One of my favorite hanging signs in Portsmouth is the legendary beer stein that welcomes passers-by to the Portsmouth Brewery on Market Street, one of the city’s staple restaurants for nearly a couple decades. The beautiful colors surrounding the windows and reflected in them have always drawn me in.
I thought I’d mix it up a bit today and feature one of my favorite hanging signs. The Common Man took over the former Victory Restaurant at 96 State Street during 2009, in the historic district near Prescott Park and the Memorial Bridge. I just love the size of the sign and the blue of the sky against the bricks of the building and the subtlety of the lighting on the sign. This one is an interesting contrast to the neon sign (another favorite) of The Rosa just across the street – which I’ve included below.
A view down Market Street on a Friday evening. In the distance you can see the cranes of the freighter docked in town hovering over the colored facades of the Market Street rowhouses. In the foreground you can see Kennedy Studios custom framing & gallery at the corner of Commercial Alley – and the Portsmouth Brewery can be seen across the street. A quiet scene before downtown was greeted by its many guests on Friday night. Below is a view in the opposite direction on a spring afternoon with a very cool sky.
Over near the city’s parking garage on High Street/Hanover Street you’ll find Ladd Street, which is inhabited by several cool little shops. Included in these shops are Federal Cigar, which has one of my favorite hanging signs of all of downtown – as well as the Old Stove Bakery (further up the street), which sells delicious cupcakes among other sugary treats. Snapped this shot during an early morning visit downtown and loved the light peeking out from in between the Federal Cigar building and its neighbor.
The next few days will feature a more unique look to images posted here at the site, as I’ve rented a tilt-shift lens – a cool toy that gives a miniature/model feeling to shots. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Portsmouth’s unique alley behind the tugboats and en route to the Decks is known as Ceres Street, which will soon be getting a facelift courtesy of the City. Last time I featured Annabelle’s on the site, people commented that they never knew there was a giant ice cream cone hanging above the door. This view is easily one of my favorites in the city with the different nuances among the brick colors on the rowhouses.
THE DAILY PORTSMOUTH 