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At the Peabody Essex Museum until February 24, 2008
I learned of Samuel McIntire after moving to Marblehead years ago. Rumor had it that the mantel in the Federal Style home that we were renting was a McIntire original. I became intrigued by his work. When we moved to Salem, McIntire’s buildings seemed to pop up everywhere. There’s a reason for that; according to the exhibit, McIntire was responsible for the design of more than 50 public buildings, churches, and private residences in Salem between 1780 and 1811. We have him to thank for many of Salem’s most elegant neoclassical structures.
It was my interest in him as an architect that led me to the Peabody Essex Museum. The exhibit includes a sampling of his original architectural drawings. I was particularly fascinated by the entry he submitted to the 1792 international design competition for the U.S. Capital in Washington, D.C. He would have been 35 or so at the time, an impressive age to be vying for so significant a commission. President Washington rejected his entry along with 16 others. Fortunately, McIntire would have plenty of other successes.
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