Wender·Vista
Portsmouth Strawbery Banke historic district
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew Hampshire
in Portsmouth's Puddle Dock, a few blocks from the harbour

Portsmouth Strawbery Banke historic district

— — a neighbourhood that kept its old bones.

— 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

“Ten acres of saved houses on the old Puddle Dock waterfront. Thirty-seven buildings, the oldest from 1695, stand on the streets where they were built. The gardens are planted to the years the houses know. In winter the pond at the centre is flooded and people skate under the gas lamps. From the studio.

from the studio
Portsmouth Strawbery Banke historic district
— bring it home

Portsmouth Strawbery Banke historic district, 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 Portsmouth Strawbery Banke historic district

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

Strawbery Banke Museum is a ten-acre outdoor history museum in the Puddle Dock neighbourhood of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The site holds about thirty-seven historic buildings, most of them on their original foundations, dating from 1695 to the mid-twentieth century. The museum was founded in 1958 by Dorothy Vaughan and a group of Portsmouth citizens to save the neighbourhood from urban renewal, and the district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

— the year

The site reads as a working calendar of Portsmouth life. Heritage gardens are planted to match the period of each house, from colonial kitchen gardens to Victorian flower beds. Summer brings open-house interpreters at the Sherburne House and Pitt Tavern; autumn brings the cider days; in winter the Puddle Dock pond is flooded for skating under gas lamps and the Candlelight Stroll fills the lanes on weekends in early December.

— informed by Strawbery Banke events
— the visit

Strawbery Banke is open daily May through October and on selected winter dates around the Candlelight Stroll and skating season. Adult general admission was nineteen dollars in 2024, with reduced rates for children and members. The entrance is at 14 Hancock Street, a five-minute walk from Market Square and Prescott Park. Plan two to three hours for a full visit, longer in foliage season when the lanes fill with light.

— informed by Visit Strawbery Banke
— where
United States · Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
— position
43.0759° N · 70.7531° 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.
at the lake
Prescott Park
waterfront park
at the lake
Market Square
town square
1 km N
Memorial Bridge
lift bridge
1 km SE
Wentworth-Gardner House
Georgian house
N
Portsmouth Strawbery Banke historic district
Prescott Park
Market Square
Memorial Bridge
Wentworth-Gardner House
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Portsmouth Strawbery Banke historic district — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

A ten-acre outdoor history museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, holding about thirty-seven historic buildings on their original foundations. The site preserves the Puddle Dock neighbourhood and dates the oldest house to 1695.

In 1958, by Portsmouth librarian Dorothy Vaughan and a group of citizens who organised to save the Puddle Dock neighbourhood from federal urban-renewal demolition. The district is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Strawbery Banke was the original 1630 name for the Portsmouth settlement, after the wild strawberries growing on the riverbank. The museum took the name to mark the site's place in the city's earliest history.

Daily from May through October, and on selected winter dates for the Candlelight Stroll in early December and the Puddle Dock skating season. Hours and pricing are posted at strawberybanke.org.

A long-running early-December evening event when the historic houses are open and lit by candle and lantern, with interpreters in period dress. It runs three weekends and is the museum's most attended event of the year.

Yes. The central Puddle Dock pond is flooded each winter and opened for public skating under gas lamps. Skate rentals and warming benches are on site during skating-season hours.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. For Portsmouth natives and Seacoast transplants, Strawbery Banke is the city's signature memory: candlelit lanes, the skating pond, the old houses. A Medium or a Coaster Set with a handwritten studio note travels well.

New England traditional, Colonial Revival, and warm-toned transitional rooms. The piece reads at home above a hall console, in a study, or in a dining room paneled in painted wood.

Yes. The candlelit, period-garden palette suits the grandmillennial revival and warm-traditional decorators are working with, and pairs with toile, ticking stripe, and unfussy antique wood.

A Medium reads at eye height above a console. Above a sofa, a single Large or a four-tile Mural. A nine-tile Mural carries the village of houses across a long wall or stair landing.

Yes. Choose Dura Satin or Matte for steam and splash zones. Both are scratch-resistant and clean with a microfibre cloth and water.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water. No abrasives or ammonia. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and stays bright with light, regular cleaning.

Yes. Wender Studios is a single family studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio and is not licensed from any third party.

— if this one stayed with you

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