Salem Maritime National Historical Park posts Wednesday-through-Sunday hours for the Custom House, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., for a fall season that runs from Sept. 21 to Nov. 14. Derby Wharf and the park grounds stay open around the clock all year. Two days after this post goes up, the posted fall schedule for the Custom House ends.
Three weeks after that, a different set of doors on the same street opens. Historic Salem Inc. is bringing its 47th Christmas in Salem tour to the waterfront Derby Street neighborhood, so for one weekend in December the decorated rooms on the street will belong to private homeowners. The House of the Seven Gables, the Salem Arts Association's new gallery on Pickering Wharf and a restaurant space at 311 Derby Street all have their own plans for the same weeks. On Dec. 5 and 6, their hours fit together closely enough to fill one long afternoon on foot.
A Harbor Theme For A Harbor Street
Christmas in Salem picks a different neighborhood and theme every year. In 2025 the tour was in the Summer Street area under the theme "Boughs and Blooms," and Period Homes reported stops including the Pickering House, the Gedney House and the Joshua Ward House. This year Historic Salem has moved to the water and named the tour "Seas and Greetings." Its tour page describes the neighborhood this way:
"Once at the heart of Salem's thriving maritime trade, the neighborhood features centuries-old homes and landmarks tied to the city's seafaring past."
Historic Salem has held the tour on the first weekend of December for decades, and each year homeowners decorate their historic houses and open them to thousands of visitors. On Derby Street, those houses sit a short walk from two buildings that already hold regular public hours: the Custom House and the House of the Seven Gables. The tour lets visitors see how private owners keep up the same maritime-era housing that the museums interpret.
What The Tickets Cover
The schedule has three parts: a candlelight preview on Friday, Dec. 4, then house tours on Saturday, Dec. 5, and Sunday, Dec. 6. Saturday runs 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday runs 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
| Ticket | Members | Non-members | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| General admission, advance | $40 | $45 | Regular tour hours Saturday or Sunday |
| General admission, day of | $50 | $50 | Regular tour hours, sold online or on site |
| Candlelight Preview, Friday | $100 | $120 | Early access to select homes, a reception with food and drink, and regular hours Saturday and/or Sunday |
Buying ahead saves $5 to $10 per person. The preview costs more than twice the advance price, but it covers Friday night and a weekend visit too. Historic Salem emails preview ticket holders the details for Friday evening. Tickets are sold through the Christmas in Salem ticket page.
The Gables Runs The Same Two Afternoons
At the eastern end of the street, the House of the Seven Gables runs "Christmas at The Gables" on Saturdays and Sundays from late November through the end of December. That includes Dec. 5 and 6, the two days of the house tour. Each day has two sessions, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 for members and $35 for the general public, and include a tour of the decorated mansion with an account of Christmas history.
Here is how the two schedules line up that weekend:
| Christmas in Salem | Christmas at The Gables | |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. sessions |
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. sessions |
The house tour fills the morning and early afternoon. The Gables sessions begin while the tour is still open, and the last one ends half an hour after it closes. With an early start, a household can see private homes in the morning and finish at the Gables before dark without leaving Derby Street.
The Gables is also open on weekends Historic Salem is not. Its Christmas sessions start on Nov. 28 and 29 and continue on Dec. 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 and 27. On the federal side, Salem Maritime closes all of its buildings on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, and on Christmas Day.
The Gallery That Moved To The Wharf
The Salem Arts Association announced it was leaving 159 Derby Street for 88 Wharf Street on Pickering Wharf. It planned to close for renovations in January 2026 and open a full exhibition season in mid-February. This is its first holiday season with a full year at the new address. Wharf Street is still the same waterfront, a short walk from the tour.
The Annual Member Holiday Showcase opens with a reception on Friday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m., the day after this post goes up. The show runs Nov. 14 through Jan. 2, 2027, and the gallery is open Friday through Monday, noon to 6 p.m. Those days include both house-tour days, so the gallery is open the same weekend.
The association's other holiday event is uptown. Its Annual Holiday Market is on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Old Town Hall in Derby Square, and entry is free. That is also the first afternoon of Christmas at The Gables.
Construction Along The Harborwalk
The Salem Redevelopment Authority's annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, lists several approvals for The Goat at 311 Derby Street. They cover new signage, paint and lighting changes to the façade, and two outdoor dining areas, one on the Harborwalk and one at the front of the building. The same report lists signage approvals for Rouge Cosmetics at 322 Derby Street and The Neighborhood Tavern at 26 New Derby Street. In October, Salem Patch reported that The Goat was advertising a hiring fair for the Derby Street location. The company's own site describes a restaurant and bar with comfort food, burgers, cocktails, whiskey, brunch and live country music.
A few doors west, the same report says the shade structure at Charlotte Forten Park, 289 Derby Street, was finished in fiscal 2026. Work planned for the following year includes punch-list items and quotes for taking the shade sails down and putting them back up each season. Shade sails that come down for the cold months give the park a different look in December than in July.
The Season On Derby Street, In Order
Taken together, these dates show the street changing over a few weeks. The park's posted fall schedule ends, nonprofits and a museum start their holiday programs, and then private homeowners open their doors for one weekend.
- Friday, Nov. 13: Salem Arts Association Member Holiday Showcase reception, 6 to 8 p.m., 88 Wharf Street.
- Saturday, Nov. 14: Last day of Salem Maritime's posted fall schedule for the Custom House.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Salem Maritime buildings closed for Thanksgiving.
- Friday, Nov. 27: Santa's Arrival and Holiday Tree Lighting. Salem Main Streets asks people to be on Salem Common by 5:45 p.m. for Santa's 6 p.m. arrival at the Hawthorne Hotel, followed by a procession to Lappin Park for the tree lighting.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Salem Arts Holiday Market at Old Town Hall, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the first Christmas at The Gables sessions.
- Friday, Dec. 4: Christmas in Salem Candlelight Preview.
- Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5 and 6: Christmas in Salem house tours, with afternoon Gables sessions on both days.
- Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 12 and 13: Wassail Weekend downtown, organized by Salem Main Streets.
- Friday, Dec. 25: Salem Maritime buildings closed for Christmas Day.
- Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027: Last day of the Member Holiday Showcase.
The houses on this year's tour are lived in. Each one has been kept up by owners who repaired its sash, chose its paint colors and decided what a two-hundred-year-old parlor should look like in December. That kind of stewardship of Salem's older houses is the focus of Michael Selbst's work. If the tour leaves you with questions about a historic house on Derby Street or nearby, whether you own one or are thinking about one, Schedule a Consultation.
