Hickey-Osborne Block facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Hickey–Osborne Block
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Hickey Building
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 38–60 Main St., Peabody, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 1.2 acres (0.49 ha) |
| Built | 1797 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 85002416 |
| Added to NRHP | September 19, 1985 |
The Hickey–Osborne Block is a really old and special building in Peabody, Massachusetts. It's unique because it was made by taking three old houses, lifting them up, and then building new brick shops underneath them! This amazing building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. This list recognizes important historical places in the United States.
Contents
What Does the Hickey–Osborne Block Look Like?
The Hickey–Osborne Block is a long building on Main Street in downtown Peabody. It's right across from Park Street. If you look at the ground floor, you'll see five different storefronts, which are shops or businesses.
Three Houses on Top
Above these shops, you can see three old wooden houses. Each house has 2 and a half stories. This makes the whole building about 3 and a half stories tall! In between these houses, there are smaller, one-story sections. These sections also have shops and connect the houses together.
A Building with a Long History
The Hickey–Osborne Block has a fascinating story. It shows how the town of Peabody changed over many years.
How Old Are the Houses?
The oldest part of the building is the house on the far east side. It was built around 1797 for a person named John Upton. Imagine, that's over 200 years ago! The other two houses were built a bit later, around 1835.
What Style Are the Houses?
All three houses were built in the Federal style. This was a popular way to build houses in America during the late 1700s and early 1800s. These houses usually have a balanced look with five windows across the front. The middle house in the block looks a bit different now. Its center windows were changed to a two-story bay window.
How the Building Changed Over Time
The first big change happened in 1897. A person named S. Osborne lifted the oldest house (the Upton House) off the ground. Then, a new ground floor with shops was built underneath it. The ground floor was updated again in the 1960s to match the rest of the building.
The other two houses, which belonged to Daniel Dodge and Ebenezer Sprague Upton, were lifted in 1923. At the same time, the spaces between the houses were filled in with the new commercial sections. This created the long building you see today.
Why Did the Building Change?
These changes show how Main Street in Peabody transformed. It used to be a street mostly with homes. But over time, it became a busy area full of shops and businesses. The three old houses on top of the Hickey–Osborne Block are some of the best reminders of what the area looked like long ago.
