Portsmouth Parking & The Jews

Visiting the Granite State: With great joy, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew hereby announce that they recently completed their first visit to the new home town of their son Dov the Film Editor; their daughter (in-law) Jessica the Surgeon; their grandchildren Vera and Chuck; and their granddog Dave (see Welcoming New Hampshire). 

And, of course, with extreme gratitude (see Vaccines, Ken O'Hara!) to 

The Holy One, Blessed Be He

Who Gives of His Wisdom to Humankind

Visiting concurrently and therefore also present in Portsmouth: Mr & Mrs Abq Jew's daughter Alex the Communications Strategist; Alex's boyfriend Jake; and Hugh the Musician, Mrs Abq Jew's brother.

Everyone involved in Mr & Mrs Abq Jew's family reunion (except for the grandkids and granddog) had been doubly-vaxxed and -vetted. And (except for the granddog) wore masks in public and washed their hands.

Which left us all free to explore

Beautiful Downtown (Market Street), Portsmouth

Now there's a ... boatload of Abq Jew's family history in Portsmouth, which Money Magazine has more than once (!) declared "one of the top five best places to live in America." This, in spite of the fact that the city has no nickname. 

Unlike, for example, Albuquerque, NM, known as Duke City. Or Santa Fe, NM, known as The City Different. Or Rumney, NH, known as the Crutch Capital of the World.

BTW - It turns out that the official State Motto of New Hampshire is NOT

Abq Jew was misinformed.

But back to Portsmouth family history. Which goes back to Abq Jew's favorite Rosenfield relatives - his grandmother Frances; and his two really great aunts, Clara and Lillian. Back in 1921, Clara married Abq Jew's Great Uncle Ben. 

Later, Ben and Clara had a son, Alfred - Abq Jew's father's first and favorite first cousin. Alfred left Brooklyn and moved to Portsmouth. After a brief intermission, he married Ola. The couple then had children: Michael, Patricia (of blessed memory), Allison, and Shawn. 

All of whom attended Vera & Chuck's Little Harbour Elementary School, where Ola taught for may years. And where Ola's relative Nicole currently teaches. 

Ah, Portsmouth!

Looks beautiful, doesn't it?

However. One of the first questions any Portsmouth visitor or resident has to face upon arrival in this beautiful city is -

You, Abq Jew's dear and loyal readers, will surely recall Abq Jew's inexplicable fascination with parking (see March 2013's To See and Not Believe; and June 2013's Parking and Jews and Boston).

And then there's this video of a woman struggling to parallel park her car, which has gone massively viral online after being posted on TikTok. WARNING! You must watch till the end. 

Which, of course, brings up the deeply theological question that Abq Jew hears you, his loyal readers, asking -

Abq Jew will explain.

By presenting three (3) four (4) ways to avoid the whole Portsmouth Parking Problem.

Way Number 1: Forget the Car

Remember that - when visiting Portsmouth,
if you don't drive a car or other vehicle,
you don't have to worry about parking.

It is perfectly OK to visit Portsmouth without a car or other vehicle. The city (especially the downtown) is relatively compact and extremely (and beautifully) walkable. All you have to do is get there. 

So, you say you're going to walk around? Portsmouth tries to make walking around as safe as possible, with pedestrian crossing signals that will actually tell you when to WAIT and when to GO. Moreover - drivers in Portsmouth strangely seem to stop when pedestrians approach a crosswalk. 

This confused Mr & Mrs Abq Jew no end.

Way Number 2: Buy a Home

Remember that - if you buy a home in Portsmouth
that includes a garage, a carport, or at least a driveway,
you don't have to worry about parking.

Price, as it turns out, may be one slight, relatively minor ... impediment to buying a home in Portsmouth. Remember Abq Jew's relatives Alfred and Ola? Back in the day, the family (even then, with two wage-earners) lived at

238 Lincoln Ave, Portsmouth NH 03801

These days, Zillow tells us, the house has 2,124 square feet of living space; 4 bedrooms, and 1.5 bathrooms. It's currently off the market. But ...

Its sale Zestimate® is $947,811.

Its rent Zestimate® is $3,500/month.
Doesn't work for you? Then let's move on to -

Way Number 3: Pay to Park

Remember that - if you do decide to visit
with a car or other vehicle - Portsmouth
has plenty of public parking available.
You don't have to worry about parking.

And by public, Abq Jew means: PAID. Typical rates:

The Hanover Parking Facility charges $2.00 per hour; Max Rate: $40; Lost Ticket: $40; $5.00 All day parking on Sundays for Portsmouth Residents. The garage is open 24 hours a day. 

Visitors may park overnight up to a maximum of seven days. You can also purchase a monthly pass at the Hanover Garage ($200.00 for residents, $275 for non-residents).

Way Number 4: Pray to Park

Remember that - if you join Portsmouth's historic
Temple Israel - you don't have to worry about parking.

First, a little background. Introducing -

Temple Israel of Portsmouth

Temple Israel of Portsmouth was established in 1905 in the historic Puddle Dock neighborhood of Portsmouth and has resided at 200 State Street, the former First Methodist Church, since 1912. 

It has been recognized as the oldest permanent Jewish house of worship in New Hampshire by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.

The Temple, made up of about 300 families from 40 communities around the NH Seacoast, is affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. 

The Temple’s Religious School serves about 70 children ages 5-13, and its Early Learning Center is a Montessori-inspired preschool that brings Jewish values and culture to children ages 2 years 9 months to 6 years.

 For more information,
visit templeisraelnh.org or call (603) 436-5301.

Yes, Abq Jew can here you wondering -

Here's how.

That blacktop, my friends, right around Temple Israel, right there at 200 State Street, the heart of Downtown Portsmouth, right near Market Square and the Old North Church - that's a parking lot.

Now, some of that parking lot belongs to the auto repair shop that is leasing space from Temple Israel. But most of that parking lot belongs to, and can be used by, Temple Israel's membership.

Which is to say - your membership to Temple Israel includes the benefit of 

Free parking in Temple Israel’s lot
in downtown Portsmouth!
However -

In order to receive your free parking with Temple Israel membership, you're gonna have to write a check first. How big a check? Well, for Mr & Mrs Abq Jew, it'd be $1,045 for the first year; and $1,790 per year thereafter. Including the Cemetery, Building, and Security funds. And did Abq Jew mention free parking?

Everyone involved in Mr & Mrs Abq Jew's family reunion (except for the granddog, although Portsmouth is proudly dog-friendly) was wandering through Downtown that Sunday when we came upon The Party Band of Lowell, MA performing right there, in front of the Old North Church. Homegrown, unadulterated, unplugged FUN.

But, as Dorothy always reminds us -

There's no place like home.