the tour from the beginning
Transcription
the tour from the beginning
DOWNTOWN WATERVILLE Historic Walking Tour A stroll through the City of Waterville, Maine Presented by: Waterville Main Street 44 Main Street, Suite 202 Waterville, ME 04901 (207) 680-2055 www.watervillemainstreet.org 5th Edition Published Summer 2016 1 FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR Waterville Main Street Welcome to Waterville, Maine! We invite you to discover the historic riches of our downtown. The Waterville Main Street Design Committee invites you to learn about the architecture and stories of historic Downtown Waterville. Waterville has always played an important role in creative, artistic, industrial, and educational developments in Maine and the world. This tour will share stories and information about people and events associated with those events and historic sites. Whether you are new to our area, visiting for the first time, or returning, we think you will find the information interesting, educational, fun, and historically significant. We do! The sites are listed by street address so you can begin or end wherever you please. The Redington House (Waterville Historical Society) and the Waterville Public Library have scheduled visiting hours. Time your visit right because these sites are worth seeing. Other sites are either private or occupied by businesses you can visit during regular store hours. Who knows what you might see? We would like to give special thanks to the City of Waterville, Colby College Libraries, Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Waterville Historical Society, the Morning Sentinel, Waterville Public Library, Elm City Photo, Jill Hodsdon, and building owners and historians, young and old, who have helped us to highlight Waterville as a destination for historic exploration and discovery. Its history includes many famous people and some who were infamous. Discover our stories! “The more one comes to know of the history and life of Waterville, the more does he respect its past and have confidence in its future.” -The Centennial History of Waterville, 1902 We are glad you came to Waterville; we hope to see you again soon Executive Director 2 Site Name From the Desk of the Director Index City Tidbits Old Waterville Post Office Hanford Hotel C.W. Hussey Building Cyr Building Waterville Savings Bank Building Moor Building Henrickson Building Two Cent Bridge Elden-Boutelle-Arnold Block Hanson, Webber, Dunham Building McLellan’s Department Store Montgomery Ward Dept Store Emery Brown Building Barrell Block The Common (Castonguay Square) City Hall Haines Building Masonic Block Gallert Block Krutzky Building Carleton Building H.R. Dunham Building MAP OF SITES Jackson Company Robinson-Davison Building Soper Block Plaisted Block Cluckey Block Miliken Block Federal Trust Building Ticonic Row Lombard Log Hauler Museum Levine Block Lockwood Mills C. F. Hathaway Shirt Factory Pray House Redington House Universalist-Unitarian Church Cyrus W. Davis Residence Lombard Residence Monument Square First Baptist Church Waterville Public Library Notes Advertisers DIRECTORY OF SITES Street Address Corner of Main & Elm Streets 197 Main Street 185 Main Street 177-179 Main Street 173 Main Street 139 Main Street 129 Main Street Temple Street and Kennebec River 103-115 Main Street 99 Main Street 90-100 Main Street 81-85 Main Street 80-86 Main Street 72-76 Main Street Between Main & Front at Common Street 1 Common Street 10 Common Street 14 Common Street 22 Common Street 59 Main Street 64 Main Street 64 Main Street 62 Main Street 58 Main Street 54-56 Main Street 46-50 Main Street 40-44 Main Street Corner of Main & Silver Streets 25-33 Main Street 8-22 Main Street Corner of Spring & Front Streets 9-19 Main Street 1 Water Street 10 Water Street 74 Silver Street 62 Silver Street Corner of Elm & Silver Streets 8 Elm Street 65 Elm Street Corner of Elm & Park Streets Corner of Elm & Park Streets 73 Elm Street 3 Page 2 3 4-5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13-14 15-16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30-31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40-41 42 43 44-45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55-59 CITY OF WATERVILLE, MAINE Waterville was, in fact, part of Winslow until 1802. Early settlers called current-day Waterville the West Side or Ticonic. The lack of a bridge caused Ticonic residents to incorporate as the town of Waterville in 1802. Waterville became a city in 1888. Early Waterville settler and Revolutionary War veteran, Asa Redington (who served in Washington’s personal Honor Guard), built the first dam at Ticonic Falls in the Kennebec River in 1792. Sawmills, gristmills, and tanneries were soon scattered along the Kennebec, as well as nearby Messalonskee Stream. Access to plentiful lumber led to the rise of shipbuilding in Waterville in 1794. Schooners, brigs, long boats, and ships were launched on the Kennebec during the spring or fall freshets and floated down to Gardiner or Hallowell. The first steamboat built in Waterville launched in 1842. Shipbuilding prospered in Waterville until the arrival of the rail. In 1813, the Maine Literary and Theological Institution was established, changing its name to Waterville College in 1821. Later, in 1867, the college changed its name to Colby University in recognition to a generous gift from Gardner Colby, who had spent part of his childhood in Waterville. In 1899, the school became Colby College. Colby was first located on College Avenue along the Kennebec River and in 1952 completed the move to Mayflower Hill. Thomas College was founded as Keist Business College in 1894 and was originally located on Main Street. The college moved from downtown in 1956 and finally relocated to its current campus on West River Road in 1966. Waterville was known as the “Elm City” until the 1960s and 1970s, when Dutch Elm Disease killed most of the City’s abundant elm trees. One of the last standing elm trees can be found in Castonguay Square in the 4 heart of downtown. There are ongoing efforts to plant disease-resistant elm throughout the City. Hathaway shirts were made in Waterville for over 160 years, from 1849 until 2002 when the nation’s last maker of name-brand dress shirts shut down in the face of low priced foreign competition. Hathaway supplied uniforms for Union soldiers during the Civil War. In 1870, Central Maine Railroad chose Waterville as its rail center. (The City’s official seal features a train crossing Ticonic Falls.) Mildred Dunham of Waterville invented the Vue-Back Mirror in 1936. It hooks around the neck and allows free use of the hands. At the time it “sold like hot cakes.” In 1940, Edmund