Bernard and Lucinda Bailey House
897 Middle Street
William and Darcy James

This remarkable wooden three-story home topped by a large belvedere was the home of Bernard and Lucinda Bailey. They were both prominent citizens of Bath in the second half of the 19th Century. Bernard, a prominent businessman and banker was Mayor of Bath from 1853 to 1855. In 1902, his widow Lucinda, donated a large trust fund to the city to establish an industrial trade school. It is known today as the Bailey Evening School.

SPI has not done a lot of research on the house, but it is unique in its architectural style, a combination of Greek Revival and Italianate which places it somewhere in the mid 1850’s to 1860’s.

The standout feature (besides the belvedere) is the extensive rustication on the corners that are nicely accented in white. The gable roof, with an open pediment with brackets, faces the street. The main entrance is on the side with a pair of Doric columns and Greek entablature. The actual doorway, flanked by two sets of panes, is more Italianate as is the treatment over all the windows. All of this fancy decoration is also used on the attached ell.

Bill and Darcy James, who live in Cumberland, purchased the house in 2002 as an apartment building and have been slowly restoring it ever since. Bill has done most of the work himself. SPI thanks them for restoring and maintaining one of Bath’s many historic buildings especially one with a belvedere.

Belvedere is another name for a cupola that you can walk around and sit in. Other examples in the city are the old Children’s home on the corner of High and South Street, The Wm. Donnell house on the corner of High and Marshall St., the Tallman mansion on High near North, and the Capt. Wm Drummond House on Washington Street near Garden Street.

Samuel S. Sewall House
1111 Washington Street
Michael P. Mason and Peter D. Murphy

This classic Queen Anne Style home was designed for Samuel S. Sewall and his wife Marcia Houghton Sewall by Boston Architects George D. Rand and Bertrand E. Taylor in 1883. It remained in the Sewall family until the 1960’s.

Fleta and Jack Metcalf, both ardent preservationists, and SPI members purchased the house in 1986. They researched the interior and had all the beautiful woodwork returned to its original finish.

With the passing of Fleta and Jack, the house was sold to Michael Mason and Peter Murphy in 2015. They in turn worked with a professional architectural historian who researched the exterior colors from the original architect’s specifications. SPI gave them an award in 2015 for the excellent restoration of the exterior.

Michael and Peter, with help from Frohmiller Construction, and a designer friend in New York, have outdone themselves. This award is for the incredibly beautiful sunroom/garage now attached to the rear of the house.

Many preservation gurus would have wanted to create an addition that was not the same style in order to separate old architecture from new.

However, SPI agrees that any modern design added to the end of the building would have ruined the overall appearance, and in fact, would be detrimental to such a complicated structure.

All have done a marvelous job blending old and new. 1111 Washington Street is now truly a beautiful “Painted Lady”.

Freight Shed Sidewalk
Commercial Street
City of Bath, Lee Leiner, Public Works Department

The transformation of the Bath Waterfront by the City has been many years in the making.

Starting with Waterfront Park as the center, the idea of a Riverwalk along Commercial Street has taken many years to come to fruition. In 2000, the Carlton Bridge was replaced by the State with the new Sagadahoc Bridge. At one time, the large row of buildings opposite Brackett’s market were destined to be demolished and new buildings erected. That never happened. Large apartment condos were built on the North end of the envisioned walkway. The Train Freight Shed was finally restored and Maine’s First Ship, the Virginia, was launched. Final connections could now be made.