Plaistow Carhouse

The Plaistow Carhouse is a historic trolley barn at 27 Elm Street in Plaistow, New Hampshire. Built in 1901, it is a surviving reminder of a short-lived trolley service that served the town until 1930. The building now houses the town's police and fire departments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1]

Plaistow Carhouse
Location27 Elm St., Plaistow, New Hampshire
Coordinates42°50′21″N 71°5′33″W
Area5.7 acres (2.3 ha)
Built1901 (1901)
ArchitectShaeff & Jaastad
NRHP reference No.80000303[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 10, 1980

Description and history

The Plaistow Carhouse is located in Plaistow's central village, at the southeast corner of Elm Street and Palmer Avenue. It is a brick structure, consisting of a large structure in which trolleys were serviced, and a smaller area originally used as an office and waiting room. The service area measures 50 by 150 feet (15 m × 46 m), and is covered by a flat roof with a monitor section at the center. The office is two stories in height, also with a flat roof, and is five bays wide and two deep.[2]

The carhouse was built in 1901 for the Haverhill, Plaistow & Newton Street Railway, which introduced service that year between Plaistow, Haverhill, and Amesbury, Massachusetts. This company was eventually consolidated into one providing service as far as New Hampshire's seacoast. The company provided year-round service to the industrial employment centers of Haverhill and Amesbury, with seacoast service running mainly in the warmer months. Coastal service was abandoned in 1920, and altogether by 1930. The Plaistow carhouse is one of several to survive in southern New Hampshire, but is one that is the least altered. It was designed by the New York City firm Sheaff & Jaastad.[2]

After trolley service was discontinued, the building was used as a storage facility by an amusement company, and was purchased by the town in 1979,[2] which has since adapted it to house the town's fire and police services.

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "NRHP nomination for Plaistow Carhouse". National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
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