S. Muskie moved to Waterville and practiced law. He was governor of Maine from 1955-1959, served in the U.S. Senate, was democratic candidate for Vice President in 1968, Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President Jimmy Carter 1980-1981, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981. When Senator Edmund Muskie was named the U.S. Secretary of State in 1980, Waterville native George J. Mitchell was selected as his replacement. He was serving as a federal judge when he moved to the U.S. Senate. Mitchell served in Congress fourteen years. At President Clinton’s request, Mitchell brokered a peace in turbulent Northern Ireland. He also drew up a Middle East peace plan that won international support. He has served as head of the Democratic Party and Chairman of the Walt Disney Co. and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999. Waterville physician, Dr. H. Richard Hornberger, wrote the popular war comedy M*A*S*H* under the pen name of Richard Hooker. The characters were based on his Waterville acquaintances. Robert Brown Hall of Waterville was a composer and one of the state’s best cornetists. He wrote the march plated at John F. Kennedy’s funeral and was the director of the RB Hall Band. 5 Some of the greatest fishing in the Northeast is in Ticonic Bay, just south of Ticonic Falls on the Kennebec River. Early settlers caught 40lb Atlantic salmon! 6-10ft Atlantic Sturgeon are still common sights today. WATERVILLE POST OFFICE Corner of Main & Elm Streets ~ Map #1 This was the Post Office Square in 1909 at the corner of Main & Elm Streets before the site was cleared for the new Post Office. This Waterville Post Office building, designed by Treasury Architect, James Knox Taylor, was completed in 1911. Designed after the Philadelphia Exchange (1832), it is notable for its triangular configuration due to the intersection of Elm and Main Streets. Its Greek Revival architecture, significant in the early 1900s, was constructed entirely with cut stone and includes a tall Corinthian cylindrical lantern on the roof based on a monument in Athens. In 1976 the Post Office moved into its new building on College Avenue. The old Post Office building was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and was sold at auction in 1980 for $112,000. 6 THE HANFORD HOTEL/BOARDING HOUSE 197 Main Street ~ Map #2 The Hanford Hotel, built around 1835 in Greek revival style, was a boarding house. This building is the oldest surviving frame building on Main Street. The Waterville Hotel List featured on the right was taken from a 1910 summer camp brochure and lists the room rage of The Hanford as $1.00-$1.25 per night or $3.50-$7.00 per week. 7 C.S. HUSSEY BUILDING 185 Main Street ~ Map #3 The outward appearance of this historical landmark has remained relatively unchanged for approximately 100 years! The C. S. Hussey block is considered to be one of the most architecturally outstanding buildings on Main Street. William Butterfield designed this Romanesque architectural style building in 1908. It is characterized by pronounced curved arches on the ground floor, a horizontal band separating the floors and Roman-style bricks. Roman style bricks were longer, narrower and flatter (4”x4”x12”). Frank Lloyd Wright also favored Roman style bricks for his prairie houses. Roman bricks are rarely manufactured today. Hussey was a flamboyant lawyer who erected this prominent monument to himself. The outward appearance of this historical landmark has remained relative unchanged for almost 100 years. The building is now utilized as professional office space. 8 THE CYR BUILDING 177-179 Main Street ~ Map #4 The Cyr Building was constructed in 1923 and, with 42 office suites, was the largest office building in Waterville at the time. It was put on the National Historic Register in 1982 for its Art Dec style architecture in a commercial context. Miller & Mayo of Portland designed the four stories of steel and concrete with brick veneer. This building was the original location of the LaVerdiere Drug Store chain. The south facing windows on the first floor were sealed by the drug store in order to increase display space and were recently restored through the Waterville Main Street Façade Improvement Grant program. This building now houses a café and a number of professional offices and businesses. 9 THE WATERVILLE SAVINGS BANK BUILDING 173 Main Street ~ Map #5 Corner of Appleton and Main Streets Waterville Savings Bank was organized in 1869. In 1903, the bank outgrew their original headquarters and built a remarkable new building at 173 Main Street. The bank occupied the north store, and there were a variety of offices on the upper floors. This was the first building in Waterville to use reinforced concrete floor construction and was considered to be a fireproof structure at the time. Its facade is constructed of gray Roman brick with limestone trim. Roman bricks are longer, narrower and flatter than standard bricks. Architect William Butterfield of Waterville, who also designed the C.W. Hussey building was the designer. William Butterfield was the son of architect builder Chessman Butterfield. 10 COLBY COLLEGE PURCHASED THIS BUILDING IN THE SUMMER OF 2015 TO RESTORE & REPURPOSE THE MOOR BUILDING 139 Main Street ~ Map #6 BUILT IN 1905 The Moor Building is one of the few buildings on Main Street that is in relatively original condition. This building has been home to the Waterville Steam Laundry, Harris Bakery, Downeast Candies, and for the last twenty years, the Waterville House of Pizza. 11 THE HENRICKSON BLOCK 129 Main Street ~ Map #7 Henrickson and Leslie built the original building on this site, which is document back to 1877. This building had Italianate style trim and cornice. It is the last surviving wood commercial building on Main Street. Although it has been substantial remodeled with aluminum siding, it is possible that the original ornamentation still exists behind the siding. Henrickson Block The building was purchased in 1915 by the Waterville Women’s Association. The association maintained space on the second floor for women working downtown. There was a kitchen and a place to sit to enjoy a stress free lunch away from work. The first floor housed Farrow’s Bookstore. In 1979, the building was sold to Joseph A. Roy and became home to Joseph A. Roy Real Estate. The current owner leases out the first floor as retail space. 