Reinventing Portsmouth

Reinventing Portsmouth

by | Feb 14, 2023 | Past Exhibitions

Exhibition Title "Reinventing Portsmouth" written in a large sanserif font ontop of a recolorized photograph from the 1970s of many young adults standing outside of a brick house painted a darker blue with a sign next to it reading "Matthew Marsh House"

April 7- October 9, 2023

Renewal to Renaissance: 1970s

Programs, Events, & Lectures

About the Exhibition

Programs, Events, & Lectures

Events are being added all the time! Please check back in for updates.

 

Exhibition Programs

Connect with Portsmouth and our local community through the collection or workshops, lectures, and community conversations we have planned this season.

There are no upcoming events at this time.

Exhibition Open Seven Days
10:00 AM–5:00 PM

In the late 1960s and 1970s, the landscape of Portsmouth moved in new directions. A new generation with fresh ideas and entrepreneurial energy cultivated a vision that diverged from earlier approaches to the community’s growth and embraced both historic preservation and modern development. Business owners, civil servants, and cultural leaders leveraged the accessibility of the Seacoast offered by I-95, the inheritance of historical architecture, and the availability of federal funds to create an environment that attracted restaurateurs, fine and performing arts, and turned Portsmouth into the destination it is today.

This story is one that still rings true today—how a group of concerned citizens joined together through public and private partnerships to create community. This is a story of civic engagement and a call to action for all.

Market Square Day, 1978.
Colorized reproduction from original photographic negative.
Image courtesy of Portsmouth Athenaeum.

Mary Jane Connor (1921-2010)
Grace Casey, ca.1975.
Oil on canvas. Private collection.

“Jubalay” poster
Produced for Theatre by the Sea
Ink on paper, 1977
Portsmouth Athenaeum, MS056, Box 3 F11

Omer T. Lassonde (1903–1980)
A Time to Celebrate
Oil on canvas, 1975
Collection of Robert S. Chase
Awarded Josie Prescott Bicentennial Award, Prescott Park Arts Festival, 1975.

View Upriverm six figures are seated with thier backs to the photographer. They look upriver at several large homes and a tall telephone tower.

J. D. Lincoln (1933–2022). View Upriver from River House Gallery. Silver gelatin print, 1970s. Grace Casey Collection.

Image of Buddy Haller, holding a ceramic bowl and stirring something with a wooden spoon. Buddy is wearing a button-up shirt with a floral patter. Buddy stands in front of a stovetop with shelving above it.

Portrait of Chef James “Buddy” Haller from the Blue Strawbery Cookbook.

Image of Buddy Haller, holding a ceramic bowl and stirring something with a wooden spoon. Buddy is wearing a button-up shirt with a floral patter. Buddy stands in front of a stovetop with shelving above it.

J. D. Lincoln (1933–2022). Actors of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Carousel” along the Prescott Park riverfront. Grace Casey Collection

Thank you to our generous sponsors

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Anonymous
Ed & Fran Mallon
McNabb Properties
Thoresen Werner Families Fund

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