At 13 Washington Square, the Andrew–Safford House raises its massive vertical façade, owned today by the Peabody Essex Museum. Built in 1819 and designed in the Federal style by an unknown architect, this house was commissioned for a wealthy Russian fur merchant and was reputed to have been the most costly house erected in New England at the time. Its massive vertical façade commands the square, a bold face that reads like a statement of aspiration.
On the south side four large columns rise from the ground to the third story, giving the house an almost temple-like presence and a scale evident in its soaring columns. Because of features like these, the Andrew–Safford House is remembered as one of the most impressive houses in Salem. Today the building is owned by the Peabody Essex Museum and stands as a contributing property to the Essex Institute Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Notice the south side, where four tall columns climb from the ground to the third story of this commanding façade.