A word must be added regarding the gate-posts, which are the most ornate among many of similar design in Salem. The medallions, carved knots and garlands, the cornice directly below the urns, and the moulded urns themselves with their flames at the top, represent a veritable labor of love on the part of the master-craftsman. The final touch is found in fence and gate, which, simple to plainness, modestly concede to the remainder of the work its proper importance. THE GEORGE M. WHIPPLE HOUSE [Illustration: THE GEORGE M. WHIPPLE HOUSE] Erected in the year 1804, the George M. Whipple house at 2 Andover Street is a typical example of the three-story square wooden dwelling of the period. The enclosed porch with its balustraded roof is of more recent construction, but in keeping with the best architectural traditions. Rather shallow as to depth, light is admitted by means of leaded side-lights of unusual design, as well as by the glazed upper panels of the door itself. Pilasters of Doric order support a dentiled entablature, while the door is divided after the Dutch fashion into upper and lower leaves. Above is a fine Palladian window of design harmonious with that of the entrance, surmounted by an arched pediment enriched by a carved ornament representing a basket of flowers. In many of the old houses of the earlier Salem times, the location of the doorway with relation to the façade was dictated by considerations of convenience rather than a desire for symmetry. Sometimes, as in the cabins of the first period, it was placed as far from the fireplace as possible, so that the smoke might not be blown about the room. Structural arrangements of the interior sometimes determined its position, as well as that of the windows, which in many instances seemed to be placed haphazard. In the Whipple house the front entrance is at the left of the center as one faces the building, with two windows on one side of it and one upon the other--an unusual arrangement in houses of this type. THE NATHAN ROBINSON-LITTLE HOUSE [Illustration: THE NATHAN ROBINSON-LITTLE HOUSE] One of the most pleasing porches and doorways of all in Old Salem is that of the house at 10 Chestnut Street, built by Nathan Robinson about 1804. Resting upon the massive granite plinths so favored by the famous McIntire, fluted Ionic columns support a simple entablature with dentiled cornice above. The fanlight and side-lights are artistically designed, the latter showing a pattern of alternate circles and diamonds. Above the door itself is a curious and unusual strip of dentil character, and this is supported by four slender half-round pilasters which constitute the framework of the door.