On The Decks (Summer in Portsmouth)
In the heart of winter amidst bitter cold and multiple feet of snow – it’s always nice to remember the warmer days in Portsmouth. Summertime is filled with great outdoor activities of entirely different kinds (no jackets/mittens/hats required) – and with many options for having a drink out on the waterfront (complete with an amazing view of sunset). Here’s to warmer days!
The brick row houses that line the waterfront of Portsmouth along Market Street and Ceres Street are immediately recognizable and easily one of my favorite vistas in Portsmouth.
As you may or may not know, the decks will be getting somewhat of a facelift ahead of this spring’s season. Harpoon Willy’s had to reconfigure its space a little bit with the redevelopment of the Martingale Wharf project. The stairs that used to come down right into Willy’s space before will now come all the way to the deck level and around the back of the bar space. Another change on the waterfront – maybe unfortunately for HW’s, but fortunate for people who want to come down and enjoy a waterfront view without a pint in hand. Should be a good place for me to hunker down with a tripod in everyone’s way for more gorgeous sunsets that are on the way for summer (which can’t come soon enough).
I think I’ll let this one speak for itself. After grabbing some dinner at Poco’s on a warm summer evening, I decided to sneak out as the check was coming to see what the sky was doing. It had hints of greatness, but I couldn’t see it because of the canopy…when I got outside, this was a pleasant surprise. Shot from the landing above Harpoon Willy’s on Bow Street.
Believe it or not, this is a single exposure…without much additional editing aside from adding some light into the foreground so you can make out the buildings and the tugboats.
The ceiling fan at Harpoon Willy’s is seen under an open blue sky earlier this winter with the green & white striped canvas in storage for the season. Much to my pleasant surprise, I realized that two decks are sort of open for business. The new upstairs heated deck at Poco’s is open according to a sign on Bow Street, and the deck at the River House was open for business today (St. Patrick’s Day) – probably thanks to the beautiful warm spring weather in the high 60s this afternoon. Although the deck didn’t stay open after dusk (the outdoor lights aren’t yet working for the season) – it was a nice reminder of the warm afternoons to come.
I loved this angle of the ceiling at Harpoon Willy’s – in all my years in Portsmouth, I don’t think I’d ever realized that there was a ceiling fan here….above the ceiling fan you can see the skeleton of the Martingale Wharf building still under construction on Bow Street. Some locals tell me that the owners expect to have the new building complete with a restaurant open later this year during the fall….I’ll keep you posted on what I hear around town.
Here’s another classic tugboat shot on the Piscataqua River. I couldn’t resist the opportunity of the beautiful lighting and the calmness of the day as I walked up Bow Street, despite the frigid wind & temperature.
Despite being closed for the season, the Decks along the waterfront are still seeing plenty of activity. The first shot hints at the new drainage and stonework below – as seen in the 2nd shot. The River House’s deck (seen on the left) is now met by stonework with proper drainage instead of the old nasty (and usually wet) gravel. In the third shot you can see the new brick sidewalks and granite curbing in place along the backside of the Market Street rowhouses.
This weekend, two special guests arrived on the Portsmouth waterfront, the Lois Ann L. Moran and the Jennifer Turecamo. Since I missed posting yesterday, thought I’d treat everyone to 4 shots today.
These two tall tugboats joined the Moran Towing fleet of 3 tugs. The only thing better than everyone’s beloved Portsmouth tugboats are more beloved tugboats. The above shots were taken from the Portsmouth Harbor Cruise deck and just above the Harpoon Willy’s deck …while the night shot below was taken from the upstairs window of The River House.
I just thought the little pumpkin head scarecrow fella was darn cool, so I snapped a few extras of him as well. Here’s a closer shot below:
This weekend, two special guests arrived on the Portsmouth waterfront, the Lois Ann L. Moran and the Jennifer Turecamo. Since I missed posting yesterday, thought I’d treat everyone to 4 shots today.
These two tall tugboats joined the Moran Towing fleet of 3 tugs. The only thing better than everyone’s beloved Portsmouth tugboats are more beloved tugboats. The above shots were taken from the Portsmouth Harbor Cruise deck and just above the Harpoon Willy’s deck …while the night shot below was taken from the upstairs window of The River House.
I just thought the little pumpkin head scarecrow fella was darn cool, so I snapped a few extras of him as well. Here’s a closer shot below:
I’m not sure there are too many better ways to spend a warm and sunny evening than out on one of Portsmouth’s famed decks, enjoying a cold beverage. Left to right are Harpoon Willy’s, The River House and the Old Ferry Landing.
Full size here: FLICKR
THE DAILY PORTSMOUTH 