The Pink House
The Pink House as seen at dusk
General information
Architectural styleAmerican Foursquare
Location60 Plum Island Turnpike
Newbury, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°47′47″N 70°49′49″W / 42.796300°N 70.830223°W / 42.796300; -70.830223
Completed1922[1]
Technical details
Floor count2[2]
Newbury Pink House
The house on the way to Plum Island

The Pink House is an uninhabited historic house and popular photography and painting subject located at 60 Plum Island Turnpike, Newbury, Massachusetts, United States.[3][4] The house was built in 1925 and was privately owned until it was sold to Parker River National Wildlife Refuge for $375,000 in 2011.[5][6] The house is considered by many to be a local icon and is the subject of a grassroots campaign to buy back the property from the refuge to preserve the house.[7]

Origin legend

The house's notoriety is in part due to a popular local urban legend about its creation.[8][9] The story suggests the house's location was a result of a divorce in which the wife demanded an exact replica of their Newburyport house, but failed to specify the location, resulting in the spiteful husband building it on the edge of town, in the Great Marsh with saltwater plumbing.[10][11] For this reason, the building is often listed as an example of a spite house.[12][13]

Preservation movement

The refuge, which had originally planned on using the property for seasonal staff housing, completed a preliminary environmental survey of the building in 2014, finding asbestos-containing building materials.[14] In 2015, amid community concerns the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge would demolish the property, a group founded by local residents was formed to advocate for the preservation of the house.[15] After initially proposing demolition in 2016, the refuge agreed to postpone to explore alternatives and give time to find a suitable land transfer.[16] In 2018, refuge staff met with members of Essex County Greenbelt, a conservation organization, to discuss the option of a land transfer. [17]

In November, 2023, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service announced plans to demolish the Pink House in the coming months following a period of public comment, citing nearly eight year of unsuccessful land transfer attempts, rising maintenance costs of the degrading building, and the refuge's duty to preserve wildlife.[18] In the proposal, they announced plans to replace the Pink House with a public observation platform to view the salt marsh.[19]

Pink House at sunset

References

  1. ↑ Sargent, William (5 October 2016). "Group rallies to save 'Pink House'". Wicked Local. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  2. ↑ "Public Comment Period for Pink House Environmental Assessment". U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Henderson, Dyke (16 December 2015). "Spotlight falls on 'pink house'". The Daily News of Newburyport. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  4. ↑ Henderson, Dyke (2 October 2015). "Saving 'the pink house'". The Daily News of Newburyport. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  5. ↑ Henderson, Dyke (16 December 2015). "Spotlight falls on 'pink house'". The Daily News of Newburyport. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  6. ↑ Rogers, Dave (14 September 2018). "Land swap talks involving Pink House under way". The Daily News of Newburyport. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  7. ↑ "About Us". Support The Pink House. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  8. ↑ Bolick, Kate (11 December 2015). "Plum Island's Pink House Inspires a Real Estate Fantasy". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  9. ↑ Bilis, Madaline (15 December 2015). "Five Spite Houses in New England". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  10. ↑ Reynolds, Christopher (19 August 2019). "Startled by Manhattan Beach's emoji house? Let me tell you about spite houses and my lunch in Sarajevo". the Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  11. ↑ Kaharick, Whitney. "Plum Island Pink House". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  12. ↑ Sisson, Patrick. "Spite Houses: 12 Homes Created With Anger and Angst". Curbed. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  13. ↑ Kiger, Patrick J. "10 Things Done Completely Out of Spite". How Stuff Works. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  14. ↑ Sullivan, Jim (2 November 2023). "Refuge plans to tear down Pink House". Newburyport News. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Saving Plum Island's Pink House". Northshore Magazine. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  16. ↑ Henderson, Dyke (30 September 2016). "Preserving the Pink House". The Daily News of Newburyport. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  17. ↑ Rogers, Dave (18 September 2018). "Little progress after Pink House meeting". The Daily News of Newburyport. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  18. ↑ O'Brien Coffey, Jeanne (1 November 2023). "National Wildlife Service Explores Demolition of Newbury's Iconic Pink House". North Shore Magazine. RMS Media Group, Inc. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "Environmental Assessment for Pink House Removal" (PDF). U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 9 November 2023.


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