PLUM ISLAND TURNPIKE – Last week the Town of Newbury installed an anonymously donated sign commemorating the 100 years the Pink House stood along this highway.
Under a replica of local artist Kathy Culbert’s painting of the house, the sign reads: “The Pink House. Honoring 100 Years of Memories. Demolished March 11, 2025, But Never Forgotten.”
Without fanfare, the sign on 10-foot solid granite pillars was erected close to the road and facing it, just to the left of where the house’s driveway was.
“An astonishing thing happened today. This big beautiful sign appeared?” wrote Rochelle Joseph, president of the now-defunct Support the Pink House (STPH) organization. “The appreciation going to those with the idea, the donors, and those at the town who made this happen will be hard to measure! “
Sandy Tilton, another leader of the STPH, said she was grateful to the town and the donors. “It will help the healing process. It’s something positive for the community.”
The sign follows the publication last month of Alison Odle’s coffee table picture book, The Pink House, A Photographic Memoir. Over 144 pages, Alison’s book captured the paintings and photographs by more than 40 artists and fans, who were drawn to the lonely house that stood on one of the few dry plots of marsh.
To own a copy of The Pink House, A Photographic Memoir, it can be ordered at www.thepinkhouse-aphotographicmemoir.com. Save $5 off the $65 price using the discount code Alison. Shipping is free, but it may take several weeks to arrive.
The house was demolished by its owner, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The new sign was announced on Facebook with about 30 comments. One by Terry Fitzwilliam-Rogers, said, “Hope they don’t tear that down too…” ♦