12 TWO CENT BRIDGE Ticonic Street & Kennebec River ~ Map #8 In 1901 a 700’ steel suspension bridge was privately constructed over the Kennebec River. It was operation for only a few days when the highest river levels seen since 1832 carried it away. Rebuilt in 1903, it is one of the oldest surviving wire-cable steel suspension bridges and is considered to be the last known extant toll footbridge in the United States, earning it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge was intended to give workers coming from Temple Street in Waterville easy access to the Hollingsworth & Whitney Company (later, the Scott Paper Company) factories located across the Kennebec in Winslow. The original toll was one cent, but soon rose from a penny to two cents, which was collected by gatekeepers who lived in a small building on the Waterville side. “Head of Falls” (pictured left) contained the Wyandotte Worsted Woolen Mill and the Waterville Iron Works. The area also included many small apartment buildings and houses, primarily inhabited by the Lebanese community who worked in the mills. Phase II of Urban Renewal (1970s) removed all remaining buildings from the site. In 1935, a “100 year flood” left the twocent bridge as the only connection between Winslow residents and all of the public necessities such as food and health services that exited only on the Waterville side of the river. 13 The toll increased to 50 cents before discontinued in 1960 when heirs of the original owners gifted the bridge to the City of Waterville. A proposed 900 ft. “Riverwalk” from the Two Cent Plaza along the Kennebec River is planned in the near future. The Waterville Rotary Club celebrated its Centennial Anniversary with a grant of $150,000 for this innovative initiative. A conceptual drawing is pictured here. The Two Cent Bridge can be seen on the left. The city anticipates frequent use of the Riverwalk by the public on a daily basis during spring, summer and fall. 14 THE ELDEN-BOUTELLE-ARNOLD BLOCK 103-115 Main Street ~ Map #9 The Elden-Boutelle-Arnold Block was built from 1886-1894. John Calvin Stevens was the architect for this Queen Anne style block. W.B. Arnold, hardware dealer, built his third of the block in 1886-1887. In 1948, 103 Main Street was purchased. The second floor was used for their sporting goods and company offices. The Arnold Block was a hardware store and was probably the largest retail and wholesale sore in the State of Maine. It closed its doors in 1962 because of increased competition. The senior Arnold continued the heating and plumbing supply business in the basement until his death in 1969. The building is still owned by the Arnold family. Dr. Boutelle built the middle section in 1887 and lease it to the Bangor News Company. Alden & Deehan’s Drug Store replace that business in 15 1890. In 1892-1993 the Boutelle Block housed Miss A.A. Gleason who sold “fashionable millinery.” J.F. Elden & Co. built the final third of this block in 1893. The Elden building on the corner of Temple & Main is the only section of the block that has retained its cast iron columns. It was home to J.F. Elden & Company purveyors of furniture, carpets, and house furnishings. Today this block is home to retail shops on the ground level and offices and apartments on the upper floors. 16 THE HANSON, WEBBER, DUNHAM BUILDING 99 Main Street – Map #10 The photo on the left shows the opening where Hanson, Webber & Dunham built their original hardware store on Main Street in 1894. The new 4-story building is depicted on the right. After the Hardware store closed, Central Maine Power located their offices here in the mid-1900s. For 50 years this building was home to the headquarters of Al Corey Music Center. 17 MCLELLAN’S DEPARMENT STORE 90-100 Main Street ~ Map #12 Built around 1930, this building was originally occupied by McLellan’s Department Store. The five-and-ten cent department store was a fixture on Waterville until the early 1980s. Offices and studios have occupied the second story. The building suffered a big fire in 1944, after which the lower storefronts were completely modernized. CVS Drug Store occupied the first floor of this building for many years before moving to Kennedy Memorial Drive in 2006. It is currently being used as retail space on the first floor. 18 MONTGOMERY WARD DEPARTMENT STORE 81-85 Main Street ~ Map #11 This photo shows Whitcomb & Cannon Grocery store, which was replaced by Montgomery Ward Department Store in 1938. The architecture of this building is Colonial Revival and a mansard roof was added in 1948. As evidenced by the above photo, the building replaced the last concentration of wood buildings on Main Street and was the last major commercial building erected on Main Street prior to urban renewal projects in the 1960s. The Sterns Department Store was located here for over 30 years. In the early 1990s the building became the Waterville Regional Arts & Community Center, when Colby College spearheaded an effort to save and revitalize the building. It changed hands in 2015, purchased by Waterville Creates! a collaborative consortium established to work directly with community arts, creative and cultural institutions to enhance and strengthen the vitality of Waterville. The upper floors house the City Council chambers and several business offices, while the first floor is a mix of retail and office uses. In the late 1990s a glassed-in skywalk was added to the second floor to connect the building with City Hall and the Opera House. 19 THE EMERY BROWN BUILDING 80-86 Main Street ~ Map #13 The lavishly ornamented Emery Brown building was designed by Miller and Mayor Architects in 1912. It has cast stone pilasters and enriched detailing with a keystone on the arch. Emery Brown was a woman’s department store, which carried Elizabeth Arden beauty products. Miss Arden even paid a courtesy call to this store one summer in the 1940s. Elizabeth Arden revolutionized cosmetics, bringing a scientific approach to formulations. She created a lipstick called Montezuma Red for the women in the armed forces that matched the red on their uniforms. She also created foundations that matched a person’s skin tone. Her “Total Look” matched and coordinated eye, lip, cheek and fingernail colors. Her Maine Chance Farm on Long Pond in Mount Vernon, Maine was an exclusive resort and health spa catering to the rich and famous. In 1913, Emery Brown Department Store had to hire bilingual help to service the growing French population. Building renovations in the early 1990s replaced the large glass store front windows and double hung windows on the upper floors. Today the building is the headquarters of Day’s Jewelers. Their retail store is on the ground floor with offices on the upper floors. 