I used to live in Lynn, just to the south, and certainly I’d been to Salem many times, but I had never explored it in any detail. This photo essay is not intended to be a review of the city of Salem, but rather an account of some of the things we saw and did. As usual you can go here to learn more about Salem.
We took one of these sight-seeing trolley tours. The tour was extremely informative, with much more information than we ever could remember, unfortunately! We recommend one of these tours because you get to see the best of the city with a knowledgeable guide.
We started off in this square, called Museum Place.
Salem is a very old city and lots of international trade was conducted right here on this street.
There are many very fine old buildings in Salem and you’re going to see quite a few of them in this photo essay.
The city has done a good job of preserving the fascia of these old buildings, while the insides are all modernized.
Notice how clean everything is. This was very impressive to 2 people from Taiwan!
Salem is famous of course, for the Salem Witch Trials. Even though the events took place between 1692 and 1693, they have had a profound influence on the modern-day city of Salem. There are many museums and re-enactments that take place in Salem.
Here we see a re-enactment in progress. It’s not unusual to see someone walking around in period-era dress in Salem.
This is the Peabody Essex Museum. We didn’t visit this one but it features significant collections of art.
We took a drive down famous Chestnut Street (where our article is geotagged).
These houses were built by rich sea captains and merchants. The street was specified to be 80 feet wide (24 meters), so it would be a grand thoroughfare.
The original houses are still standing, and they look fantastic.
This house just sold. You do not want to know for how much!
This is Hamilton Hall, a very famous meeting hall.
Designed by Samuel McIntire, and built in 1805, it was named in honor of Alexander Hamilton.
It’s a beautiful building – a must-see when you visit Salem.
Even outside of Chestnut Street, you will see some outstanding examples of colonial architecture.
The trolley passed Museum Place again, on it’s way to another part of the city.
A vintage photography store.
Inside, you may find maps and brochures about local attractions, as well as a gift shop.
This is Salem’s “Downtown District.”
As I said, Salem is an old city. This is one of the cemeteries.
Called “The Burying Point” and is the oldest cemetery in Salem, dating to 1637. On this sign you can see the names of some famous people who are interred here.
This building is one of the curiosities you will see on the tour.
In those days, nails were expensive, as they had to be individually hand-crafted by blacksmiths. One of the ways that people displayed their wealth was to use many nails on the construction of their homes. For some reason, doors in particular were very nail-intensive.
Personally, I’d prefer to buy a helicopter than put a bunch of nails in my house, but that’s just me.
Now we’re headed to the waterfront area.
This is our tour guide, who coincidently has spent considerable time in China. He was able to say a few Chinese words to Hui-chen and I.
We are approaching the dock area.
This is Pickering Wharf.
And the restaurant where we ate before boarding Fred and Mary’s boat last night.
As contributed by our friend and reader Mike01905, this is the Friendship.
This is Salem’s Waikiki Beach, not to be confused with another beach by the same name.
Our tour guide told us that this small inlet has a very big tidal surge, and that during low tides, it empties almost entirely.
We stopped for a minute so our guide could point out this house….
…. and it’s lovely peacock stained glass window.
Salem has another nice beach, called “Dead Horse Beach.”
Riding past Salem Commons. It was truly a gorgeous day.
This is a likeness of Roger Conant, the founder of Salem. This isn’t a witch costume. He’s depicted wearing traditional clothing of the era.
Tourists walking through the center of town.
After an enjoyable tour, Hui-chen and I decided to walk around and sight-see on our own. Here is some information on the East India Marine Hall.
Hui-chen didn’t know about the witch trials. I was also interested in the history but neither of us were interested in the occult aspect of the subject. We wanted to avoid some of the other witch “museums” and find one that told the story of the witch trials without so much emphasis on witchcraft itself. So we settled on the Witch History Museum.
The museum (which does allow photography) features depictions of the historical events of those times.
This scene shows one of the witnesses testifying in court. The Salem Witch Trials make for interesting reading. Witchcraft was a capital felony crime at the time.
I had to include this shot of Hui-chen trying on a Revolutionary War era tri-cornered hat. Better view it now before she asks me to remove it from this article!
As I had said during the trolley tour, the weather was just perfect. Suddenly though, it turned for the worse….
The rain was so bad that we got into our rental car and headed to our next destination, having to give up on walking around Salem any more.
Within minutes, some of the streets were starting to flood….
Former field engineer MJ Klein now lives in Taiwan, and writes articles that primarily feature photographs of travels of MJ and wife Hui-chen, plus daily goings on in the bustling island nation of Taiwan, and other places in Asia. Articles feature people, culture, food, situations and sometimes the trials and tribulations of traveling in places such as China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos and of course Taiwan.
