗
History
This house is an excellent example of the Queen Anne style, popular during the end of the nineteenth-century. The home is grand in scale and architectural detail, befitting its spot on High Street, Newburyport’s main thoroughfare, that is noted for its excellent examples of domestic architecture.
The house has many features that are synonymous with the Queen Anne style, such as the asymmetrical composition, the variety of forms, textures and colors, and the tower with octagonal turret roof. The front porch and second floor porch are both contained within a combination of ionic and doric fluted columns. Each story of the home, and the four-story tower, are demarcated with alternating styles of entablatures.
Abbie Foster owned a business on State Street, “Miss A.L. Currier” and waited until her mid-forties to marry. In 1891 she was wed to Daniel Foster, sixteen years her elder. Daniel died just two-and-a-half years later, and after a bitter fight over the will, Abbie ended up with most of Daniel’s considerable wealth, which allowed her to build this extravagant home. Daniel Foster’s father owned N&T Foster, a silversmith business.
Read more about this home at:
map.marybakerart.com
Planning work on this building?
Reviews that may apply
Newburyport Historic District (National Register, listed 1984) · Demolition Control Overlay District (DCOD) · Parcel 18-1-A/F · Zone R2
Zoning Board of Appeals may decide
In the DCOD. Whether removing more than 25% of the exterior walls needs a DCOD special permit depends on the building’s status in the 1984 National Register nomination, which this site has not matched for this lot yet; the Office of Planning and Development keeps the list.
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. 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 →
From the archive
3 items · maps, papers, old photographs
More built 1860–1900
Sources
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, NWB.1463
- Biff Bouse, Instagram post (@newburyportarchitecture), 2020-03-17