Novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, a Salem native, lends his name to the Hawthorne Hotel rising here on Washington Square West. Built in 1925, this hotel has been welcomed into the Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and was ranked the number one hotel in Salem by U.S. News & World Report. It has also been listed as one of the top allegedly haunted places in Massachusetts and the country.
Your feet are on ground that has hosted a long, layered story: before the hotel rose here, the site held the Franklin Building, constructed in the early 1800s and later serving as headquarters of the Salem Marine Society after its acquisition by sea captain Thomas Handasyd Perkins in 1838. That building endured two mid‑century fires and was completely razed by flames in 1860; between 1863 and 1864 the Marine Society ordered its reconstruction while the American Civil War was going on and patience was needed. By 1923, prominent members of the Salem community agreed the city needed a modern hotel to house increasing travelers for business — and that decision led to the Hawthorne you see.
Notice the hotel's facade and the sweep of Washington Square West just beyond.