As I'm still on "light duty" mostly recovered from a sprained right foot, sprained right wrist, and a previously pulled ligament in my left foot, I wanted something easy to do on Saturday without all the twisting and turning of working in the yard -- hey it would be a good day to go to Salem a scratch one off my
summer bucket list of historical houses!
Initially I wanted to see the Hawaiin canoe
Hōkūleʻa but it had left at 7am that morning, still I figured I could see the House of Seven Gables and the Peabody Essex Museum.
Oh Route 128...last 20 miles took me an excruciating hour
Gardens at the House of Seven Gables
No interior photographs allowed :( ... So a "Gable" means the ridge is at the same height as the peak of the main roof -- if it doesn't reach it then it would be considered a "Dormer" instead. I did not know that!
The sea wall here was built in the 1700s!
An American Elm on the campus, I haven't seen many of these in my life.
They have the house Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in on their campus too, I presume the quotes on the walls are from him.
Well back to downtown to go to the Peabody Essex Museum...coming around a corner and seeing an blue onion-domed church among all the old New England buildings amused me greatly!
Holy Cow...this place is much bigger than I was expecting!
I knew they had a good reputation, looking up later they're currently considered a Top 20 art museum in the U.S. in terms of square footage and endowment -- and after the current round of improvements is done around 2019 they expect to be in the Top 10.
The Seven Deadly Sins by Russell Biles...the photo probably doesn't do justice to the wonderful colors:
East India Hall, the original permanent home of the collections that would eventually become today's PEM. Built in 1825, I don't think I've been in space of similar size from the early 19th century.
The hand-blown glass windows are just...gorgeous. I love how the light is bent through the glass.
The museum collection began with items collected by members of the "East India Society" -- formed in 1799 by men of Salem who had gone around either the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn as Master of a ship.
This ship is made of silver!
I know Japan is the land of Godzilla, just how big does the flowers have to be to fit in this vase? (Which was exhibited at the Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1893)
I spent a couple hours here, and could've easily spent a couple more but by this time my feet were starting to ache and it was time to trudge home.
