Plaistow Carhouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Plaistow Carhouse
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 Location in New Hampshire
Location in the United States
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| Location | 27 Elm St., Plaistow, New Hampshire |
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| Area | 5.7 acres (2.3 ha) |
| Built | 1901 |
| Architect | Shaeff & Jaastad |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000303 |
| Added to NRHP | December 10, 1980 |
The Plaistow Carhouse is a historic building in Plaistow, New Hampshire. It's located at 27 Elm Street. Built in 1901, it was once a garage for trolleys. These trolleys served the town until 1930. Today, the building is home to Plaistow's police and fire departments. It became a protected historic site in 1980.
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What is the Plaistow Carhouse?
The Plaistow Carhouse stands in the center of Plaistow village. You can find it at the corner of Elm Street and Palmer Avenue. It's a brick building with two main parts. One part was a large area where trolleys were fixed and stored. The other, smaller part was an office and waiting room.
Building Design and Size
The main service area for trolleys is quite large. It measures about 50 feet wide and 150 feet long. This section has a flat roof with a special raised part in the middle. This raised part is called a monitor section. The office area is two stories tall. It also has a flat roof. This part of the building has five sections across the front and two sections deep.
The History of Trolley Service
The carhouse was built in 1901 for a company called the Haverhill, Plaistow & Newton Street Railway. This company started trolley service that same year. Their trolleys traveled between Plaistow, Haverhill, and Amesbury, Massachusetts.
Trolleys Connect Towns
Over time, this trolley company joined with others. This created a larger network that reached all the way to New Hampshire's seacoast. The trolleys ran all year to help people get to jobs. They went to factories and businesses in Haverhill and Amesbury. During warmer months, they also offered rides to the seacoast.
End of an Era
Trolley service to the coast stopped in 1920. By 1930, all trolley service had ended. The Plaistow carhouse is one of the few trolley buildings left in southern New Hampshire. It's special because it hasn't been changed much over the years. The building was designed by a company from New York City called Sheaff & Jaastad.
New Purpose for the Carhouse
After the trolleys stopped running, the building was used for storage. An amusement company owned it for a while. In 1979, the town of Plaistow bought the building. Since then, it has been updated to house the town's fire and police services.
Images for kids
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The public safety complex that now occupies the site
