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Walking and Driving Tours Through
Bath’s Historic Districts
To follow the walking tour on this map, begin at the corner of Washington Street and Center Street (see X). Continue north on Washington to Edward Street. Retrace your steps back to Pearl Street where you may return to your starting point by walking west on Pearl, then south on Middle Street, then east on Winter Street to Washington Street. This walk takes from one to one and one half hours to complete.
BEGIN: WASHINGTON STREET.
(CC) Chocolate Church: Gothic Revival Church, 1847. Designed by Arthur Gilman and built by Isaiah Coombs, who also built the Gothic style Congregational Church in Brunswick. Saved from demolition by S.P.I. in 1971 and now a center for the arts.
No. 823: Federal period c. 1806. Note double chimneys, hipped roof, fan light over doorway. Possibly built by Samuel. Melcher, III of Brunswick.
No. 843: First Baptist Church, built 1852, Late Greek revival. Noted for its fine pipe organ. Official Bath city clock placed in tower in 1855.
No. 848: Italianate, c. 1850. Built around smaller Federal period home .
No.s 850/854: Interesting combination of Federal and Greek revival styles.
No. 853: Federal Style, pre 1832, First Baptist Church Office
No. 858: Italianate c. 1880. Note wrought iron balustrade on hipped roof.
No. 860/862: Beth Israel Congregation. Very simple Colonial Revival style, built 1921. Notable as one of Maine’s first organized synagogues.
No. 866: Federal period, 1830’s. Note fan doorway and long windows.
No. 870: Georgian Revival c. 1910. Note Palladian dormer window.
(WSC) Winter Street Church: A Gothic Revival structure with Greek Revival influence was built in 1843 by Anthony Coombs Raymond, a native of Brunswick. John Calvin Stevens designed interior alterations in 1890 and 1913. The Italianate style parish hall designed by Francis Fassett was added in 1860. Saved from demolition by S.P.I. in 1971.
(PFL) Patten Free Library: Romanesque Revival style, built 1890. George E. Harding, architect. Popular style for libraries and public buildings 1880’s -1905. Note: North wing added in 1961 is an excellent replication.
(CP) City Park: Registered with Frederick Law Olmstead Society. Note: Bronze fountain, (Z) Spirit of the Sea by nationally known sculptor William Zorach of Robinhood, and replacement of original 19th century bandstand, designed by James Stilphen in 1989.
No.s 890, 894 & 900: Greek Revival Style, c. 1830’s, 1841 and c. 1850. Compare architectural features. All have Doric columns and full entablatures.
No. 894 (Cosmopolitan
Club) is more temple like with its
columned porch totally surrounding the building. Note: Entrances
atypically on the side.
LINDEN STREET: No. 21: Large Italianate,
built 1852, restored, 1980’s.
No.s 910/912: Second Empire two-family
dwelling with French “Mansard” roof and Italianate
features on lower stories. Full storied bays and bracketed cornices
at eaves. Built in 1874.
No. 918: Vernacular Greek Revival
home, c. 1830’s-1840’s.
No. 937: As with many Bath homes,
prosperity brought improvement. Greek Revival style is superimposed
over a much earlier center chimney cape. A large kitchen fireplace
is all that remains of earlier style. C. 1835.
No. 940: California Mission style
home built in 1936. Unusual for Maine, but a good architectural
example. Note authentic roof tiles and stuccoed exterior. Original
Federal period home moved from site to 24 Oak St.
No. 942: “The McClellan House”,
1845. True Greek Temple shape, full two story Ionic columns
supporting a grand entablature and pediment. Note cupola. It
is said there were once 5 grand pianos in the house. Curved
arch motif with small paned windows in pediments; possibly signature
of architect Anthony C. Raymond. Only seen in Bath/Brunswick
area.
GARDEN STREET: A nice grouping of
homes in early 19th cent. styles.
No. 945: Italianate, 1853. Deep
roof overhang with bracketed cornices and window brackets. Carved
wreaths around the 3rd story windows and Corinthian columns
on portico. Known as the Capt. William Drummond House, it was
built by one of Bath’s leading shipbuilders. It is said
to have been Bath’s first house with an inside flush.
No. 958, presently the Masonic
Temple, was built by William Drummond’s brother, James
Drummond in 1852. Notice the similarity. Both homes were originally
covered with mastic to simulate brownstone.