20 THE BARRELL BLOCK 72-76 Main Street ~ Map #14 The north half of the Barrell Block was designed by Francis Fassett in 1850 in Greek Revival architecture for Meader & Phillips who were druggists. Charles Barrell purchased the building and the lot to the south in 1874 and hired architect Francis Fassett to build a new structure and join it to the existing brick store. An Italianate style cornice unified both structures but the upper floor windows of the original building were not changed. It was formerly Lincoln’s Department Store, Berry’s Stationers, Red Oak Sports, Adams & Worth and most recently Holy Cannoli & Deli! and now houses Napoli Italian Market. 21 THE COMMON Castonguay Square at City Hall ~ Map #15 The Common was a key location on the course that Benedict Arnold’s troops followed on their expedition to Quebec in 1775. The troops carried around Ticonic Falls and entered the Kennebec again the area of The Common. The Daughters of the American Revolution erected a boulder monument to this event in 1917. Because of its central location, the Common in the center of the city was a popular meeting place. The adjacent photo shows a fireman’s muster in 1855. The arrival of the mills to Waterville between 1860 and the early 1900s gave the city a great business development boost and many buildings in the center of the city were improved. Notice the “City Opera House” sign that was added to the Common. The photo on the left shows people for the opening celebration of the new pavement in the center of the city in 1923. It also shows one of the only elm trees still existing in the city today. “The Common” was renamed Castonguay Square in 1921 for the first soldier from Waterville to be killed in action during World War I. Arthur L. Castonguay was a 1st Sergeant in Company H of the 103rd infantry. He was wounded at Xivary, France on June 16 and died on June 18, 1918. 22 CITY HALL / OPERA HOUSE 1 Common Street ~ Map #16 The old East Meeting House was built in 1796. Until the early 1800s when Waterville was incorporated, meetings were held alternately on the east and west sides of the river. Originally the building stood facing the Common but was moved to face Front Street after the new City Hall was built in 1901. With a new City Hall, the old Meeting House served as the Waterville armory until it was torn down in the early 1950s. Added to the National Historic Register in 1976, this Colonial Revival style building was designed by George Adams. Construction began in 1896 but wasn’t completed until 1902 due to a conflict with the architect and citizens who challenged the city’s right to go into debt. The Opera House, which is located in the building, was used for productions, musicals, and plays, and always for inaugurations once Waterville became a City in 1888. Due to the general decline in interest in live theater during WWII, the Opera House was used as a movie theater for many years, but since 1960 has returned to its original mission of theatrical productions. People of note who have appeared on the state include Marion Anderson in concert, Rudy Vallee, President Herbert Hoover, and Tom Mix the cowboy hero and his horse, Tony, who had to be lifted outside the building to the second floor auditorium. The Opera House underwent a complete rehabilitation in 2012. 23 THE HAINES BUILDING 10 Common Street ~ Map #17 The Haines Building was built in 1897 and was originally four stories. Early occupants included the post office, the Morning Sentinel newspaper in 1904, offices on the second floor, and the Odd Fellows organization on the third and fourth floors. William T. Haines, a lawyer, was the Governor of the State of Maine from 1913-1915. Mr. Haines built more buildings than any other one man and, at one point, was Waterville’s largest individual taxpayer. Louis N. Violette, Sr., bought the building in 1942 while it was on fire. At the time of the fire, the tenant was Painter’s Restaurant. After the fire, the building lay vacant until the end of the war (1945) when it was restored to two floors. From 1945 to 1979, the building was home to State Furniture, Picard Furniture, Northern Mattress, and Up-Front Restaurant. Jill & Albert Hodsdon have owned the building since 1979 and it has been the headquarters of A.E. Hodsdon Engineers. The building underwent an extensive renovation in 2004-2005. 24 THE MASONIC BLOCK 14 Common Street ~ Map #18 Architect E.E. Lewis of Gardiner, Maine designed The Masonic Block in 1890, and the Masons moved in on March 23, 1891. Its Romanesque Revival Architecture is evidenced by the arched windows on the fourth floor, use of terra cotta panels with a rosette in the center, and granite piers, which surround the first story storefronts. This construction project culminated a series of major commercial blocks built in Waterville in 1890-1891. Originally, Waterville Trust and Safe Deposit Company and C.G. Carleton, Esq., auctioneer, occupied the ground floor. There were offices on the 2nd floor and the Masons occupied the 3rd and 4th floors. The last bay on the right used to be an open passageway, which carriages could pass through to deliver passengers to the building. This area was enclosed in 1984 to accommodate the building with an elevator to provide handicapped access. This building houses The Proper Pig, a pub-style restaurant opening in June 2016 while upper floors are primarily used for office space. 25 THE GALLERT BLOCK 22 Common Street ~ Map #19 At one time this location had a wooden building housing the studios of Simon Wing. While in his teens, he was one of the first to invent the daguerreotype, a photograph made on a plate of chemically treated metal or glass. He was an innovative camera designer and manufacturer of the box camera. Wing came to Waterville from St. Albans, Maine in the early 1850s and was the principal photographer from 1855 to 1862. He moved to Boston and opened a series of shops from Waterville Maine to San Francisco, California. In 1892, he ran for President of the United State on the Social-Labor ticket, gathering 70,000 votes but no electoral votes, being defeated by James A. Garfield. In 1911, the wooden building on this site burned. This brick replacement building was completed for Gallert in 1913. The first occupant was Simpson and LaChance Shoe Store. Today this building is mainly used as professional office space. 26 THE KRUTZKY BLOCK 59 Main Street ~ Map #20 In 1911, a fire destroyed the old wooden building on this site (pictured left). A new brick building was erected in 1912. Interesting details include the upper floor windows and the meeting of the facades to incorporate the corner on Common and Main Streets. In the 1950’s there was a smoke shop on the ground floor. From the late 1970s to late 1980s this site was Michaud’s Jewelers. Michaud renovated the building in 1976. Today the building is home to Larsen’s Jewelry on the first floor, and the upper floors are apartments. 