Salem, MA Gallery

Photos of historic Salem — landmarks, Halloween celebrations, waterfront views, live music, gardens, and the street performers who make it special.

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Friendship of Salem at the Maritime

Derby Wharf, Salem

The Friendship of Salem, a full-scale replica of a 1797 East Indiaman merchant vessel, at Derby Wharf National Historic Site. One of Salem's most iconic waterfront views at golden hour.

waterfront historical attraction derby wharf sunset friendship of salem
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Historic colonial architecture, Salem

Salem, MA

Salem's streets are lined with impeccably preserved colonial-era homes dating to the 17th and 18th centuries, many still serving as private residences or recognized historic landmarks.

architecture colonial downtown historical
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Federal Street at dusk

Federal Street, Salem

Federal Street in Salem's McIntire Historic District at dusk, lined with Federal-style mansions designed by architect Samuel McIntire in the late 18th century. The McIntire District is a National Historic Landmark.

downtown architecture federal street mcintire sunset historical
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Salem character — year-round Halloween

Salem, MA

In Salem, Halloween spirit lives year-round. This characteristic home with vine-covered facades and gothic décor captures the city's embrace of its spooky identity long after October ends.

halloween downtown architecture gothic year round
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Old Burying Point at sunset

Charter Street Cemetery, Salem

The Charter Street Cemetery (Old Burying Point), established in 1637, is one of the oldest cemeteries in America. Resting place of Mayflower passengers and Salem's colonial founders, adjacent to the Salem Witch Trials Memorial.

charter street historical cemetery attraction witch trials sunset
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Live music at East India Marine Hall

Peabody Essex Museum, Salem

East India Marine Hall at the Peabody Essex Museum hosts live music events, lectures, and cultural gatherings in its grand 19th-century assembly hall — a centerpiece of Salem's thriving arts scene.

live music peabody essex venue downtown events arts
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Salem in costume

Downtown Salem, MA

During Haunted Happenings in October, Salem fills with costumed visitors from around the world. The city becomes a living Halloween celebration with events, parades, and street performances throughout the month.

halloween haunted happenings october costume downtown
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Halloween downtown Salem

Essex Street Mall, Salem

Salem's pedestrian Essex Street mall transforms into a carnival during Haunted Happenings, packed with costumed crowds, street performers, vendors, and Halloween festivities every October.

halloween essex street downtown october pedestrian mall street
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The Pickering House — Gothic Revival

Broad Street, Salem

The Pickering House on Broad Street, built circa 1651 and continuously owned by the Pickering family for over 300 years, is considered the oldest family home in America. Its Gothic Revival exterior dates to an 1841 remodeling.

broad street architecture gothic historical pickering house colonial
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The Seven Gables Gardens in spring

House of the Seven Gables, Derby Street, Salem

The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne's inspiration for his 1851 novel, overlooks Salem Harbor. Its surrounding gardens bloom in spring with views across Derby Wharf and the water beyond.

seven gables gardens waterfront spring derby street historical hawthorne
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Buskers

Borah The Witch

Essex Street, Salem

Salem's streets are enlivened by talented buskers year-round. Borah The Witch is one of Salem's beloved local characters, a fixture on the pedestrian downtown drawing crowds with her performance art.

buskers street performer downtown essex street local
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Buskers

Big Top Tiny

Essex Street, Salem

Big Top Tiny brings circus arts to Salem's streets — juggling, acrobatics, and theatrical performance drawing crowds on the Essex Street pedestrian mall throughout the season.

buskers circus street performer downtown essex street
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Gardens

Garden path at Charter Street

Charter Street, Salem

A quiet brick path winds past the weathered Samuel Pickman House and the Charter Street Cemetery Welcome Center — a peaceful, blossoming green corner tucked beside Salem's oldest burying ground.

historical gardens architecture downtown charter street
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1692

John Proctor's memorial, 1692

Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

At the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, a stone bench remembers John Proctor, hanged on August 19, 1692. More than three centuries later, visitors still leave roses and handwritten notes — this one from a descendant.

historical witch trials memorial downtown
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Est. 1637

Charter Street Cemetery, est. 1637

Charter Street, Salem

Established in 1637, the Charter Street Cemetery — Salem's oldest burying ground and one of the oldest in the country — sits behind a dry stone wall, its colonial slate headstones leaning under the trees. On the National Register of Historic Places.

