Plummer Hall is a historic Italianate-style building on Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts.
Built in 1857, it is a two-story brick building designed by architect Enoch Fuller. The central portion of the facade is slightly recessed, creating square pilasters at each end of the front of the building. A moulded brick cornice spans the top of the recess.
Plummer Hall was constructed for the Salem Athenaeum with a bequest of $30,000 from Caroline Plummer in memory of her brother Ernestus Augustus Plummer.
On October 6, 1857, an official dedication ceremony was held at Plummer Hall, which included a speech about the importance of libraries and literature by Reverend James M. Hoppin and a speech about the Plummer family by Judge White.
Upon the building’s construction, the Athenaeum reserved the upper floor for its own use and rented out the lower floor to the Essex Institute.
The building originally had a balustrade on the roof, but it was removed in 1905. In 1906, the Essex Institute purchased Plummer Hall after the Athenaeum moved to a smaller, more modern building it had constructed on Essex Street.
In 1907, the institute connected Plummer Hall to the John Tucker Daland House next door via a small structure, complete with a main entryway, between the two buildings, and the front entrance of Plummer Hall was replaced with a large arched window.
On June 22, 1972, Plummer Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a Massachusetts Historic Landmark.
Sources:
Proceedings Upon the Dedication of Plummer Hall, At Salem October 6, 1857. WM Ives and Geo. W. Pease, 1858.
“Historic Building Detail: SAL.2451 Plummer Hall.” MACRIS, mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=SAL.2451