27 THE CARLETON BUILDING 64 Main Street ~ Map #21 Mrs. C. G. Carleton had this brick building built in 1889-1890 to replace an existing wooden structure. The 1st floor was DeOrsay Drug Store and the 2nd floor was Preble Photo Studio. In 1903, the 3rd floor was leased to Colby College. It was here that the first Colby College sorority was started. The sorority went on to become a national sorority. When Urban Renewal came to Waterville, the plan was to raze this building and make a walkway from the Concourse to Main Street. However, before the building could be razed, the merchants found that people walked through the building to get to the other side. They like the foot traffic and decided they did not need the walkway. Kennebec Federal Savings & Loan bought the building at auction in 1972 and relocated here in 1974. They also bought the H. R. Dunham building in the 1980s. The bank, now known simply as KFS, occupies both the H.R. Dunham building to the south and the Carleton building to the north. 28 THE H.R. DUNHAM BUILDING 64 Main Street ~ Map #22 Horatio Dunham graduated from Colby in 1886 and, with George Dolloff, opened Dolloff & Dunham in 1887. In 1897, it became the H.R. Dunham Co. Mr. Dunham retired in 1912, and ownership fell to William Brown who started with Dunham in 1909. Dunham’s produced their first catalogue in 1932 – a penny postcard featuring a Hathaway shirt, which they had begun carrying on an exclusive basis. In 1952, Dunham’s had earned the title of “America’s No. 1 Hathaway Shirt Store.” Also in 1932, Dunham’s was gutted by fire and everything was lost. They were able to reopen in six months because their reputation had earned them good credit. It was the beginning of a mail order business that would stretch from coast to coast. Ron Brown, who had great marketing insight, joined the family business. By running ski trains from Waterville to Rumford and starting the Colby ski slope, he began a thriving business with winter clothing and ski equipment. In 1951 Dunham’s acquired the adjoining building. Ron retired and sold to Hathaway executive Dick Norton. It was bought in 1975 by Robert Fairburn and closed in 1984 for good. This this building is home to KFS. 29 Location on Map ~ Building ~ Page # #1 Old Waterville Post Office (p. 6) #2 Hanford Hotel (p. 7) #3 C. W. Hussey Building (p. 8) #4 Cyr Building (p. 9) #5 Waterville Savings Bank Building (p. 10) #6 Moor Building (p. 11) #7 Henrickson Building (p. 12) #8 Two Cent Bridge (pp. 13-14) #9 Elden-Boutelle-Aronld Block (pp. 15-16) #10 Hanson, Webber, Dunham Building (p. 17) #11 Montgomery Ward Dept. Store (p. 19) #12 McLellan’s Department Store (p. 18) #13 Emery Brown Building (p. 20) #14 Barrell Block (p. 21) #15 The Common (Castonguay Square) (p. 22) #16 City Hall (p. 23) #17 Haines Building (p. 24) #18 Masonic Block (p. 25) #19 Gallert Block (p. 26) #20 Krutzky Block (p. 27) #21 Carleton Building (p. 28) #22 H. R. Dunham Building (p. 29) #23 Jackson Building (p. 32) #24 Robinson-Davison Building (p. 33) #25 Soper Block (p. 34) #26 Plaisted Block (p. 35) #27 Cluckey Block (p. 36) #28 Miliken Block (p. 37) #29 Federal Trust Building (p. 38) #30 Ticonic Row (p. 39) 30 Location on Map ~ Building ~ Page # #31 Levine Block (p. 42) #32 Lombard Log Hauler (pp. 40 & 41) #33 Lockwood Mills (p. 43) #34 C.F. Hathaway Shirt Factory (pp. 44 & 45) #35 Pray House (p. 46) #36 Redington House (p. 47) #37 Universalist-Unitarian Church (p. 48) #38 Cyrus W. Davis Residence (p. 49) #39 Lombard Residence (P. 50) #40 Monument Square (p. 51) #41 First Baptist Church (p. 52) #42 Waterville Public Library (p. 53) 31 THE JACKSON COMPANY BUILDING 62 Main Street ~ Map #23 Originally the Jackson Company, this building was built in the early 1900s in Colonial Revival architecture. James Jackson was a manager at H.R. Dunham Co., before opening his own men’ clothing store in 1912. Dunham’s of Maine expanded into Jackson Building in 1951. The building looks much the same today as it did when built, with the main exception being that the large decorative cornice supported on brackets has been removed. Today the building is the headquarters of L. Tardif Jeweler. 32 THE ROBINSON-DAVISON BUILDING 58 Main Street ~ Map #24 Around 1911 Frank Robinson, a grocer on Silver Street, and I.A. Davison joined to build this building at 58 Main Street for their grocery business. When built, it was a fairly progressive example of early 20th century commercial design with its large windows and metal grid-work façade. This building was purchased along with the Soper Block to create one storefront. At one time, the ground floor was Butler’s Department Store. Today the first floor is Saturn Business Systems/Carbon Copy, a printing shop and office supply company. 33 THE SOPER BLOCK 54-56 Main Street ~ Map #25 Fassett & Tompson designed The Soper Block at 54-56 Main Street in 1890 using richly ornamented terra cotta and quarry-faced stone trim. It was the first building in Waterville to install an elevator in 1901. The building was home to the L.H. Soper Company, which specialized in dry and fancy goods. They advertised that they had a mail order system, elevator service, and were Waterville’s great retail center. In the 1980’s the ground floor was part of Butler’s Department Store. Today the first floor is Saturn Business Systems/Carbon Copy – a printing shop and office supply company. The upper floors are home to a number of small businesses, including Blue Wave Studio which offers classes in yoga and ballroom dancing. 34 THE PLAISTED BLOCK 46-50 Main Street ~ Map #26 The original building on this site was damaged by fire, so in 1883, J.H. Plaisted hired Fassett & Stevens of Portland, a firm currently working on the new Coburn Classical Institute building, to design a new block. The façade of the block was made with pressed brick from Philadelphia with gray sandstone trim and Romanesque Revival curved arches above the second story windows, topped with a decorative brick cornice. Upon completion of the building, Ingraham & Plaisted Druggists moved into the north half and Nason of Augusta, who specialized in “ready-Made” clothes, moved into the south half. In 1890 Plaisted extended the block north by one-third. The local newspaper complimented the mason for his ability to match the new work with the existing building. Harriman Bros. Jewelers was the occupant. In the early 1900s the ground floor occupants included the Central Drug Store and Walker Clothing Company. Presently, the ground floors are occupied by several retail businesses. 