Brick sets the James Neal House apart at 74 Deer Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Built about 1830–32 by James Neal, a local merchant, this three-story brick house is distinctive as the only brick house to be built in the Deer Street area and one of the last Federal style houses to be built in the city. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, it sits in "The Hill," a tight cluster of closely-spaced historic houses created when a road-widening project relocated homes originally on or near Deer Street.
The house faces west from the south side of Deer Street. The street-facing side is two bays wide; the main five-bay facade centers on an entrance topped by a Federal-style fanlight. Step inside in your imagination and you’ll find largely original transitional Federal–Greek Revival interiors: a modestly Federal central stairway and original fireplace surrounds survive here.
As you stand here, notice how this sturdy brick volume holds its place among its neighbors, a late echo of the Federal era in Portsmouth. Notice the surrounding row of houses, bounded by Deer Street to the north and High Street to the east.