No. 955: Italianate with Colonial
revival elements. Note port-cochere.
No. 963: “The
Sewall Mansion” built in 1844, in a very late Federal Style.
Redone in 1894 by architect John Calvin Stevens in the Colonial
Revival Style. He also designed an extensive wine cellar in
the basement. Note balustrade on roof, flush planked facade
and recently restored fence.
No. 964. Gothic Revival or Carpenter
Gothic. Board and batten surface treatment. Steep roofed gables
with great decorated eaves called barge boards. Built for Capt.
John Richardson 1849-1850. Possibly designed by Gervaise Wheeler,
a prominent N.E. architect.
No. 972: Federal period built with
brick in the “Flemish Bond” style. Note granite sills
under the windows. 20th century alterations to doorway and inclusion
of Palladian window dormers in hip roof.
No. 980: A careful Georgian reproduction,
1940. Overall proportions smaller
than original period building.
No.s 990 & 994: Essentially
late Federal Style. Hip roofs with south facing entrances at
right angles to street. Each is attached to an earlier center
chimney ell. No. 994 has a balustrade on porch similar to No.
963.
No. 997: Italianate features covering
an orig. Federal style home. Built around 1832. Note delightful
garden in rear with formal walkways and gazebo.
No.1002: Classic
Bungalow style built 1910. Simpler lines than earlier Shingle
style homes. Smaller versions popular into the early 1930’s.
No. 1008: Italianate. Original Federal
period home in rear. Main house enlarged and “improved”
by Mr. John Eliot in 1858. Has early rope pull elevator.
No. 1009: Galen Moses House, High Victorian/ Italianate, 1874. Francis Fassett, architect. Note large variety of brackets, pronounced eaves and asymmetrical design. Modified by John Calvin Stevens in 1901. Now a Bed & Breakfast.
No. 1016: c. 1795 Federal with Italianate modifications. Note windows and bays. One of the oldest Gingko trees in Maine is in backyard.
Go to next stop on the self-guided tour...>>>
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Continuing on Washington St:
No. 1024. Brick Italianate, 1860, known as The Gilbert Patten House. Francis Fassett, architect. Brick construction with real brownstone quoins on the corners, brackets and arched details over windows.
No. 1027, 1033: Nice grouping of vernacular Greek Revival homes.
No. 1034. 1851 Italianate built for Oliver Moses, a prominent Bath businessman. Note traces of original mastic on ell. Elegant interior woodwork.
No. 1037: Interesting Georgian home built c.1773. Center chimney, hipped roof, and quoins. Gothic Revival modifications: note gingerbread barge boards.
PEARL STREET: Return to this street if you are walking.
No. 1054. built in 1858. Another Patten House. Fine example of Italianate style in wood. Note graceful arches of the porch, flush planked facade, Palladian window over entrance and handsome granite steps. Very large tulip tree on Pearl Street side.
No. 1055: Classic shingle style home. Built by J.C. Stevens in 1908.
No. 1077: Small, pure Greek Revival temple style built on corner lot.
No. 1080: 1852 Italianate designed by F. Fassett for shipbuilder Stephen Larrabee. The back ell, dates c. 1790. The house’s early ties with shipbuilding were renewed when it was purchased by Wm. S. “Pete” Newell, president of the Bath Iron Works, from 1927-1950, and his son, John, from 1950-1965.
No. 1111: Samuel Sewall House, 1883, Queen Anne style. Designed by Rand & Taylor of Boston. Note the complex roof line and irregular massing of elements. Exterior paint reflects the original palette.
No. 1127: Shingle style, 1894. Note Queen Anne details. One of two Bath homes (other at 1006 High St.) designed by Chapman and Frazer of Boston.
No. 1132: Originally Federal, “The Homestead”, was built by William Dunning Sewall, in 1820. Always occupied by the Sewall family, their shipyard lay on the river’s edge below.
No. 1 EDWARD ST. at Washington : “York Hall” a fine Georgian Revival house built for another Wm. D. Sewall, grandson of the builder of 1132 Washington.
Designed by Peabody & Stearns of Boston. On August 5, 1897 “York Hall” was christened and so was Sumner Sewall, who later served as Governor of Maine.