35 THE CLUCKEY BLOCK Rancourt Block, 40-44 Main, Map #27 The original Cluckey Block was built in 1890 and housed The Corner Store Dry Goods Company. Their advertisements bragged that they were the largest and only complete department store in Central Maine. They had five complete stores under one roof. They were a millinery store, coat and suit store, dry goods store, clothing store, and boot and shoe store. Dr. Charles Rancourt purchased the building in 1934, and in 1936, there was a spectacular fire. It was said that a homeless person got into the building, was either smoking or lit a fire, fell asleep, and the building was leveled. Being in the depths of the depression, the question to rebuild was a hard one. The Augusta, Maine architectural firm of Bunker & Savage was hired and created this rare example of Art Deco architecture. Renovated in 2000, steel girders were installed and, because the fascia brick had separated from the main wall, the dryvit system was used to restore the façade. This also allowed for the installation of insulation in the walls. This building is home to a mix of retail and office uses. 36 THE MILLIKEN BLOCK Corner of Main & Silver Streets ~ Map #28 In 1866, the Waterville National Bank purchased a wooden building on this site and hired Architect Moses Coburn Foster, a Waterville citizen, to design a bank. The bank failed in 1879-1880. After the bank’s failure, the building became known as the Milliken Block in honor of Dennis L. Milliken, a prominent local citizen and banker of died in 1879. O.J. Giguere bought the building in the early 1900s and the “G” lead glass windows for Giguere’s Clothing are still present today. The building went through several owners, and at one time Atkins Print Shop occupied the premises, and later the Silver Street Tavern. The Midnight Blues Club occupied the building from 2005 through 2011, but the building was returned to the Giguere family in early 2011 when Charlie Giguere purchased the building and re-opened the Silver Street Tavern. This Italianate-style building has cast iron posts, granite lintels and pronounced arches over the windows, all of which were typical for the time in the United States. Also of note are the decorative cornice on the building top and the bracketed cornice at the roofline. 37 FEDERAL TRUST COMPANY 25-33 Main Street ~ Map #29 The Federal Trust Company was founded in 1923. The original Federal Trust Building was built in 1926 in traditional style adorned with “Moderne” architectural motifs that were popular for Federal government buildings. Much of the original ornamentation, including the ornate door and decorative spandrels beneath the 2nd and 3rd floor windows, was replaced when the building was expanded by two thirds to the south. The middle building was J. Peavey & Bro’s, built in 1874. The southernmost building was built for Pomerleau. The original building has always been a bank but has undergone several name changes over the decades, including Fleet Bank, Bank of America & Camden National Bank. Elm City Tobacco and Atherton’s Furniture have previously occupied the southern building. 38 TICONIC ROW 8-22 Main Street ~ Map #30 Originally built in 1836 in Greek Revival style architecture, this set of buildings underwent major renovations in 1924 when the gable roof and dormers were replaced to add a fourth story. Each building bears a granite tablet of the person responsible for the renovations. They were Sarah Levine, where the original Levine’s Clothing Store began, Tozier-Dow, Abraham Joseph and Gabrielle Pomerleau. These names reflect the change in ethnic composition of Waterville by the early 1900s. These buildings were recently purchased by Colby College and plans are underway to revitalize and restore the buildings. 39 LOMBARD LOG HAULER MUSEUM Corner of Spring and Front Streets ~ Map #32 The Lombard steam log hauler was the original crawler type overland tractor. It had crawler treads and skids in front for steering. It required 4 men (and engineer, fireman, pilot or steersman, and conductor) to operate it. In 1901, Alvin Lombard (1856-1937) was granted a patent on the track, which would give wheels traction in the snow, and in that year he built the first power log hauler at the Waterville Iron Works in Waterville, Maine. This type of track was the ancestor of all crawler type tracks such as military tanks, bulldozers, tractors, etc. The first log haulers were steered by horses. This steam crawler-tractor emancipated horses from the killing work of hauling trains of sleds over iced roads in the winter woods of the United States and Canada. Later, a steersman sat on the front of the sled, guiding the hauler by a large iron wheel that turned the runners. They had no brakes. The log haulers operated best on the roads formerly used by horses. The machine could haul 300 tons. The logs were hauled on sleds in trains of four to ten sleds. Their speed was 4 or 5 miles per hour and 20 miles per hour downhill. The haulers weight from 10 to 30 tons. 40 Eighty-three Lombard steam log haulers were known to have been built up to 1917 when production switched entirely to internal combustion engine powered machines, ending with a Fairbanks diesel powered unit in 1934. The steam log haulers were mostly used in Maine and New Hampshire but three went to Russia, and one each to Wisconsin and Michigan. In 1911 or 1912, the Lombard Traction Engine Company developed a gasoline log hauler. This had a 6-cylinder engine rated at 100horse power. The gasoline log hauler was patterned after the steam hauler in all important details except for the power source, which eliminated the huge steam boiler and reduced the size considerable. This made it more maneuverable and faster. It was also lower in initial cost, could be driven by one man, and had brakes. However, it did not have the power that he steam log hauler had. In 1934, Lombard built a diesel engine hauler but trucks came into sue about that time, so the new hauler was obsolete from the beginning. The steam log haulers had an advantage over horses and oxen that that they could tow many more two-sleds than any team. 41 THE LEVINE BLOCK 9-11 and 13-19 Main Street ~ Map #31 The Levine Company was founded by William Levine, a Polish immigrant who came to the United States in 1884 at the age of 18. He sold clothing door-to-door in New York City before coming to Maine by rail. Here he peddled clothing from a horse and wagon. His store hop-scotched around Waterville, finally setting in a wooden building on the west side at the south end of Main Street in 1891. A taller building on the east side of Main Street was built in 1910 and the business moved across the street into that portion of this block. The smaller building to the south, built in the mid-19th century, was a two-story brick store. In the late 1800s, a third floor was added when the building was converted from a grocery store to a small restaurant and saloon. During the 1920s, Levine’s clothing expanded into this building. William Levine and his descendants operated Levine’s clothing for men and bots until it closed in 1996 after 105 years of operation. Being Colby graduates, Pacy and Ludy Levine had a “Colby Corner” in the basement of the store, which sold official Colby clothing. This building has been recently purchased by Colby College and plans are underway for its use in the revitalization efforts of downtown Waterville. 