Architectural History

Norwood Odd Fellows Building // 1912

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In the early 20th century, Norwood, Massachusetts, shifted from sleepy rural town to a commercial and population center with a population tripling in size between 1900 and 1930. Located on Washington Street, the town’s main commercial street, the Odd Fellows Building stands as a reminder of the historical importance to charitable and social organizations. Designed by Boston architect Clarence Blackall, the three story building is characterized by a boxy rectangular form, yellow and tan masonry with limestone and granite trimmings, and its somewhat minimal detailing. Built in 1912, the building’s first floor was designed to contain two stores, the second floor housed the club rooms and meeting hall, and third-story containing restrooms and a kitchen. The Classical Revival style building is one of the larger and more significant commercial structures in the town center.

Norwood Town Hall // 1928

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Norwood Town Hall represents the achievement of landscape architect Arthur A. Shurtleff and local financier, George Willet, to transform the village center of Norwood, Massachusetts from a sleepy rural village to a thriving commercial and cultural center of town. Plans for the municipal building began as early as 1919, with this building serving as both a town hall and memorial to the Norwood men who died in all previous wars. The building would not be completed until 1928. Designed by Norwood architect, William Upham, the building is a landmark example of the Neo-Gothic Revival style and its main feature, the 110-foot bell-tower which houses a 50-bell carillon, towers over the town common.

Wildwood Baptist Chapel // 1910

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Tucked away on a wooded lot, away from the main villages of Kennebunkport, Maine, the Wildwood Baptist Chapel sits on the side of the road looking like a scene from a storybook. The chapel was built in 1910 for Baptists residing in the Wildes District of town, between the busier Kennebunkport Village and Cape Porpoise. The stone used in the construction of the chapel was taken from nearby properties and assembled on site by a skilled mason who built the walls with a Shingle style roof. Services here were limited and eventually ceased in earnest in 1935, as personal automobile allowed residents to travel to the church in the village for services. The poorly insulated chapel and small fireplace made the sanctuary inside difficult to heat in the cold winter months. The chapel is maintained well to this day, and is primarily used for summer services and special events.

Atlantic Hall // 1920

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Atlantic Hall is one of the most iconic buildings in the well-visited town of Kennebunkport, Maine. The landmark structure was completed in 1920 as a volunteer fire station, by the Atlantic Hose Company. The volunteer fire-fighting company was founded in April 1906, and different members kept different parts of fire fighting equipment in each of their barns without a consolidated station. With the advent of the automobile, the community raised funds and purchased a Chevrolet hose truck, but had no station to put it. Without having the town pitch in money, residents (both permanent and summer “rusticators”) donated funds and a central location in Cape Porpoise was selected as a site for the new station. Construction started on a modest building in 1914, but was halted during WWI. After the war, local resident, Marion Goodall Marland hired the well known firm of Kilham, Hopkins and Greeley to furnish updated designs for the station, in a more elaborate version of the Colonial Revival style, fitting for the charming town. The building opened in 1920 with an engine room at the first floor and a meeting hall on the second floor. It was in 1958 that the Atlantic Hose Company outgrew its station at Atlantic Hall, and a new fire house was built across the street. Atlantic Hall was renovated for library and event use and has remained a significant piece of Cape Porpoise ever since!

Kennebunk River Clubhouse // 1889

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A canoe club formed by John B. McMaster, Prosper L. Senat and Henry E. Woods in the early 1880’s grew to a large “Lobster Club” by 1888. In 1889, the club decided to build this Shingle style boat house and the organization changed their name to the ‘Kennebunk River Club’ and hired Lowell, Massachusetts architect, Frederick W. Stickney to design a new boathouse. It opened in August 1890. The club grew quickly as Kennebunkport continued to become a premier summer destination with wealthy residents building summer “cottages” in town. In the building, canoes were built and hired out to club members by members of the Penobscot tribe who came to Kennebunkport from Old Town each summer working here. The clubhouse is one of the finest Shingle style recreational buildings in New England.

Point O’ View Cottage // 1892

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The Point O’ View Cottage in Kennebunkport sits on a large lawn on the rugged Maine coast, with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean. Built in 1892 by Burleigh S. Thompson as a rental property (he rented it for $1,500 for the summer) the nine-bedroom “cottage” was designed in a Tudoresque version of the Queen Anne architectural style and originally named Fort Bradford. The cottage (like others built for Mr. Thompson) was designed by Henry Paston Clark, THE architect for the Cape Arundel Summer Colony in the 1890s, who also designed St. Ann’s Episcopal Church and other cottages nearby. The cottage was renovated more in keeping with the Shingle style and was entirely clad in cedar shingles, but it retains its perfect, rustic stone foundation and rounded porch. It is now known as Point O’ View Cottage. What a view it has!

Kewaydin Cottage // 1900

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Every good summer cottage needs a name, and this charmer in the Cape Arundel Summer Colony of Kennebunkport, Maine, is no exception! This is “Kewaydin” a massive summer home built for Eben Caldwell Stanwood Jr. (1856-1906) a merchant and later banker of Boston, Massachusetts. Stanwood hired the Boston firm of Chapman & Frazer to design the cottage, which blends Shingle style and Queen Anne elements in a rustic composition that has such great curb appeal! The use of cedar shingles and rubblestone chimneys, paired with the vergeboards and complex roofline with dormers, makes this one of the gems of Kennebunkport!

Pine Haven Cottage // 1902

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Pine Haven Cottage sits on a rise overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in the Cape Arundel summer colony in Kennebunkport, Maine. Built in 1902 for Thomas Brodhead Van Buren, Jr., a silk importer in Manhattan as a summer home, the cottage was designed by Henry Paston Clark and his partner, John W. Russell in an eclectic example of the Shingle style with gable roofs, vergeboards, stone foundation, and a prominent porch that has since been enclosed.

Chester Guild Cottage // 1902

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One of the many stunning summer “cottages” built in the Cape Arundel summer colony of Kennebunkport, Maine, is this turn-of-the-century Shingle style dwelling built for Chester Guild of Boston. Chester Guild III was born into the wealthy Guild Family of Roxbury with his father being a successful leather dealer. Chester Guild spent summers with his family in Kennebunkport beginning in the 1890s, eventually had this cottage built in 1902. The Shingle style dwelling remained in the family for five generations and is very well-preserved, showcasing the hallmark elements of the ubiquitous coastal Maine architectural style.

Moses Howard House // c.1794

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This charming Federal style saltbox house was built around the turn of the 19th century for Moses Howard, a “shipmaster” who moved to Kennebunkport from Cohasset, Massachusetts in 1793. The house here is clapboard with a symmetrical facade and central chimney. A saltbox roof extends off the rear of the house. Moses Howard did not stay in Kennebunkport for long as he moved to Portland by 1812. The house was lovingly maintained for the next 200+years.