Wender·Vista
Peterborough Main Street and Town Hall
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew Hampshire
in the Monadnock region of southern New Hampshire

Peterborough Main Street and Town Hall

— — the small town that became every small town.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Main Street runs down the gentle slope to the Contoocook River, and the brick Town Hall sits at the top with its clock tower keeping the hour. Thornton Wilder lived nearby at the MacDowell Colony when he wrote Our Town, and Peterborough is the place most people mean when they read Grover's Corners. The bookshop is still open. So is the diner. The light moves slowly down the block.

from the studio
Peterborough Main Street and Town Hall
— bring it home

Peterborough Main Street and Town Hall, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Peterborough Main Street and Town Hall

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Peterborough sits in the Monadnock region of southern New Hampshire, in Hillsborough County, where the Contoocook and Nubanusit rivers meet. The town was chartered in 1738 and has a population of about 6,400. Main Street runs through a compact downtown of brick and clapboard buildings, with the Town Hall, the Peterborough Town Library — founded in 1833 and often cited as the first tax-supported free public library in the world — and a small theatre district. Mount Monadnock rises about ten miles to the southwest.

— the year

Peterborough is the model for Grover's Corners. Thornton Wilder wrote much of Our Town during summers at the MacDowell Colony, just north of downtown, and the play has been staged somewhere in the world nearly every week since it opened in 1938. The MacDowell, founded in 1907 by Marian and Edward MacDowell, has hosted Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Alice Walker, and James Baldwin. Each August the town opens MacDowell to visitors for Medal Day, when one artist is honoured for lifetime work.

— the visit

Main Street is walkable end to end in about fifteen minutes. The Town Hall stands at the head of the street and houses the municipal offices and the historic auditorium. Toadstool Bookshop, Harlow's Pub, and the Peterborough Diner anchor the block, and the Mariposa Museum sits a short walk off Grove Street. Parking is free along Main and behind the Town Hall. Most visitors pair Peterborough with a Mount Monadnock day hike or a drive over to Jaffrey and Dublin.

— informed by Town of Peterborough
— where
United States · Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
— elevation
220 m · 722 ft
— position
42.8806° N · 71.9573° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
3 km N
MacDowell
artist residency
16 km SW
Mount Monadnock
3,165-foot peak
at the lake
Peterborough Town Library
historic library
9 km W
Dublin Lake
village pond
N
Peterborough Main Street and Town Hall
MacDowell
Mount Monadnock
Peterborough Town Library
Dublin Lake
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Peterborough Main Street and Town Hall — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Peterborough is in the Monadnock region of southern New Hampshire, in Hillsborough County, about 75 miles northwest of Boston and 40 miles southwest of Concord.

Yes. Thornton Wilder wrote Our Town during summers at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, and Grover's Corners is built from the streets, the families, and the rhythms of this town.

Peterborough Town Hall holds the municipal offices, the town clerk, and a historic auditorium used for public meetings, performances, and town votes. It anchors the head of Main Street.

Founded in 1833, the Peterborough Town Library is often cited as the first tax-supported free public library in the world, a model that spread across the United States in the nineteenth century.

MacDowell is an artist residency founded in 1907 on a farm just north of downtown. It has hosted Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Alice Walker, James Baldwin, and Thornton Wilder, among many others.

Toadstool Bookshop, the Peterborough Diner, Harlow's Pub, the Mariposa Museum, and the Town Library all sit within a few blocks. Mount Monadnock and Dublin Lake are short drives away.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for anyone with Peterborough roots, MacDowell ties, or a long history in the Monadnock region. The Town Hall and Main Street together read as a hometown piece, not a generic New England print.

The warm brick reds and slow village palette settle into traditional New England, library-classic, and warm cottage interiors. Also strong on a stair landing or in a study with painted wainscoting.

Yes. The current return to warm traditional and slow-living interiors pairs cleanly with a hand-finished small-town piece. The colour and the architecture do the work without leaning on novelty.

A single Large reads from across the room above a console table. Above a standard sofa, a 4-tile Mural fills the wall; a 9-tile Mural carries an entryway or a long hall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and built for steam, splash, and daily wipe-downs. Reserve the Glossy for dry framed wall display.

Microfibre cloth and water. Nothing else is needed. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it will not lift or fade in sunlight.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work by Reid Wender, hand-finished in the Knoxville studio. Nothing is licensed and nothing is reprinted from a third party.

— if this one stayed with you

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