42 LOCKWOOD MILLS 1 Water Street ~ Map #33 In 1875, the Honorable R. B. Dunn and A.D. Lockwood and their friends established the Lockwood Cotton Mill, the first big factory to come to Waterville. It was also the first major industry to attract Franco-Americans to Waterville. Bricks for the first Lockwood Mill were made at a brick factory in Winslow just below the Ticonic Bridge. The second Lockwood Mill was completed in 1881. Disaster struck the entire cotton industry in New England in the 1950s. Workers struck during a labor dispute, resulting in the mill’s closure. The products of the Lockwood consisted of their celebrated Lockwood Cotton sheetings. They used about 14,000 bales or 7,000,000 pounds of cotton annually to make nearly 17,000,000 yards of cloth. The remaining Lockwood Mill building on Water Street is slated to be included in one of the larges historic restoration in the state’s history. This project will include the former Lockwood Mill, C.F. Hathaway Shirt Factory and the former Central Maine Power offices. 43 C.F. HATHAWAY SHIRT FACTORY 10 Water Street ~ Map #34 In 1849, C.F. Hathaway, established by Charles F. Hathaway, started making shirts in Waterville, They supplied shirts for Union soldiers in the Civil War. Their original location was on Appleton Street. Ellerton Jette and Charles McCarthy purchased the company in 1932. They hired David Oglivy’s Madison Avenue advertising agency in 1951 to come up with a new advertising campaign. He ran through 18 copy ideas for Hathaway’s inaugural campaign before striking on Baron Wrangell, “The Man in the Hathaway Shirt.” This campaign with this mysterious character had “story appeal” as peopled wondered, “why the eyepatch?” It ran exclusively in the New Yorker and was a wild success. Hathaway’s revenues tripled within a couple of years. The campaign became an advertising legend. Jette sold the company to Warnaco, Inc. in 1960 but stayed on as chairman of the board until 1965. 44 In 1966, Warnaco sold to a group of investors that included former Governor of Maine John McKernan. Federal and state governments loaned the city $1.5 million to buy the shirt factory and to maintain manufacturing at the facility. Hathaway returned to its beginnings with a traditional gentleman’s shirt with more ample dimensions, up-todate fabrics, single-needle construction, three-eye buttons and an “H” embroidered on the tail. McKernan’s group eventually folded and Hathaway closed in 2002, leaving 235 workers unemployed. Waterville’s Hathaway Shirt Factory was the oldest remaining shirt factory in the U.S.A. Rhode Island developer and Colby graduate, Paul Boghossian, in partnership with his business partner, Tom Niemann, purchased the property in December of 2006. Anchored by MaineGeneral Health, The Hathaway begins its third life as beautifully rehabbed offices, apartments, creative, retail and recreational spaces. 45 ROBERT W. PRAY RESIDENCE 74 Silver Street ~ Map #35 Known as the Pray Residence, this building was built before the Civil War for Robert W. Pray and Hannah Rockwood Pray. It is one of the oldest buildings on the Waterville tax maps. Standing out are the white pillars on two dies that support an open porch, a good place to watch parades down Silver Street. The glassed-in observation cupola projecting from the center of the roof has been closed in. Was it decorative or functional? Perhaps they were interested in astronomy or watching ships and boats on the river. A daughter, Emma Pray, had a millinery shop on Main Street. When she died in 1936, she bequeathed the family house to the First Universalist Church of Waterville for use as a parsonage. It was given in loving memory of her parents Robert W. and Hannah G. Pray. Legend has it that this house was a stop on the Underground Railroad for escaping slaves because of its proximity to the Kennebec River. Mr. Pray was born in 1810 and died in 1880, so it could very well be. There is also a cistern in the basement. The present owner was told that the minister’s wife liked to play the violin while sitting nude in the cistern. 46 REDINGTON HOUSE Waterville Historical Society ~ 62 Silver Street ~ Map #36 Waterville Pioneer settler Asa Redington, a veteran of three enlistments in the Revolutionary War and a member of George Washington’s elite Honor Guard, built the Federalstyle Redington Home in 1814 for his son, William. Three generations of Redingtons resided in the house until 1924 when Mrs. William Redington, whose husband was born in the house, donated the property to the Waterville Historical Society. The house boasts hewn timbers, (all hand pegged), a spiral staircase, fireplaces with period woodwork, and floors of pumpkin pine. Added to the National Historic Register in 1978, the property is the headquarters of the Waterville Historical Society and houses the Redington Museum, which is open to the public. In 1976, a replica apothecary building was erected to house the extraordinary collections of pharmaceutical antiques donated to the Society by Reginald LaVerdiere. 47 UNIVERSALIST-UNITARIAN CHURCH Corner of Elm & Silver Streets ~ Map #37 In 1802, Universalism was brought to Waterville, where the denomination flourished. In 1826, a congregation was organized, and in 1833, this church was completed at the cost of $4,200. The clock was purchased for $300. The original church faced Silver Street (East). After a fire in 1894, they moved the structure onto a foundation and turned the building to face south. In 1833, the town hired a person to ring the bell of the church three times a day for one year at a cost not to exceed $30. In another arrangement, the town would care for the land in front of the church in return for use of this land as a park. Members erected a beautiful Meeting House and won a prominent and influential membership. Although the organization of the Unitarian Church in 1863 practically divided the constituency, it retained the loyalty of many prominent families. It was entered in to the National Historic Register in 1978 and is noted for its Federal-Gothic Revival, architecture. 