Architecture Collection

Crowninshield-Bentley House, ca. 1727

(126 Essex Street), was built for fish merchant and ship captain John Crowninshield. This modest house in the Georgian style was moved one block to the museum’s campus in 1959. Like most houses in eighteenth-century Salem, it originally stood at the curb. Characteristics of its Georgian Colonial style include its long, rectangular shape with an orderly symmetrical façade, and the paneled door with pediment, transom lights, and pilasters — all reflecting an interest in classicism. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.