Market Square and Congress Street cast a long shadow over State Street, but not for long

Last week, The Wire published a story about The Mustard Seed, which is relocating to Nottingham after 22 years on State Street in Portsmouth. Owner Salandrea Patrizi cited the high cost of rent and a lull in business as two reasons for leaving. Her business will be missed in the Port City, but even more alarming is the way her departure highlights an all-too-familiar trend for small business owners on State Street. Fierce competition, a stiff economy and rising rent prices can cripple small businesses and open the door to well-funded corporations. But Patrizi feels her difficulties were compounded by the fact that State Street’s vitality is being ignored in favor of improvement projects on Market Square, Congress Street and the Northern Tier.  

“It’s a good thing that they are developing Congress Street, but we’re being ignored in our area. Sometimes it looks like a ghost town,” Patrizi said. “State Street is a huge part of Portsmouth’s history, but it’s being ignored. We don’t want to be one of those towns that only cater to the rich, which is what I’m seeing. It’s so important for people to support their local businesses. We need to all survive and support each other. I don’t want to see these unique stores in Portsmouth start to leave because all these big companies are coming in. There’s got to be room    for both,” she said.

In an effort to buck the trend, businesses and residents on State Street are coming together to form the State Street Association. They hope to use their collective voice and collaborative efforts to put State Street back on the map for visitors and locals alike.

“This is one of two major streets (in Portsmouth) and I feel like its being overlooked,” said Assiah Russell, owner of Puttin’ on the Glitz, a jewelry and fashion accessory boutique on State Street. Russell initiated the formation of a neighborhood association by drafting a letter on hot pink paper and inviting business owners, residents and other interested parties to a meeting where they could discuss the state of State Street.

Russell opened Puttin’ on the Glitz two years ago, and she is determined to make her little corner of State Street as attractive as possible. She sweeps the sidewalk every day, sometimes twice, and has repainted the exterior and installed flower boxes under the shop’s large glass windows. “I see myself as an ambassador. Part of my job is to make a person’s visit to Portsmouth more pleasant,” Russell said. She agrees with Patrizi that this year has been especially tough on retail. She believes the high price of gas has hit many potential shoppers right in the wallet. Visitors will go out to eat and browse the local shops, but never buy anything, Russell said. Business owners have had to adapt to the situation. “Everything we do is critical, and there are less dollars to do it,” she said.

Russell envisions several projects that she thinks would help bolster the look and feel of State Street. She suggested hanging colorful banners from light posts, installing brick sidewalks and constructing an archway of lights welcoming drivers and pedestrians. She also suggested placing a sign in Market Square, directing visitors toward State Street and reminding them of what businesses are there. She also hopes to have more community events, such as a block party in the parking lot next to the Temple Israel. 

Russell claims that since the city installed brick sidewalks on the parallel Court Street, people have been walking there instead of on State Street, which should be a natural thoroughfare for pedestrians. “State Street is not punctuated or highlighted,” she said.

The State Street Associatoin has held four meetings so far, and 25 members have pledged their support to the association, according to Russell. Three committees have been formed: one to work with the city government, a second to work on street beautification projects and a third to do marketing and advertising for the association. AK’s Bar and Bistro at 111 State Street has played host to the meetings and provided free appetizers to attendees.

Ryan Cronin, who bought Portsmouth Provisions and Googies in summer 2001, has been to every meeting. He has been a key player in getting the association off the ground. “I thought it was a great idea, and we started branching out,” he said. Similar to what’s been done on Court and Congress streets, Cronin would like to see brick sidewalks and street lamps installed on State Street. He believes it would create one fluid walkway from Market Square to Strawbery Banke.

“The contrast between State Street and Market Square is night and day,” Cronin said. He believes that people should work together to promote the diverse businesses on State Street, expanding downtown foot traffic beyond Market Square.
But the problem could be more nuanced, according to city officials. “Part of the problem when you break up the street with noncommercial establishments is that there is less incentive to walk down there,” said David Holden, Planning Director for the City of Portsmouth.

State Street’s exemption from a city zoning ordinance could be negatively affecting business. The Downtown District Overlay ordinance demands that all buildings within the zone have a commercial business on the bottom floor. This ensures a downtown where pedestrians can stroll among shops, restaurants and galleries, uninterrupted by strips of residential buildings. One stretch of State Street, between Molly Malone’s and AK’s, does not fall in the Downtown District Overlay and there are a number of homes, apartments and condos interspersed with the businesses. The gaps between businesses could turn some pedestrian shoppers away.

