The Hill is a little gem of a neighborhood tucked away in the northern tier of Portsmouth. It’s old structures stand out among its newer brick skinned peers surrounding it, ensuring that some old Portsmouth charm remains as this area continues to evolve and take on a new feeling. The Blue Mermaid stands out in its blue clapboard clad building…I’ve always loved the color of the restaurant.
The Norther Tier of Portsmouth is an interesting and changing place. The neighborhood known as The Hill sits atop this part of town in the block between Deer Street and Hanover Street, and is filled with older historic homes from the area that were saved from the urban renewal efforts that saw hundreds of homes torn down to make way for the former Parade Mall (soon to be Portwalk Place). It’s an interesting spot and ensures that this part of town will always have some historic character amidst the larger brick buildings that now include the Residence Inn and the Sheraton and will soon include more residences as part of the progress of the Portwalk Place project. The brick driveways and pastels of the clapboards are a nice part of the rich historic fabric of our charming town. (don’t miss the crescent moon hovering over the chimney at center frame)
The Hill is a historic and colorful neighborhood located atop Deer and Hanover Streets in downtown Portsmouth. It’s filled with beautifully colored homes from around the city, in the city’s Norther Tier. This area is set for some interesting changes over the next five years, with the progression of the Portwalk Place project and the potential future of the Westin Conference Center. I like this shot with the sense of space it conveys and the clarity of the clapboards.
The Norther Tier continues to change as the construction at two noteworthy projects progresses. Above, the Residence Inn at Portwalk Place can be seen from Deer Street. As you can see, the building went up incredibly fast (see other progress photos HERE), and has much of its outer brickwork complete. I’m not aware of the projected opening yet, but I can’t imagine that it’s too far off. Foster’s ran an article this week about the prospect of the City of Portsmouth operating a surface parking lot on the excess land at the site until the development market picks up and the office/retail component of the Portwalk Project can be built (and leased out).
Below, the Portsmouth Herald is getting a facelift as well and is being converted to retail/office uses. Below the photo are renderings of the completed buildings, which were kindly provided by Ron Reilly of Reilly Studios in Portsmouth, who worked on this project with DeStefano Architects. In the second rendering, you can see a parking garage that is slated to be built sometime in the future as part of the Westin project.
The old Parade Mall building, a scar on Portsmouth’s landscape from the urban renewal efforts back in the 60s or 70s…is no longer. This shot captures the building in its nearly completely demolished state on June 20, 2009. As of June 30th, the building is completely gone…and will become the new Portwalk redevelopment, which is slated to beautify the northern tier of the city and better tie in the area near the Sheraton to the Vaughan Mall (and further to Congress Street). I loved the blues on the cars and the bike and the hint of it in the sky.
Full size here: FLICKR
Article in Foster’s here: PORTWALK
The old Parade Mall building, a scar on Portsmouth’s landscape from the urban renewal efforts back in the 60s or 70s…is no longer. This shot captures the building in its nearly completely demolished state on June 20, 2009. As of June 30th, the building is completely gone…and will become the new Portwalk redevelopment, which is slated to beautify the northern tier of the city and better tie in the area near the Sheraton to the Vaughan Mall (and further to Congress Street). I loved the blues on the cars and the bike and the hint of it in the sky.
Full size here: FLICKR
Article in Foster’s here: PORTWALK
The Hill in Portsmouth’s Northern Tier (now sandwiched between the Hilton Garden Inn on Hanover Street and the Sheraton Harborside on Deer Street), consists of old historic homes formerly located in Portsmouth’s North End, which was formerly the city’s predominantly Italian neighborhood. The homes were saved and relocated to their existing locations, now known simply as The Hill. The buildings give the area some unique character… but the Northern Tier will continue to be a changing place as well, as the Parade Mall is slated for redevelopment and as the proposed Westin conference center is built across the street from the Sheraton. Will be cool to watch the process.
Full size here: FLICKR
The Hill in Portsmouth’s Northern Tier (now sandwiched between the Hilton Garden Inn on Hanover Street and the Sheraton Harborside on Deer Street), consists of old historic homes formerly located in Portsmouth’s North End, which was formerly the city’s predominantly Italian neighborhood. The homes were saved and relocated to their existing locations, now known simply as The Hill. The buildings give the area some unique character… but the Northern Tier will continue to be a changing place as well, as the Parade Mall is slated for redevelopment and as the proposed Westin conference center is built across the street from the Sheraton. Will be cool to watch the process.
Full size here: FLICKR
THE DAILY PORTSMOUTH 