48 HON. CYRUS W. DAVIS RESIDENCE 8 Elm Street ~ Map #38 The Honorable Cyrus W. Davis located in Waterville in 1880. He ran the firm of Davis & Smith, an investment and corporation business. In 1904 he founded and was the principal owner of the Waterville Sentinel, one of Maine’s leading Democratic dailies and made no secret of his political interests and ambitions. Mayor when he started the paper, Davis went on to become Waterville’s representative to the legislature, made an unsuccessful bid for governor, and eventually became Secretary of State. During the 1930s the residence was Kappa Delta Rho fraternity house for Colby College. Purchased in 1944 by Gustave Veilleux, the building was converted to house Veilleux Funeral Home. 49 THE LOMBARD HOUSE 65 Elm Street ~ Map #39 This house has two claims to fame. First, it stands as a monument to the city’s world famous inventive genius, Alvin O. Lombard. Second, there is a mysterious room in the basement. Directly behind the furnace there is a secret door in the wall. Behind the door was another room camouflaged to look like a storeroom. Could it have been used for secret invention data or a private laboratory? In 1964, Waterville Urban Renewal Authority acquired part of the property to make way for the Appleton Street extension. The section that housed the secret room was demolished but the basement door leading to it remains today. This house, an example of a shingle style dwelling, was built for Lombard in1908 with three marble fireplaces, ornate woodwork that reflects excellent craftsmanship, a slate roof, and a large basement with a 10 foot ceiling. This beautiful dwelling remained in the Lombard family until 1964 when the Waterville Urban Renewal Authority claimed it. The interior was remodeled for apartments in the 1940s. Lombard was at the forefront of the lumber industry with his patented inventions. His most noted was the steam log hauler, which revolutionized lumbering. His invention was the forerunner of the Army tank used so successfully in World War I. He also invented a bark stripper, a knot separator, a pulp crusher, and the first person seen in Waterville to be driving a steam driven automobile. He considered his finest invention, a turbine water wheel control. 50 MONUMENT SQUARE Veterans Memorial Park ~ Corner of Elm & Park Streets ~ Map #40 The old cemetery on Elm Street, originally a cemetery for veterans of the American Revolution, closed in 1855, and by 1868 most of the bodies had been removed to Pine Grove Cemetery in Waterville’s south end. Waterville Pioneer & Revolutionary War veteran, Asa Redington, who died in 1845, is rumored to still be buried on Elm Street, however. Local legend claims that Redington, Like Shakespeare, put a curse on anyone who moved his body. A large monument in his memory can be found in Pine Grove Cemetery. In 1869, the site of the old City cemetery was converted into a park and a soldiers’ monument was erected. It was known as Monument Square. In 1851, former Maine Governor Abner Coburn donated buildings (where the current Elm Towers in now located) for an institute. It was known as Coburn Classical Institute, a college preparatory school that enrolled students from all over the country. The adjacent park became known as Coburn Park. The school burned down in February 23, 1955. In 1998, at the request of Members of the Bourque Lanigan American Legion Post 5 of Waterville, the City Council voted to rename the site to commemorate the area’s war veterans. In 1995, the park was formally dedicated as Veterans Memorial Park. 51 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH Corner of Elm and Park Streets ~ Map #41 Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, the first president of Colby College, formed this church in 1818. Because it was illegal for a religious group to own property, an organization of pew holders was formed. By selling pews they raised money and the Meeting House was erected in 1826. It served the church, college, and city for large assemblies and union meetings. It is the oldest public building and was the first church to be built in Waterville. The architecture is Late Victorian Classical Revival, and the church was added to the National Historic Register in 1976. It was here that Samuel Francis Smith was ordained and preached from 1832 to 1842. While a student at Andover Theological Seminary, a friend asked him to translate a German poem for him. He liked the music (God Save the King) that had been set to that poem so much he wrote new English words and this became the national patriotic hymn, “America”. He also wrote the hymns “The Morning Light is Breaking” and “Rock of Ages”. 52 WATERVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY 73 Elm Street ~ Map #42 Waterville benefited from the generosity of Andrew Carnegie who in 1902 donated $20,000 for a free public library. There was a condition that “the City of Waterville should provide the site and the sum of $2,000 annually for the library’s upkeep.” The architectural style is Richardsonian Romanesque, created by Henry Richardson in the late 19th century. Characteristics include a Norman Tower, dramatic semicircular arches, a rugged appearance, granite and copper materials, and Flemish bond brick work (alternate long and short sides of brick). This building typifies this style with its rounded arches distinctive roofline and fancy stonework. The building was renovated in 1960 after a fire. The 1976 addition has bigger windows and no granite, but its horizontal lines blend with those of the original building. In 2011, the library completed a multi-million dollar rehabilitation project that included the creation of a new entrance to face the Concourse parking lot, the installation of an elevator, and significant interior renovations. 53 NOTES 54 ADVERTISERS 55 ADVERTISERS 56 ADVERTISERS 57 ADVERTISERS 58 ADVERTISERS 59 COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION ARE AVAILABLE AT: WATERIVLLE CITY HALL 1 Common Street, Waterville ME 04901 Tel: (207) 680-4200 aesler@waterville-me.gov WATERVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY 73 Elm Street, Waterville ME 04901 Tel: (207) 872-5433 info@watervillelibrary.org MID-MAINE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50 Elm Street, Waterville, ME 04901 Tel: (207) 873-3315 info@midmainechamber.com WATERIVLLE MAIN STREET 44 Main Street, Suite 202, Waterville, ME 04901 Tel: (207) 680-2055 info@watervillemainstreet.org WATERVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 64 Silver Street, Waterville, ME 04901 Tel: (207) 872-6492 redingtonmuseum@gmail.com WATERVILLE MAIN STREET 44 MAIN STREET, SUITE 202 WATERVILLE, ME 04901 (207) 680-2055 WWW.WATERVILLEMAINSTREET.ORG This publication is a project of the Waterville Main Street Design Committee and was spearheaded by committee member Jill Hodsdon. 60