A brief intermission from #saveSalemshistory for some snow pictures, because it was a pretty big storm, or “bomb cyclone”! Back to the Phillips in a few days: remember the big PEM forum is on January 11th @ 6 pm in the museum’s Morse Auditorium.
So we survived the year’s first big snowstorm, officially designated Grayson and categorized as a “bomb cyclone” by meteorologists because of the coincidence of a steep, explosive drop in atmospheric pressure. It snowed all day and gusty winds gave the streets of Salem a blizzard-like appearance at times, but that was not as scary as the flooding that occurred on the coast and in several low-lying areas reclaimed from rivers and ponds. The Willows looked positively apocalyptic at high tide midway during the storm, and the storm surge covered Derby Wharf for a while. The sea captains who built my street 200 years ago clearly chose high ground for a reason (well, multiple reasons really), so it was a much less dramatic scene out my window for most of they day, and in the late afternoon I emerged for a quick walk and a much longer stint of shoveling.
Chestnut and Essex Streets above; below, a panorama of Derby Wharf at high tide which was passed around by a bunch of architects yesterday, but I think can be attributed to ©Kirt Rieder. Beautiful but scary!
January 5th, 2018 at 1:43 pm
Thanks for the photos! Was wondering how you folks were doing up there! Are you having a lot of wind still? That’s the hardest thing to deal with when it’s bitter cold. And I can’t imagine trying to shovel snow in it. This morning (down here in DC where it is just bitter cold and windy) I actually saw a medium-sized dog on a leash lift up off the ground, all 4 paws, during a strong gust. He let out a little yelp! I don’t blame him! Probably wishing he was a cat with a litter box inside!
January 6th, 2018 at 11:17 am
Hey Laura–all the historians are in DC for the big AHA conference–wish I was there! It was pretty windy yesterday, but today is seems more still (but of course I haven’t ventured out yet).
January 7th, 2018 at 10:39 am
I dunno about that wish to be here. With wind chill it was 4F degrees this morning! Yikes! But warming up in the coming days, so all those AHA attendees can unthaw a bit before returning home!
January 5th, 2018 at 5:19 pm
I REALLY love these photos! With no cars in sight, and your focus on the gorgeous old houses, I was thinking that if they were black and white or sepia, they would look like they had been taken a long time ago!
January 6th, 2018 at 11:18 am
That’s how Salem looks without cars–wish we could get rid of them altogether! Actually, when I look at these photos it seems like I filtered them, but I didn’t–not sure why the red house one is so red.
January 5th, 2018 at 6:03 pm
Thanks for the photos of my old paper route. Photo #4 is my choice for the single most beautiful house in Salem. I’ve taken many photos of it over the years. I remember that 50 years ago, it had a beautiful magnolia tree in the front yard, just to the right of the doorway. Of course, in the pre-Dutch elm era, the whole street was canopied by the elms, and absolutely amazing to see after a Winter snow storm.
January 6th, 2018 at 11:20 am
That is one impressive house. I am drawn to it as well, especially in the winter for some reason. All that colonial revival detail catches the snow.
January 6th, 2018 at 4:57 pm
Beautiful shots. Hope you’re staying warm over there!