- Built
- c. 1860
- Style
- Italianate Italianate
- MACRIS
- NWB.400 ↗
- Formerly
- 73 Water Street
History
This building was constructed as an engine house to house the Mechanic No. 2 fire engine. In 1808, the town was divided into four nearly equal fire districts, and Engine No. 2 was captained by Thomas Stanwood. After the Great Fire of 1811, the town was divided into six districts. The motto of the Mechanic Engine Company No. 2 was "Deeds not Words.”
Historic maps indicate that this building was constructed between 1851 and 1872. It replaced an earlier building on the site, built in 1834 by Joseph Noyes, and perhaps even incorporates part of the earlier engine house. The previous building originally housed a 1843 hand engine and later a 1867 steam fire engine manufactured by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company of Manchester, New Hampshire. In October 1887, the Mechanic No. 2 moved to a new house on the site of the old almshouse at the corner of Federal and Horton Streets, rendering the present building obsolete as an engine house. The new engine house included two bays, allowing a hose company to be established. The old engine house at Water and Federal Streets was subsequently sold.
In 1895, the Daily News carried a notice that the old No. 2 engine house, owned by J.J. & W. Woods, was to be opened as a first-class fish market by Parker and Page. J.J. & W. Woods were the proprietors of a grocery store further down Water Street. The 1897 directory indicates that Joseph W. Parker, a fish dealer, was here, and the building was then 73 Water Street. Within a few years, the building had been renovated into a bakery, a use which it continued to serve for almost thirty years. The bakery was operated by various proprietors, including Dennis Kelleher (1901), Joseph Bastien, Wilfrid Lussier (1911), Armand Dufresne (c. 1915), and finally the Newburyport Baking Company (c. 1920). Frank Dumont began using the building as his residence about 1925 and continues to live here today. The building also housed various business uses over the years, including a roofing company, a launderette, and a travel agency.
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 17-13 · Zone WMD
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. 1860, 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 →
More photos
2 views · Biff Bouse
From the archive
6 items · maps, papers, old photographs
More built 1830–1860
Sources
- * Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS), NWB.400
- 1914 Sanborn map, sheet 22 (Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, Sanborn Maps Collection)