This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Arts & Entertainment

Then & Now: Spirits of Salem

This 1808 building has seen Salem's history unfold as it was put to various uses over the years.

Do you remember this store?

This postcard view shows one of the oldest buildings on Washington Street
that has a long and varied history as both a store and residence.

Captain Abel Lawrence (1754-1822), a wealthy Salem merchant who owned a distillery next door on the corner of Washington and Front Street, bought this land from the family of David Britton in 1791. Lawrence was also an investor in Salem’s maritime shipping.  He was very active in the life of Salem and was a captain in the Salem Militia.

Find out what's happening in Salemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In 1808, he had this Federal Style, commercial/residential building erected here. The ground floor was designed as a store while the upper stories were his residence. 

In 1817, a rear two-story ell was added. This arrangement made sales from his distillery very convenient and continued until 1855 when his heirs had the distillery removed and another mixed use building erected. That building, which is of similar design to 133, still stands.

Find out what's happening in Salemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Together the two buildings, even though built in different decades, were referred to as one — Lawrence Place. The Lawrence family maintained ownership of these buildings until the early years of the 20th century.

According to City records, after the distillery closed, Currier & Millett Furniture dealers moved into this space where they operated a store for a number of years.

The rise of the railroad industry and Salem’s growth in manufacturing gave rise to
a number of adjunct businesses. One such business was express companies that
arranged freight shipments. One of the larger ones that shipped daily between Salem and Boston was the Merritt Express Company. Merritt Express moved into this building in the early 1870s and remained the principal tenant until 1902. At various times, smaller expresses that transported throughout the North Shore shared space here.

In 1903, the store front changed dramatically. The express office gave way to a lunch room when Wineapple Brothers Lunch opened. This started a 20 year period during which restaurants occupied this space.

In 1912, Jacob Alpert bought out the Winapples and opened a lunch room under his name. The following year he opened another lunch room beside . In 1915, the lunch room was called the Royal Dining Room. Over the next 10 years, the name was changed to the Royal Restaurant then briefly to the Liberty Restaurant, presumably to reflect the patriotic feelings engendered by the world war. It was then turned back to Royal Dining in the mid twenties.

In 1926, the restaurant gave way to Murphy Hardware then the Chapman & Murphy Hardware Store, which operated here for the next 10 years.

In 1936, the store morphed into L.B. Moody Stationers. The Moody stationery store quickly became the place to get all office and art supplies. I’m sure many readers will recall going here for back-to-school supplies. Moody’s stayed in business until 1965 when Sawtell’s Office supplies took over.

The vintage postcard view above shows Sawtell’s as it looked in the 1970s after the store front was renovated, adding large plate glass windows where they highlighted various products for sale. I still recall their displays of writing instruments and art kits. James Boulger was the architect for this renovation.

Sawtell’s remained a staple of Salem business until closing in 1990. At that
time, the building once again went through a metamorphous becoming two stores
with professional offices in the former residences on the upper floors. In August 1991, the opened here.

Once again, the building housed a restaurant. It has remained here for almost 20 years enjoying a consistent clientele for its Italian specialties.

The other store in the building has had a few more tenants since the changes were made. Warner and Comcast Cable were here for a number of years before moving elsewhere in the city. Since then, there has been an ice cream shop briefly and the current tenant, Salem Loan & Jewelry, which moved from New Derby Street.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?