historical witch trials cemetery downtown
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Architecture

The Samuel Pickman House

Charter Street, Salem

One of Salem's oldest surviving First Period homes, the Samuel Pickman House (c. 1664) shows off its steep roof and diamond-paned casement windows — framed by a dry stone wall, with the modern Peabody Essex Museum rising behind.

architecture historical downtown first period
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Waterfront

The Custom House at golden hour

Salem Maritime, Salem

The Custom House at Salem Maritime National Historic Site — where Nathaniel Hawthorne once worked — glows at golden hour above the waterfront, its gilded eagle mirrored in the tide as a great egret wades past.

waterfront historical architecture custom house sunset
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Est. 1782

Cotting-Smith Assembly House

Federal Street, Salem

Built in 1782 and redesigned by the celebrated Salem architect Samuel McIntire in 1796, the Cotting-Smith Assembly House is one of the Peabody Essex Museum's historic houses — a graceful Federal-era landmark of white clapboard and cedar shingle.

architecture historical downtown federal
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Halloween

Halloween all year in Salem

Salem, MA

In Salem, Halloween never really ends. A twelve-foot skeleton — draped in pearls and flying a Progress Pride flag — keeps watch from a side yard, months before the Haunted Happenings crowds arrive.

halloween downtown skeleton
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Architecture

A Federal-era Salem home

Salem, MA

Bright yellow clapboard, black shutters, and a towering brick chimney — a classic three-story Federal-era home behind a white picket fence, the kind of impeccably kept house that lines Salem's historic residential streets.

architecture historical downtown federal
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Fireworks

Fireworks over Salem Harbor

Derby Wharf, Salem

Fireworks light up the night over Salem's historic waterfront, sparkling above the bunting-draped warehouses and the masts of the tall ship at Derby Wharf.

waterfront historical fireworks derby wharf
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Waterfront

Warehouse at golden hour

Salem Maritime, Salem

Evening light warms a historic wooden warehouse at Salem Maritime National Historic Site, its patriotic bunting and a fluttering flag glowing against a dramatic summer sky.

waterfront historical architecture derby wharf
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Live Arts

Flamenco in motion

Salem, MA

A flamenco dancer whirls her golden fringed shawl through the light of tall windows as a singer keeps time — one of the many live performances that fill Salem's historic halls.

live music downtown arts performance
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Waterfront

Herring gull and its catch

Salem waterfront

A herring gull hauls a crab across the rocky shoreline — a small, everyday drama on the edge of Salem Harbor.

waterfront wildlife nature
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Pride

Salem Pride at Old Town Hall

Derby Square, Salem

Salem Pride rolls through Derby Square: a vintage convertible decked in rainbow flags, waving riders, and Old Town Hall standing watch over the celebration.

downtown pride community event
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Pride

Rainbow flags downtown

Downtown Salem

From the windows of a grand downtown building — copper mansard roof and all — hands reach out with rainbow flags as Salem Pride passes below.

downtown architecture pride community
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Pride

Borah the Witch at Salem Pride

Essex Street, Salem

Only in Salem: Borah the Witch, green-faced in rainbow curls and a tulle skirt, holds court on the brick pedestrian mall, where Halloween spirit and Pride joy share the same street.

downtown pride halloween costume
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Pride

Drag royalty on parade

Downtown Salem

Sequins, balloons, and full glamour: drag performers ride a rainbow-draped float past Rockafellas as Salem Pride takes over downtown.

downtown pride drag event
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Pride

Butterfly wings at Pride

Essex Street, Salem

A monarch takes flight on the brick mall — one of the countless joyful costumes that turn Salem Pride into a moving work of art.

downtown pride costume buskers
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Waterfront

A bubble over the harbor

Salem Harbor

A giant soap bubble catches the last light over Salem Harbor, the waterfront and a pastel sky mirrored in the still water below.

waterfront sunset buskers downtown
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Waterfront

Bubbles on Derby Wharf

Derby Wharf, Salem

A bubble artist works the golden hour on Derby Wharf, sending shimmering giants drifting past the masts of the Friendship of Salem.

waterfront buskers sunset derby wharf
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Historic