The rehabilitation of Memorial Bridge, slated to begin in 2009, is the biggest project the city has planned for State Street, Holden said. A committee established to explore the possibility of creating a Martin Luther King Jr. park might consider a location on State Street, but that won’t be known until after the bridge work has been completed, according to Holden. Utility upgrades are also planned.

Discussion of the bridge project has been a common theme at many of the State Street Association’s meetings. Members are trying to gauge how the bridge’s temporary closure will affect business. “We’re binding together to get a say of when and how those two projects will go, because that sort of thing can really hurt small businesses,” Cronin said.

Unlike Congress Street, where brick sidewalks were funded by the city, State Street has mostly relied on private funds for its sporadic sections of brick. “There is a lot of private money going towards improvements on State Street,” Holden said. He believes that many of the private efforts happening in conjunction with city projects will improve business for State Street. “Common lighting, brick sidewalks and storefronts that are active and invite people down there, I think these things will pay off,” he said.

Despite feeling largely ignored, Cronin said the city has been receptive to the association. “Some of the ideas that we’ve presented have been welcomed and pretty warmly received,” he said. According to Russell, Nancy Carmer, the city’s economic development department program manager, will attend the next State Street Association meeting, and she plans to bring someone from the public works department.

Any future projects on State Street will add to the downtown roadway’s rich history. First trod as early as 1758, State Street has assumed a number of names, according to Sandra Rux of the Portsmouth Historical Society. It has been called New Street, Queen Street, Water Street, Pleasant Street and Middle Street, but by 1850 it was firmly established as State Street. A devastating fire in 1813 burned nearly all 192 wood-framed buildings on the street, and any structure built since then had to be made of brick in order to prevent future fires. State Street has always been home to merchants, restaurants, bars and shops, Rux said. “It’s a really historical area and an important street for business. Starting in the 19th century, it also became a very stylish place to live,” she added.

At some point in its history, State Street gained a reputation as a rough edge around Portsmouth’s polished core. It was part of the city’s infamous red light district, and during the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s, a string of biker bars and shady establishments guaranteed a steady trickle of tough characters. “This was the rough end of the street, the down and dank end of town,” Russell said. “People used to call it lower State Street—the street of broken dreams.” These days, the street still sees its share of drunken debauchery and vandalism. Russell came in one morning to find her flower boxes torn off the exterior of her shop. Another day, she found a BB bullet hole in her front window. 

The State Street Association is hoping to instill a sense of pride among residents, helping discourage vandalism and make the neighborhood a more attractive destination for eating, shopping and strolling. To this end, they have created a logo reflecting State Street’s historic role in Portsmouth and its current status as a thriving avenue of diverse businesses. 

Duncan Craig, of Raka, is a graphic designer who lives on State Street. He donated his time and creative energy to create the logo, incorporating various ideas people had for the State Street Association brand. “Designing the logo seemed like an impossible feat,” Cronin said. Some wanted a traditional style, while others favored a more contemporary style that would reflect businesses like the Red Door. “The logo (Craig) came up with captured it all and represented everything in State Street’s entity,” Cronin said. The association plans to create a pamphlet with the logo, a paragraph about the street’s history and a list of its businesses. The “rack card” would be available in hotels, at the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce and elsewhere. Cronin also suggested flags with the logos that would hang outside of businesses and homes. 

One group that has become interested in the State Street Association’s mission is the Prescott Park Arts Festival. Although the festival is not yet a member, Executive Director Deborah Lielasus Tombleson is excited to join. She believes that State Street and Prescott Park are natural partners. The street’s shops and restaurants give festivalgoers something to do before and after the park’s shows. “It rounds out their experience. Not everybody goes downtown, and State Street offers closer-in options,” Tombleson said. The city should be “supporting them as a neighborhood association, as they have with others, supporting them and recognizing their unique needs as a neighborhood,” she added. “The street is already looking great. It’s becoming a great mixed-use space.”

Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce president Dick Ingram points to construction activity on the “river end” of State Street as an indication that new businesses are moving into the area. “One of the things that you will see is that, as businesses move around and relocate, spaces don’t remain open for too long,” he said. Ingram agrees that rent prices are high in certain parts of the city. “Portsmouth is a desirable location, and rents will reflect that, but as the perceived footprint of downtown expands, that will help, in a certain way, mitigate the pressure on rents.” 

“I think a lot of folks try to fragment downtown into different areas, but the reality is that we have a pretty compact downtown. From one end to the other it’s a 10-minute walk,” Ingram added. “It is one vibrant downtown with lots of variety. What’s happening on Deer Street is good for State Street and vice versa.”