Retrace your steps to PEARL STREET to continue Walking Tour. Turn right onto PEARL then walk west to MIDDLE:
No. 45: Benj. F. Packard House. built 1845, Good square Italianate exterior surrounding an earlier single story Federal cape, c.1790. Large kitchen fire place only clue.
No 53: Original building a center chimney Federal cape, built circa 1824 and moved from another site in 1838.
No 59: Vernacular Italianate. Note unusual arch and circle trim over windows.
No. 60: House was moved from 1 Edward Street to accommodate “York Hall”.
Turn left on to MIDDLE STREET, then walk south to WINTER:
No. 967: Queen Anne. Note: turret is typical of this style.
No. 951: Italianate. Note the detail at cornice.
No. 950: c. 1840, Greek Revival. Dormers added later.
No. 928 & 934: c. 1847&1840. Greek Revival. Note pediments at gable ends.
No. 79 Oak St. at the corner of Middle. Very late Federal, c. 1840.
No. 897: Italianate 3 story with cupola. Note: scored clapboards to simulate stone with quoins (rustication) on corner trim.
No. 898: Greek Revival house built in 1848 by William Larrabee. Note small window with pointed arches in pediment.
(CNJ) Church of New Jerusalem, Designer/builder, was A.B. Farnum of Bath. Absolute classic Greek Temple Revival style with 4 fluted Doric columns. Built in 1843, it has been in continuous use by the Swedenborgian congregation. John Calvin Stevens redesigned structural elements after roof caved in from a heavy snowfall in 1920.
Turn left (east) onto WINTER to WASHINGTON ST. End walking tour.
Driving Tour continued: from EDWARD St. north on WASHINGTON ST.
(BSC) Beacon Street Church: Italianate built 1853. First steeple replaced 1883 and second steeple lost to lightening in early 1980’s.
Continue past Mid-Coast Hospital to HARWARD ST. King’s Spar Dock is on right. Georgian period Cape home circa 1762. Note quoins on corners and wide pitch of roof. Site of Bath’s only involvement in Revolutionary War.
Turn left on HARWARD and left again on HIGH STREET. As you pass WHISKEAG ROAD on right, note Gothic Stone house in distance built c.1824. Was originally a hunting lodge for Maine’s first governor William King.
No. 1208: “Lambert Tavern”, Colonial period Cape. Roof raised in 1800’s
Continue south on HIGH ST. to OLIVER ST. Collection of homes better known as “The Brick Project”. Duplex homes done in Flemish bond brick, built as World War I government housing. Note interesting juxtaposition of steep Gothic, Georgian hip and colonial gable roofs to differentiate the housing groups. Now privately owned.
Continue south on HIGH STREET.
No. 1110: Colonial, 1764. Originally one large center chimney. Col. Dummer Sewall purchased a strip of land which ran from the Kennebec to the New Meadows River in 1762. Formerly one story, the house was Bath’s first post office and Col. Sewall was first postmaster. Restored in 1954 by The Edward Sewall family.
No. 1023: Colonial, built 1759. Note: center chimney intact but center doorway is not. “The Philbrook Homestead,”. Philbrook family members played prominent roles during Bath’s earlier days. Later, the family home of James Murphy, a captain of the Sewall fleet. Note Camperdown elm in front yard.
No. 1006: Shingle style home built 1894. Similar to 1127 Washington St.
No. 998: The “John Smith House” was first started in 1790 and finished in 1816. A transitional house with late Georgian and early Federal features. John Smith was a prosperous merchant. A later resident, John Ballou, was a prominent sheriff. The wives of both men were Philbrooks.
No. 982: “The Henry Tallman House”, 1840, is an outstanding Greek Revival structure. Note “widow’s walk” and colonnaded porch.
No 900: James Springer Tavern, pre 1759. Early Cape style, note low eaves.
No. 849-859. Wooden row houses of early Greek revival style were comparatively rare in Maine. A fine example of this type of architecture.
No. 789: Federal, circa 1810 or earlier. Note large center chimney and hip roof
No. 767 Carriage house, only survivor of Sedgewick Hotel fire, 1974. Originally built for Albert Shaw, a prominent businessman in 1900. Georgian Revival. Note: Site of Bath’s first official public school, “Erudition School” built 1794.
