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Iconic Pink House to be removed from Plum Island marsh, sold at auction
The house will be listed at public auction for relocation or salvage, which could relocate or reimagine the landmark for the community. They will also install benches and educational panels at the restored site.
Despite grassroots efforts to keep the iconic and mysterious Pink House from being demolished, the vacant home on Plum Island will be removed and potentially sold at auction, according to plans announced Thursday.
The Pink House, which sits alone on the expansive marshes of Plum Island in Newbury, is on the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, which is a part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said Thursday that the federal agency will remove the structure on the Plum Island Turnpike.
The agency said they made “notable improvements” to its plan in response to community feedback. Last November, around 150 people attended a public meeting to help save what the president of Support the Pink House called “our CITGO sign,” Boston.com previously reported.
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In their announcement Thursday, the Fish and Wildlife Service said the house will be listed at public auction for relocation or salvage, which could relocate or reimagine the landmark for the community. They will also install benches and educational panels at the restored site.
Support the Pink House said the home probably won’t be able to be relocated. They called the relocation plan unpopular and unrealistic.
“Demolishing the Pink House will result in our community forever losing a beloved iconic landmark. A landmark that brings economic benefits to our area as it attracts visitors, photographers, painters, and other artisans to our local towns,” the nonprofit wrote on their site.
The house can’t just be bought or sold. Because the federal agency owns it, the Pink House’s land could only be exchanged with land of equal to the Pink House’s value and of higher ecological value than the House’s acre.
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Despite a two-month extension, “no viable exchange parcels were located,” the service said in a release.
“I want to thank our community partners who worked so hard as we exhausted every option to find a solution to this complex issue,” the refuge’s manager Matt Hillman said. “While we regret not reaching an outcome that satisfies all, we’re confident the decision aligns with our mission to protect and restore high-quality wildlife habitat and provide meaningful educational opportunities.”
Support the Pink House announced a public meeting on April 4, they shared on X. They encourage supporters to email the Fish and Wildlife Service: “TELL FWS OFF,” they wrote in their X bio, followed by an email for the federal agency.
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