Franklin Block
About this property
The Franklin Block is a historic commercial building at 75 Congress Street in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Built in 1879, this three-story brick building is the largest Victorian-era building standing in the city. It occupies the city block between Fleet Street and Vaughan Mall, a former street that is now a pedestrian mall. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The Franklin Block is located in downtown Portsmouth, one block west of the city's central Market Square, on the north side of Congress Street at Fleet Street. It is a three-story brick structure, built in a U shape. The main facade, facing Congress Street, is lined with commercial storefronts on the ground floor, separated by brick piers, with the main building entrance near the center, framed by fluted stone pilasters. Second-floor windows are grouped in fours, the outer windows of each group set in segmented-arch openings, and the center two set in rectangular openings topped as a pair by a rounded arch of brick and stone. On the third floor, windows are either singly or in pairs in rounded-arch openings, also formed out of brick and stone. Brick corbelling rises to a shallow parapet at the top of the facade. The building was designed in 1879 by Boston architect Arthur H. Vinal for Alfred Stavers, a local merchant, and is believed to be the oldest surviving design by Vinal. Built to replace a previous Franklin Hall destroyed by fire, it housed retail spaces facing Congress Street, and meeting halls and performance spaces in the upper floors. These latter spaces were converted to offices c. 1902, but some of the details of the theater interiors have survived. The block was built as part of a gradual westward expansion of the city's downtown in the late 19th century. National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockingham County, New Hampshire
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Franklin Block
This page lists Franklin Block. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Franklin Block listed on the National Register?
Franklin Block was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 6, 1984.
What type of historic resource is Franklin Block?
Franklin Block is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Franklin Block?
The period of significance for Franklin Block is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Franklin Block?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Franklin Block will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Rockingham County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Rockingham County.
Explore RockinghamCounty ›More historic places in New Hampshire
Browse all historic places in New Hampshire.
View New Hampshirehistoric sites ›New Hampshire history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
New Hampshirehistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Franklin Block will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.