No. 752: Sagadahoc County Court House. 2nd.Empire Style, designed by Francis Fassett in 1869 of sandstone at a cost of $70,000. Note: Civil war monument and small green across the street is registered with the Frederick Law Olmstead Society.
No. 3. Liberty St. “Chadbourne House” corner of High Street, the only gambrel roof cape in Bath, c. 1781. “Modernized” in 1870’s. Originally had center chimney with front door facing south. Original panelling now in upstairs closet.
No. 619. Italianate, restrained as to ornamentation. Built 1854, by Capt. Wm. Merritt, an unusually tall and heavy-framed man. Stairways, handrails, and doorways are all built to suit his proportions. Ballroom on the third floor was designed to resemble the interior of a ship.
No. 616. “Elmhurst” now Hyde School, built in 1914 for John S. Hyde, a president of the Bath Iron Works and a former city mayor. Georgian revival style with elaborate interior panelling. John Calvin Stevens, architect. Swimming pool in basement.
No. 251. The “William T. Donnell House”, shipyard owner. A good example of wooden Italianate architecture. Has interesting early floral lavatory china.
Continue on HIGH ST. to the Winnegance General Store. Reverse your direction. There are a number of houses in the Greek Revival style in this area. Most were built for the owners and workers of the tidal sawmills that crossed the inlet. Their beams and underflooring have slanted saw marks from the tidal mill, as opposed to the circular band saw marks of later construction. No.s 42, 56, 60, 67 & 74 are good examples of Cape style homes, with low ceilings and small compact rooms. Some have interesting trim work on interiors.
Turn right on Webber Avenue, continue north on WASHINGTON STREET.
No. 1. The Plant Home, 1917, Colonial Revival style designed by Coolige & Carlson of Boston . Given to the city by Thomas Plant, a wealthy shoe manufacturer, to provide a comfortable home for the aged men and women of Bath. Note: Collection of older houses opposite the Home were moved there when Bath Iron Works expanded in 1980’s
No. 132. Gothic style cottage.
No. 204. 1853 Greek Revival.
(MMM) Maine Maritime Museum complex consisting of the former Wm. T. Donnell and Percy and Small Shipyards, active in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. The brick Maritime History Building, completed in 1989, was designed by Winton Scott Architects to reflect a manufacturing style.
No. 301. Late Italianate. Note double doors and exposed widow’s walk.
Turn left on CORLISS ST. then right on MIDDLE ST.
Corliss Street Church, 1868. Note flattened pilasters on facade of Greek revival building opposite.
No. 444. David Trufant House, early Georgian, built c. 1745 by one of the first Bath land grant settlers. May be oldest house still standing in the city.
Turn left on PINE ST. Many small fine homes in the Greek revival style.
Turn right on HIGH ST. and right again at SOUTH ST.
No. 103. The Maine Children’s Home, This 2nd Empire style building designed by Francis Fassett, was constructed in 1866 around an earlier 1800 structure. Note Mansard roof and original iron fence. Intended originally for orphaned dependents of the Civil War, the home was a haven for Maine children from 1868 to 1996. Now a private residence.
No. 84: Federal period house built in 1830 to hug the hillside by Capt. Morse, a Kennebec River tugboat fleet owner. Inside, a hand carved flying staircase soars upward, without visible means of support.
Nos. 83 & 71: Two magnificent Greek Revival homes built by brothers Isaiah and Wm. Donnell Crooker, both shipyard owners. No. 83, Isaiah’s house, was built c. 1820’s. No. 71, William’s house, built in 1832 by Isaac Cole who trained the architect Francis Fassett, has a ballroom on the third floor. Note hand carved detail on Corinthian pillars. Both houses have marble fireplaces and flying staircases, No. 71’s being three floors high. Crooker family descendents still reside at No. 71. As you go down the street be sure to look back at these houses and notice how they dominate the surrounding cityscape.
Turn left from SOUTH ST. onto WASHINGTON ST. and proceed north. Turn right at lights just before the underpass, then following signs to downtown, bear left up the hill where you will see the Italianate style Old Customs House built in 1858 at the beginning of FRONT ST. and, ahead, the restored Downtown shopping district. Continue along FRONT ST. past the shopping area and the City Park. A left turn at LINDEN ST. and a left again on WASHINGTON ST. will return you to your starting point.
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