On a frigid January morning, Marblehead resident Richard Thibedeau’s walking group made a detour into Abbot Hall’s basement. For Thibedeau, one sign in the town’s newest attraction struck a particularly personal chord.
“Freddie Finkel made a wedding ring for me,” he said, pointing to a jewelry store sign and twisting the gold band he still wears. “He was down on Darling Street, just off Washington Street. He was a skilled craftsman.”
The newly opened Sign Museum showcases more than 80 pieces of Marblehead history, including signs from a weathered ship chandlery (a store that supplied sailors and maritime businesses with essential goods) to mid-century storefront markers. Years of planning and hundreds of volunteer hours transformed the basement storage area into a museum offering visitors a unique window into the town’s evolution.
“A lot of the history that we focus on is earlier history, but this is Marblehead’s commercial history from the 19th and predominantly the 20th century,” said Pam Peterson, the Marblehead Historical Commission chair. “It’s a different aspect than what we usually focus on of wars and cod fishing.”
The project’s inception
The project began several years ago when Chris Johnson organized a committee headed by Dick Carlson and Chris Butler. What started as boxes of stored signs has transformed into a professionally curated exhibition, complete with mesh display panels, magnetic labels and an interactive video installation created by David Krathwohl.
From maritime commerce to main street merchants, the signs span more than a century of Marblehead’s business history. The P.B. Tucker sign, taken from a 1905 power boat operated by the Marblehead Transportation Company, represents the town’s seafaring past. The Richard Price Yacht Yard sign marks the site where aviation pioneer Starling Burgess once built airplanes before it became a renowned boatyard specializing in Lightning Class boats.
Some signs tell surprising stories of entrepreneurial success. Stowaway Sweets, still operating at 154 Atlantic Ave., opened in 1929 and became so renowned that their hand-dipped chocolates were regularly delivered to the White House during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency. Marblehead Handprints, founded in 1971 by Kathy Walters and Molly Haley, grew from a local Washington Street shop to a national franchise before closing in the 1990s.
The collection includes beloved local institutions like Brown’s Restaurant, which began as a door-to-door bread delivery service in 1937 before becoming a popular dining spot. ‘The Spirit of ’76’ Books sign recalls the independent bookstore opened by 21-year-old Robert Hugo in 1965, which evolved into the multi-store Hugobooks chain before closing in 2019. The Barnacle Restaurant sign represents one of the town’s enduring businesses — the harbor-front eatery that began as an open-air summer shack in 1947 remains open today.
Educational and civic institutions are also represented. Signs from the L.H. Coffin School, named after a teacher who served for 51 years, and the Samuel C. Eveleth School preserve the memory of Marblehead’s neighborhood schools. The First Church of Christ Old North sign connects to the town’s earliest days, marking the congregation founded by fishermen and merchants in 1635. The museum even displays the Massachusetts state seal removed from the Gerry School when it closed in 2021.
The museum’s design, organized thematically by former building inspector Chris Butler, allows visitors to trace the evolution of Marblehead’s business district.
“I tried to group together like businesses,” Butler said. “First grouping in my mind was marine-related — Price’s Yacht Yard, Marblehead Transportation and Willard & Sons moorings.”
Chuck Harlan conducted extensive research on each sign’s history, with Peterson crafting the final text for the displays. Helen Riegle designed a floor map showing the original locations of the businesses. The interactive video display, programmed by Krathwohl, allows visitors to explore detailed histories and vintage photographs.
A Mobil Oil sign that lights up represents the last of what were once 27 gas stations in town.
“You will never see another gas station in Marblehead,” Butler said.
‘A flavor of history’
The project faced numerous challenges, including the removal of a massive safe that required specialized equipment and coordination with the fire department.
“It really began to feel like it was cursed,” Peterson said with a laugh, recalling the various delays and obstacles. “But everybody came together to make it happen.”
The museum has been dedicated to the memory of Wayne T. Butler, the former Historical Commission chair who began the initial collection and computerization of the town’s historical records.
“Today you think of it as a bedroom community, but over the years, it was a real commercial enterprise,” Thibedeau reflected. “This gives somebody a flavor of the history of the town.”
The Historical Commission continues to accept donations of Marblehead signs, hoping to expand the collection. Each addition helps preserve another piece of the town’s commercial heritage.
“We don’t own these buildings,” Butler said, sharing his philosophy about historic preservation. “These buildings have been around for hundreds of years. We’re just custodians. It’s up to us to provide good stewardship going forward.”
