Magical places, yup 11-13 Ship Street is what I would consider to be one of those magical places. It is a two family federalist home. The property goes back to Smith Street. And in the back of the house is the most delightful orchard. The property has a wonderful spirit to it and a remarkable sense of place.

The property sold in March to 1804 Associates, LLC at 16 Grapevine Road in Wenham, Massachusetts.

The fairly substantiated rumor is that whoever these folks are, they are going to demolish the property and put up a “replica.” Ouch.

I’ve been in contact with the Newburyport Preservation Trust and unfortunately at this point they do not know anymore than I do.

I did a little snooping to try and find out who the buyers, 1804 Associates, might be. All I could find out was that 16 Grapevine Road is a residential area in Wenham, Massachusetts that is owned (this is courtesy of www.salemdeeds.com) by a Mr. Minot Frye.

The only thing I could find about Mr. Frye on Google was a paper on real estate risk management written in 1998. That’s it. It is not even clear whether or not Mr. Minot Frye is actually part of 1804 Associates.

It is clear however, that someone from out of town has bought this remarkable property, and it appears that their first response is demolition. Ouch.

When I talked to the folks at the Newburyport Preservation Trust they said that they would try and get in touch with the buyers and explain the financial incentives for historic preservation.

It would be really horrible to see this remarkable property destroyed.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport