Romanesque Revival

Rockland Railroad Station // 1917

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Welcome to Rockland, Maine! Originally called Catawamteak by the Abenaki, meaning “great landing place”, Rockland was first settled by European settlers in In 1769 as a camp to produce oak staves and pine lumber. In 1777, when Thomaston was incorporated, present-day Rockland became a district called Shore village. In 1848, it was set off as the town of East Thomaston and renamed Rockland in 1850. The coastal community grew quickly as a shipbuilding and lime production center, with upwards of 300 vessels to transport the mineral to various ports in the country for the building of communities all down the coast. The opening of the Knox and Lincoln Railroad in 1871 brought an influx of tourists and businesses, creating a development boom for the community. The line was leased to the Maine Central Railroad in 1891, which took over ownership in 1901. The Rockland Railroad Station, seen here, was built in 1917, just before the government took over the railroads during World War I. Architects Coolidge and Shattuck designed the station in the Romanesque Revival style with the oversized arched openings at the windows and main entrance. The rise of the automobile industry would further harm rail service and usage, and the Rockland Branch officially closed in 1959. The old Rockland branch station operated as the Rockland Town Hall for decades and is now occupied by a local restaurant, Trackside Station.

Colby Hall – Andover Newton Theological School // 1866

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Colby Hall sits perched atop a hill overlooking Newton Centre, Newton, and is located in the Andover Newton Theological School campus. The building was constructed in 1886 for the Newton Theological Institution, which was founded on this site in 1825, and used for the a Baptist seminary, educating young students in theology. By the 1860s, the school had outgrown its space and following a donation from benefactor,  Gardner Colby (1810–1879), who was treasurer of the school (and was also the benefactor and namesake of Colby College in Maine) plans were drawn up for the new lecture spaces and chapel building. The unique building was designed by Alexander Rice Esty, a prominent architect at the time, and it blends Second Empire and Romanesque Revival styles under one roof. The three-story structure is of a light buff, rough cut stone with sandstone trim and features an imposing four-story tower at the eastern end. In November 2015, the school announced that it would sell its campus and become part of Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut. The Newton campus was purchased by the Windsor Park School with Colby Hall now occupied by the Boston Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.

Former Newton Centre Methodist Episcopal Church // 1899

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This building, the former Newton Centre Methodist Episcopal Church, is Romanesque in style, and is one of the more notable adaptive reuse projects in Newton. The church was designed by the esteemed architectural firm of Andrews, Jacques & Rantoul and completed in 1899 for the local Methodist Episcopal congregation. The edifice is built of locally quarried rubblestone, often called Roxbury Puddingstone, and trimmed with rough cut Milford granite. The granite is used at the windows, forming the arches and heads, and most strikingly in the large arched entrance. The church eventually closed and was renovated with modern windows, additions, and more, and currently houses a restaurant, bank, book store, and professional offices.

Maine State Building // 1893

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The Maine State Building is a one-of-a-kind landmark located in the Poland Springs Historic District of Poland, Maine, though it was not originally built in this location! The Victorian structure was built in 1893 at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago (aka the Chicago World’s Fair) as one of the State Buildings constructed by each U.S. state to highlight their history. Designed by Chicago architect Charles Sumner Frost, a Lewiston, Maine native and MIT graduate, the building was constructed of granite with a slate roof. After the close of the fair, the Ricker family of Poland Spring, purchased the building from the state. They had it dismantled, moved to Maine, and rebuilt on their resort, which brought even more visitors to their property. In Maine, it reopened in 1895 as a library and art gallery for their hotel guests. Along with the Norway Building in Norway, The Dutch House in Brookline (a personal favorite), the Palace of Fine Arts (now the Museum of Science and Industry) and World Congress Auxiliary Building (now the Art Institute of Chicago) in Chicago, the Maine State Building is one of the few remaining buildings from the 1893 World’s Fair, and the only State Building remaining. It has been lovingly preserved and operated by the Poland Spring Historical Society, who operate the building as a museum.

Georgetown Peabody Library // 1907

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The Georgetown Peabody Library began on September 19, 1866, following a generous gift from George Peabody (1795-1869), a great man who is considered the father of modern philanthropy. George Peabody’s interest in the town was due to the fact that it was the birthplace of his mother, Judith (Dodge) Peabody, and for many years the home of his sister, Mrs. Judith Peabody Russell. Mr. Peabody decided to donate funds for the town’s first public library and also had 2400 books brought from London for its initial book collection. The wooden library building was designed by the Boston architectural firm of Bryant & Gilman and opened in 1869. After a few decades, the first library proved inadequate for the town’s needs and the present building was built with invested Peabody funds. In 1904, construction began on the new, present library building, a robust, brick structure in the Romanesque style with the firm of Cooper & Bailey furnishing the plans. The building has since been added onto as the town grew, but it retains its significance architecturally and historically for ties to Mr. George Peabody.

