An early Federal door surround with an arched fanlight frames the Samuel Beck House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Built about 1761, it is a well-preserved example of late colonial architecture, now framed by an early Federal-period door surround complete with an arched fanlight. The building was moved to this present location as part of a project to widen nearby Deer Street, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Notice the proportions: the house is two-and-a-half stories high, with a side gable roof and a clapboarded exterior, five bays wide and two deep, centered around a large central chimney. Inside the house the original 18th-century features survive — paneled fireplace surrounds and a three-run winding staircase in the front entry vestibule remain intact. The land where the house originally stood was platted in 1710, subdivided in 1756, and purchased by Samuel Beck in 1761, tying this dwelling to the early patterns of the town.
The Samuel Beck House stands near the southwestern corner of The Hill, a cluster of historic houses that were relocated here southwest of the junction of Deer and High Streets. Notice this house, then picture the neighboring historic homes lining The Hill beside it.