Arts and Culture in the Seacoast: Museums, Galleries and Theaters

New Hampshire has only about 18 miles of Atlantic coastline, but the towns along it have been settled since the 1600s, and that long history shows in the region's cultural life. Portsmouth alone has historic house museums, a private library that has been collecting since the early 1800s, and a year-round professional theater. Exeter and Dover add a museum of the Revolution and one of the state's best stops for young children. This guide covers the museums in the NH Seacoast that are worth planning a day around, with a few notes on how to string them together.

Spring is a good time to start. The beaches are still cold, the crowds have not arrived, and most of these places are indoors or reward a slow walk through town.

Portsmouth: a city built for walking

Portsmouth is the cultural center of the Seacoast. It sits at the mouth of the Piscataqua River, its west bank was settled by European colonists in 1630 and named Strawbery Banke for the wild strawberries growing there, and its downtown is compact enough that you can reach most of its museums on foot from Market Square. Park once, then walk.

Moffatt-Ladd House and Garden

The Moffatt-Ladd House and Garden on Market Street is one of the finest Georgian houses in New England. It was built in 1763 by John Moffatt, one of the wealthiest men in colonial New Hampshire, and it was later the home of William Whipple, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a Revolutionary War general. The house, also known as the William Whipple House, is a National Historic Landmark. Among its contents are Whipple's sword and a portrait of him, and outside stands a horse chestnut tree that Whipple planted in 1776 from seeds he brought back from Philadelphia.

The garden behind the house is a large part of the appeal. It climbs in terraces from the street, and it is one of the reasons to come back in a different season. The house's history also includes the people Whipple enslaved, Prince Whipple and Windsor Moffatt, who lived there too, a part of the story that gives the visit more depth than a tour of fine furniture alone.

The Portsmouth Athenaeum

At 9 Market Square, the Portsmouth Athenaeum is a non-profit membership library, gallery and archive incorporated in 1817. It holds manuscripts, photographs, maps and art tied to Portsmouth and the region, and it is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the country.

Most of the building is for members, but the third-floor research library and the Randall Gallery are open to the public on a limited schedule. If you are researching a family, a ship or a house in the Portsmouth area, start here. If you are simply curious, the gallery exhibitions are a quiet hour in the middle of a busy downtown.

Seacoast Repertory Theatre

Seacoast Repertory Theatre on Bow Street is a professional theater company founded in 1988. It produces musicals, plays and seasonal shows, and it runs education programs for young performers from elementary school through high school. Bow Street itself is one of the best short walks in Portsmouth, with brick buildings backing onto the river.

Seeing a show here is the easiest way to turn a museum day into a full evening. Book ahead for weekend performances.

Prescott Park and its arts festival

Prescott Park is a waterfront park of more than ten acres on the Piscataqua River. Two sisters and public school teachers, Josie and Mary Prescott, bought and cleared the land in the 1930s to replace a run-down industrial stretch with a park free to all, and it was willed to the city in 1954. In summer it becomes the home of the Prescott Park Arts Festival, a non-profit that presents outdoor concerts, theater, movies and family shows on the lawn.

In April the stage is quiet, but the park is still worth a walk. The gardens start waking up in late spring, and the festival's season is something to plan a return trip around. Check the festival's website for its current schedule and reservation policy.

Exeter: the Revolution, up close

Exeter, southwest of Portsmouth, became New Hampshire's capital in 1775, when the Provincial Congress had the provincial records seized from royal officials in Portsmouth and brought there. It held that role for 14 years. The American Independence Museum tells that story from the Ladd-Gilman House, a historic home in the center of town. Its collection includes a Dunlap Broadside, one of the copies of the Declaration of Independence printed by John Dunlap on the night of July 4, 1776. This copy reached Exeter on July 16, 1776, and was read aloud to the town by John Taylor Gilman. It was rediscovered in 1985, when electricians wiring a security system found it under the upstairs floorboards, and the museum opened in 1991. The original is displayed only once a year, during the museum's annual festival, so most visitors see the story rather than the document itself.

The museum is small, which suits a half-day visit. Pair it with a walk along the Squamscott River and lunch downtown, and Exeter makes an easy counterpart to a busier Portsmouth day.

Dover: a museum built for kids

The Children's Museum of New Hampshire is on Washington Street in downtown Dover, near the Cocheco River and the town's old mill buildings. It is designed for hands-on play and learning, with exhibits aimed at young children and a calendar of classes and programs.

If you are traveling with kids, this is the stop that buys you the patience for a historic house later. It works especially well on a rainy spring day.

How to plan a Seacoast culture weekend

The Seacoast is small. Portsmouth, Exeter and Dover form a rough triangle, and none of the drives between them is long. That makes it easy to build a weekend that balances history, art and performance.

1. Saturday morning: Start in Portsmouth at the Moffatt-Ladd House, then walk to Market Square and the Athenaeum's public gallery.

2. Saturday afternoon: Walk down to Prescott Park and along the waterfront.

3. Saturday evening: Dinner downtown and a show at Seacoast Rep.

4. Sunday: Drive to Exeter for the American Independence Museum, or to Dover for the Children's Museum if you have young kids along.

The Seacoast by season

Spring is quiet and well suited to museums and historic houses, though gardens are only beginning to bloom. Summer is the busiest season: Prescott Park is in full swing and downtown Portsmouth is crowded, so plan parking early. Fall brings cooler walking weather and lower demand for rooms. Winter is theater season, and the indoor collections are at their most inviting when the wind is coming off the water.

Many historic house museums keep seasonal schedules, opening fully in late spring and closing or cutting back in winter. Always check each museum's website for current hours before you go.

Tips for visiting

• Parking. Downtown Portsmouth has metered street parking and public garages. Arrive early on summer weekends.
• Timing. Give a historic house museum about an hour, and a children's museum two or more with young kids.
• Booking. Theater tickets and summer festival reservations sell out. Plan ahead for weekends.
• Combine with food. Each of these towns has a walkable downtown with restaurants a few minutes from the museum doors.

FAQ

What are the best museums in the NH Seacoast?

In Portsmouth, the Moffatt-Ladd House and Garden and the Portsmouth Athenaeum's public gallery are standouts. Exeter's American Independence Museum and Dover's Children's Museum of New Hampshire round out a strong list.

Is there theater in Portsmouth, NH year-round?

Yes. Seacoast Repertory Theatre on Bow Street produces shows year-round.

What is the Dunlap broadside?

It is one of the first printed copies of the Declaration of Independence, printed by John Dunlap on the night of July 4, 1776. The American Independence Museum in Exeter owns one that was found under the floorboards of the Ladd-Gilman House in 1985.

Is the Seacoast good for a rainy day?

Yes. The Children's Museum, the Athenaeum gallery and a theater performance all work well indoors.

Sources

• Moffatt-Ladd House, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moffatt-Ladd_House
• Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden Museum: https://www.moffattladd.org
• Portsmouth Athenaeum (incorporated 1817; public research library and gallery): https://www.portsmouthathenaeum.org
• American Independence Museum, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Independence_Museum
• Seacoast Repertory Theatre: https://www.seacoastrep.org
• Prescott Park Arts Festival: https://www.prescottpark.org
• Children's Museum of New Hampshire: https://childrens-museum.org
• Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth,_New_Hampshire
• Exeter, New Hampshire, Wikipedia (capital for 14 years from 1775): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter,_New_Hampshire
• Prescott Park (New Hampshire), Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prescott_Park_(New_Hampshire)