Ashby Public Library // 1902

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The Ashby Public Library in Ashby, Massachusetts, was built in 1902, completely funded by a donation from Edwin Chapman (1841-1915) who lived across the street from the new library. Mr. Chapman was raised in Ashby and became a wealthy Boston-area merchant in the meat trade by the late 19th century. Before this library was built, the town’s library collection was housed in the Wyman Tavern. The building was designed by architect Henry M. Francis in the Neoclassical style with Romanesque detail in brick and brownstone to make the building fireproof. The library was added onto in the rear in 2006 by The Galante Architecture Studio, which is recessed and mostly visible from the rear parking area. The addition is Modern in style to distinguish itself from the main library building.

Former Schrafft’s Candy Factory – Converse HQ // 1907

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Possibly my favorite building in the Bulfinch Triangle/North Station area of Boston is this brick behemoth. Known as the Schrafft’s Candy Factory, Hoffman Building, Lovejoy Wharf, Submarine Signal Building, etc., the building was constructed in 1907 from plans by Codman & Despradelle and first-occupied by the Schrafft’s Candy Company. It held the candy makers until 1928, when Schrafft’s moved to Charlestown, building their massive factory in Sullivan Square. A landmark in the Panel Brick style of architecture, prevalent in industrial and multi-family structures in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the old factory saw many later uses from cold storage, to a Submarine Signal Co. before it was largely vacant by the end of the 20th century. Through Preservation Tax Credits and grants, developer Related Beal was able to reimagine the building, restoring it to its former glory. The Architectural Team (TAT) oversaw the renovations and expansion of the building with a glass crown with the project accommodating the corporate headquarters for world-renowned sneaker manufacturer, Converse.

William L. Lockhart Company Building // 1887

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This six-story brick and sandstone building at Causeway and Staniford streets near North Station in Boston was built in 1887 as the headquarters and sales center for William L. Lockhart & Co., manufacturers and wholesale dealers of coffins, caskets, and undertakers’ supplies, which at the time was considered the largest establishment of its kind in New England. The company had its factory in East Cambridge and built this structure as offices and sales rooms. The building is an excellent example of the Romanesque Revival style, which is typified by the use of round arched windows at the top floor and the use of inlaid carved stone panels. Frederick Nason Footman a relatively unknown architect is said to have designed the building for the Lockhart Company, with the building serving as an important piece of the company’s portfolio. Shop space was created on the street level, with the company’s offices, salesrooms and casket hardware department occupying the second floor, show rooms on the third floor, shipping department on the fourth floor and storage on the fifth and sixth floors. While the adjacent parcels have been razed and are still vacant, this building serves as an important visual gateway into what was once the West End, a neighborhood that was almost entirely demolished during urban renewal.

Bethshan Cottage // 1884

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Bethshan Cottage is one of Newport’s (many) “hidden” gems that gets far too little attention from publications! Located on Gibbs Avenue, down the block from Eveherdee and William Barton Rogers‘ summer cottage, “Morningside”, Bethshan was built in 1884 on land purchased by Major Theodore Kane Gibbs. Theodore was the son of William C. Gibbs, the 10th Governor of Rhode Island, and served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, mustering out as a Major in 1870. Newport-based architect Dudley Newton designed this cottage for Gibbs, which blends nearly every major architectural style of the late 19th century under one, beautiful gambrel roof. The red granite stone walls, red brick trim, red fish-scale slate roof, even the rust-colored mortar, all work together to create a lovely composition, unlike anything else seen in Newport. According to Newport’s Assessor, the house is presently an apartment house.

Norwood Press Complex // 1897

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Now that is an interesting example of adaptive use… What do you think of this?

The Norwood Press was formed in 1894 by several companies which consolidated to form a company that covered all aspects of the book-making process. AII three companies had been located in Boston, but were lured to Norwood by free land offered by the local Business Association along with tax incentives that were too good to pass up. The underutilized land was quickly redeveloped in the 1890s with the several-building complex built on Washington Street in Norwood, Massachusetts with the largest building (pictured) constructed in 1897. By 1904,the press room of this plant was one of the largest in the U.S.,producing nearly seven million volumes ranging from 100 to 1,600 pages each. By 1917, the Norwood Press employed 600 workers in town! The Romanesque Revival style brick factory stands out for its five-story clocktower with (now enclosed) arches and corbelling. The Norwood Press closed after WWII and the plant was purchased by the Northrup Company. Today, the warehouse is under new ownership and is used as a storage facility, with many of the windows enclosed for the storage units.