Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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36 | OCTOBER 2015 nshoremag.com photographs by Robert Boyd wealthy merchants can still be found in the beautiful mansions in the McIntire Historic District. It was also how the Peabody Essex Mu- seum (PEM) came to be. "The museum was founded in 1799 in Salem by many of America's first global entrepreneurs, who were involved in trade worldwide and founded the museum in order to present works of art and culture from beyond the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn," says Dan Monroe, PEM's executive director and CEO. Today, the museum's collection consists of more than 1.8 million objects from around the world, including its celebrated maritime collection and Yin Yu Tang, a com- plete 200-year-old Chinese house that is the only example of Chinese domestic architecture on display in the United States. PEM is also undertaking an ambi- tious expansion project, as part of a $650 million Advancement Cam- paign that will include expanded programmatic initiatives, such as working with public educators, ex- panding the role of art museums in culture and communities, launching digital initiatives, and making the museum model more meaningful and dynamic. "We're convinced that those are the highest priorities for us, rather than simply adding more square feet," Monroe says. But adding more square feet is certainly part of the expansion, too. PEM will break ground on a new 40,000-square-foot wing in 2016, and plans to open it to the public in 2019. It will also devel- op a new 80,000-square-foot off-site Collection Stewardship Center. Mon- roe says the museum is still analyz- ing possible sites, but would like the new center to be as close as possible to the current PEM campus. Salem's maritime heritage is not only evident in its architecture and world-renowned museum, but also in its impressive and exciting food scene, says Karen Scalia, founder and owner of Salem Food Tours. "That was truly the gamechanger in Salem: that was where this mas- sive cultural shift happened," she says. "It was those world voyages that really laid the framework of the city." Today, Salem's culinary world is as exciting as its history, with dozens of innovative and interesting eater- ies and artisans. And it's reflective of the city's character as a place of creativity and vibrancy in general. "This is a really creative, dynamic place with a lot of makers," Scalia says. "It's really a thriving, modern, very cool, hip, dynamic city." One of the best things about Salem is that it's so walkable, and that there's so much to see and do in such a relatively small area. That's especially true in October for Haunted Happenings, the city's month-long Halloween celebration that includes parades, theatrical events, parties, haunted walking tours, psychic and supernatural events, spooky characters haunt- ing the streets, and more. Salem is crowded and a bit rambunctious on Halloween day and especially Halloween night. But both Fox and Driscoll emphasize that families can enjoy Haunted Happenings very easily and without crowds during the week. "People think the whole month is crazy," Fox says. "Midweek in Octo- ber it is very manageable." But Halloween is just one of the parties the city puts on; there are festivals and events all year round, including the Salem Literary Festival in November, Salem's So Sweet Festival in February, and Salem Film Fest in March. "It feels like you're alive when you're in Salem," Driscoll says. Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell; writer Nathaniel Hawthorne; former General Electric chairman and CEO Jack Welch; Official Witch of Salem Laurie Cabot; mathematician and ocean navigator Nathaniel Bowditch NOTABLE RESIDENTS Bates Elementary, Bentley K-2, Bentley 3-5, Carlton Elementary, Collins Middle, Early Childhood Center, Horace Mann Laboratory, Nathaniel Bowditch Elementary, Salem High School, Salem Prep High School, Saltonstall Elementary, Witchcraft Heights Elementary, New Liberty Charter School PUBLIC SCHOOLS P LACE S Above, East India Marine Hall, below, Finz serves fabulous seafood on the deck.