The Sail Loft

Salem Maritime, Salem

Low sun rakes across the weathered boards of the historic Sail Loft at Salem Maritime, a lone soap bubble drifting past its great plank doors.

waterfront historical architecture derby wharf
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Waterfront

The Friendship & a bubble

Derby Wharf, Salem

A giant bubble hovers over the masts of the Friendship of Salem — the replica 1797 East Indiaman — as the harbor glows at sunset.

waterfront historical sunset derby wharf friendship of salem
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Est. 1667

The Stephen Daniels House

Daniels Street, Salem

A lantern lights the sign of the Stephen Daniels House after dark — built for a shipwright around 1667, it's one of the oldest homes in Salem and now a storied bed & breakfast.

historical architecture downtown
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Architecture

A red colonial in bloom

Salem, MA

Deep barn-red clapboard, a gambrel roof, and a thirteen-star flag over a front garden of roses — a picture-perfect colonial on one of Salem's brick-lined streets.

architecture historical gardens downtown
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Gardens

A garden between the houses

Salem, MA

Rhododendron, salvia, and roses spill over a white picket fence between two colonial houses — the kind of tucked-away garden that makes a walk through Salem's old streets a pleasure.

gardens architecture historical downtown
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Historic

"Love is Love" at the Bowditch House

Salem, MA

A 'love is love' heart glows in the window of a 1740 house — part of the Nathaniel Bowditch House, once the Samuel Curwen House & Store — where three centuries of Salem history meet a very modern welcome.

historical architecture pride downtown
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Gardens

Peonies at a blue colonial

Salem, MA

Pink peonies and spikes of purple salvia crowd the picket fence of a handsome slate-blue colonial — Salem's historic homes and their gardens at their early-summer best.

architecture gardens historical downtown
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Waterfront

Salem Harbor marina

Salem Harbor

A quiet morning at the marina: fishing boats and a lone schooner mast mirrored in the glassy water of Salem Harbor beneath a sweep of cirrus clouds.

waterfront downtown
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Georgian

The Ropes Mansion

Essex Street, Salem

The Ropes Mansion — a grand Georgian Colonial on Essex Street, familiar as a Hocus Pocus filming location — with its urn-topped gateposts and herringbone brick walk. A little dog guards the door.

historical architecture downtown
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Gardens

The Ropes Mansion garden

Essex Street, Salem

Behind the Ropes Mansion lies one of Salem's loveliest gardens — a lily pond ringed with iris and cattails, blooming rhododendron, and clipped boxwood, free and open to all.

gardens historical architecture downtown
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Gardens

A formal Salem garden

Salem, MA

Gravel paths thread through a formal Salem garden toward a stately brick Federal mansion — the kind of green pocket that hides behind the city's historic house museums.

gardens architecture historical downtown
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Gardens

Garden paths and a sundial

Salem, MA

A Colonial Revival garden at its geometric best: gravel paths radiate from a central sundial past boxwood-edged beds and a rose arbor — a quiet, formal retreat in the heart of Salem.

gardens historical downtown
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Architecture

Ivy on a garden gatepost

Salem, MA

Ivy tumbles over an ornate white gatepost — Ionic scrolls, fluted columns, a curved picket fence — with rhododendron in bloom below: a small masterpiece of Salem's streetscape.

architecture gardens historical downtown
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Giant bubble at the Salem Common bandstand

Salem Common, Salem

A street performer's giant bubble floats past the stone bandstand on Salem Common, the city's historic green.

buskers downtown summer bubbles
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Bubble ribbon over Salem Common

Salem Common, Salem

A ribbon of giant bubbles curls across Salem Common in front of the bandstand on a summer evening.

buskers downtown summer bubbles
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The bubble artist on Salem Common

Salem Common, Salem

One of Salem Common's beloved buskers spins a glowing net of giant bubbles for evening crowds.

buskers downtown summer golden hour
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Golden-hour bubbles on Salem Common

Salem Common, Salem

Sunlight catches a trail of giant bubbles drifting across Salem Common on a warm summer evening.

buskers downtown summer golden hour
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Essex Street pedestrian mall at night

Essex Street Pedestrian Mall, Salem

Downtown Salem's cobblestone pedestrian mall glows under lamplight after dark.

downtown architecture night
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Mercy Tavern at blue hour

