Samuel McIntire

Samuel McIntire (January 16, 1757 — February 6, 1811) was an American architect and craftsman. He was one of the earliest architects in the United States, and was one of the primary examples of Federal style architecture.Born in Salem, Massachusetts to housewright Joseph McIntire and Sarah (Ruck), he was a woodcarver by trade who grew into the practice of architecture. He married Elizabeth Field on October 10, 1778, and had one son. He built a simple home and workshop on Summer Street in 1786.

Starting about 1780, McIntire was hired by Salem's pre-eminent merchant and America's first millionaire, Elias Hasket Derby, for whose extended family he built or remodeled a series of houses. McIntire taught himself the Palladian style of architecture from books, and soon had a reputation among the city's elite for designing elegant homes. In 1792, he entered a proposal in the competition for the United States Capitol.

After 1797, McIntire worked in the style of Boston architect Charles Bulfinch, who had made fashionable here the neoclassical manner of Scottish architect Robert Adam. Unlike Bulfinch, however, whose designs were featured across the East Coast, McIntire built almost exclusively in New England. His wooden or brick houses were typically 3 stories tall, each with 4 rooms around a central hall. In 1799, he went into business with his brothers, Joseph and Angier McIntire, who erected the structures, while at the workshop he oversaw various ornamentations, including the swags, rosettes, garlands and sheaves of wheat which dominate their interior wooden surfaces. McIntire's Salem works include the Peirce-Nichols, the Peabody-Silsbee, the Gardner-White-Pingree, and the Elias Haskett Derby residences. His public buildings, all in Salem, are Assembly Hall, Hamilton Hall, Washington Hall and the courthouse (the latter 2 demolished).

He was a skilled artisan, especially in furniture, and his skill extended to sculpting. Among his works are busts of Voltaire and John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts. Both are now owned by the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts.

McIntire's grave is in the Burying Point Cemetery, Salem, where his epigraph reads:

:In Memory of Mr. Samuel McIntire who died Feb. 6, 1811, Æt. 54. He was distinguished for Genius in Architecture, Sculpture, and Musick: Modest and sweet Manners rendered him pleasing: Industry, and Integrity respectable: He professed the Religion of Jesus in his entrance on manly life; and proved its excellence by virtuous Principle and unblemished conduct.

In 1981, Salem created the Samuel McIntire Historic District. Containing 407 buildings, it is the city's largest.

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References

* Frank Cousins, Phil Madison Riley, "The Woodcarver of Salem: Samuel McIntire, His Life and Work"; Little, Brown & Company, Boston, Massachusetts 1916

[http://www.salemweb.com/guide/tour/attract2.shtml] To learn more on the world famous wood carver Samuel McIntire who just finished an exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum. [http://www.pem.org]
Historic Chestnut Street is the foundation of the McIntire Historic District of Salem Massachusetts [http://www.salemweb.com/guide/arch/mdistrict.shtml] Established in 1981, this district incorporates two previously established districts, the Chestnut Street Historic District (1971) and the Federal Street Area Historic District (1976), with the addition of some 249 structures on upper Essex, Broad, and Warren Streets, Dalton Parkway, and various cross and side streets in between.

The district is named for Salem's celebrated architect-carver, Samuel McIntire, who lived at 31 Summer Street. His first major commission, the Peirce-Nichols House (1782), and several of his mature works including Hamilton Hall (1805), are among the buildings preserved within the district.
One famous mansion is located in another famous area of the City and that is the Salem Common Historic District; with this specific mansion now owned by the Peabody Esses Museum and located across the street from the Hawthorne Hotel. After construction many years passed and later became the mansion in the boardgame Clue [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluedo] , designed by one of the Parker Brothers of Salem.

This densely settled residential area of the city contains one of the greatest concentrations of notable pre-1900 domestic structures extant in the U.S. With few exceptions, the major architectural styles common to the region during the 1640-1940 period are represented. Of particular interest are the numerous Federal Era townhouses lining Chestnut Street. Collectively, they stand as a monument to the mercantile and maritime ascendancy of Salem in the latter 18th and early 19th centuries and constitute one of the most beautiful streetscapes in America.