Derby Street, Salem

The Art Deco sun-face sign of Mercy Tavern glows against a deep blue evening sky on Derby Street.

downtown blue hour restaurant
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A Salem side street at dusk

Salem, MA

A quiet street in Salem's historic waterfront neighborhood slopes down toward the harbor at dusk.

architecture historical waterfront blue hour
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A hidden witch garden

Salem, MA

One of Salem's whimsical hidden gardens — a vine-draped brick path with pumpkins, statuary, and a painted mural tucked between buildings.

gardens halloween downtown
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The Custom House dressed for celebration

Salem Maritime National Historic Site, Salem

The historic Custom House at Salem Maritime National Historic Site — topped by its gilded eagle — decked in patriotic bunting for Salem's 400th.

historical waterfront architecture salem 400
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Borah the Witch

Salem, MA

Borah the Witch — one of Salem's beloved character performers — in full green-faced, red-haired regalia.

halloween witch character
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Borah the Witch points the finger

Salem, MA

Borah the Witch hams it up for the camera in her signature tattered costume and bling.

halloween witch character
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Patriotic bunting for Salem's 400th

Salem, MA

Salem dressed up in patriotic bunting along a downtown fence for its 400th-anniversary summer.

downtown historical salem 400
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A dapper dachshund downtown

Downtown Salem

A long-haired dachshund out for a stroll on the brick pavers of downtown Salem.

downtown dogs
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Derby Wharf Light on the Breakwater

Derby Wharf, Salem Maritime National Historic Site

Derby Wharf Light Station (built 1871) stands at the tip of the half-mile Derby Wharf breakwater, looking out over a harbor dotted with moored sailboats.

waterfront derby wharf lighthouse historical harbor
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Derby Wharf Light Station

Derby Wharf, Salem Maritime National Historic Site

The 1871 Derby Wharf Light Station up close — a square whitewashed brick tower capped by a black iron lantern room, at the end of the Salem Maritime breakwater.

waterfront derby wharf lighthouse historical architecture
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Storm Clouds Over Salem Harbor

Derby Wharf, Salem

The end of the Derby Wharf pier reaching into Salem Harbor beneath a brooding, cloud-filled sky, with moored sailboats scattered across the water beyond.

waterfront derby wharf harbor clouds moody
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The Derby Wharf Breakwater

Derby Wharf, Salem

The stone breakwater curves back toward the Salem waterfront and Pickering Wharf, its granite riprap leading the eye to the downtown skyline under a heavy sky.

waterfront derby wharf harbor downtown clouds
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A Walk Along the Waterfront

Salem Harbor waterfront, Salem

Visitors stroll the breakwater path along Salem Harbor, gothic red-and-black umbrellas in hand, with the Pickering Wharf waterfront and downtown skyline ahead.

waterfront people harbor downtown
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Sunlight on the Moorings

Salem Willows, Salem

Late-summer sun scatters across Salem Harbor, the mooring field stretching out to the far shore beyond a rocky, seaweed-strewn stretch of coastline.

waterfront harbor boats summer seascape
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Boats Off the Beach at Salem Willows

Salem Willows, Salem

A quiet stretch of sand and rock looks out over the Salem Harbor mooring field, with the far shore's houses and a church steeple on the horizon.

waterfront harbor boats beach seascape
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Chickadee Hill Farm at the Farmers' Market

Salem Farmers' Market, Derby Square, Salem

Chickadee Hill Farm's stand at the Thursday Salem Farmers' Market in Derby Square, bushel baskets piled with the last of the summer harvest.

farmers market food derby square summer local
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Costumed performers on the Essex Street mall

Essex Street Pedestrian Mall, Salem

Street performers in full harlequin and circus costume on the Essex Street pedestrian mall. Salem draws costumed characters downtown well beyond October.

costumes street performers downtown essex street people
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Soft serve at Goodnight Fatty

Goodnight Fatty, Salem

A chocolate-dipped soft serve cone from Goodnight Fatty, under the string lights downtown on a summer evening.

food ice cream summer downtown goodnight fatty
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Bangers & mash at Olde Main Street Pub

Olde Main Street Pub, Salem

Bangers and mash with caramelised onions and gravy at Olde Main Street Pub.

food pub dinner olde main street pub