Granite Buildings

Old Stone Bank // 1896

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The Old Stone Bank was founded in 1819 as the first savings bank in Providence, Rhode Island, but originally under the name, Providence Institution for Savings. A constantly growing volume of business influenced the erection, in 1854, of a building for the exclusive purposes of the bank at 86 South Main Street, near College Hill. Designed by C.J. and R.J. Hall, the original stone bank stood one-story tall with a gable roof. Success and further expansion of the institution led to the erection, in 1896, of the present building, which served as the main office. Designed by the local architectural firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson, the present domed banking structure is said to have incorporated parts of the 1854 building, and expanded the rest to the landmark we see today. The Beaux Arts/Neo-Classical banking structure is constructed of granite, with a Classical pedimented entry of monumental Corinthian columns atop the staircase, but the highlight of the building has to be the gold-leaf-and-copper domed roof which partially served as a skylight for the banking hall inside. Offices relocated to a new building in the late 1960s. The banking institution closed in the 1980s and following acquisitions and insolvency, the main bank was sold in 1995 to Brown University for $1.15 million to house the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology‘s collection of Native American artifacts. Years later, Brown decided it was unfeasible to house the collection in the building as the necessary alterations would have altered the historic character of the building, they then sold the building to an LLC in 2009. The Old Stone Bank is now a single-family home. Yes, you heard that right. The new owners have lovingly preserved this architectural marvel for all to enjoy as they stroll the city.

Dr. Benjamin L. Noyes House and Vault // 1903

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Benjamin Lake Noyes (1870-1945) was born in Lisbon Falls, Maine, but grew up on Grand Manan, New Brunswick, Canada. He worked at his father’s hardware store before entering Bowdoin Medical College. After graduating, he moved to Stonington, Maine, to work as a physician. Here, he met his wife, Linnie Howard, and they married in 1899. In 1903, the couple had a large Queen Anne style house built on a bluff, overlooking the Stonington Harbor. Dr. Noyes was a physician, surgeon, occultist, inventor, surveyor and antiquarian, who took interest in genealogy and local history in his spare time. By the time of his death Dr. Noyes had completed 100 volumes of material on island history and genealogies of its people. To house his massive collection, he constructed a fire-proof vault of local granite at the base of his home opened his record collection to the public known as the Penobscot Bay Archives. After his death in 1945, much of the collection was sent to the local historical society for preservation. A fire in 1981 destroyed much of the house except the first floor and the granite, fire-proof building, and the upper floors of the Noyes house were rebuilt.

Prospect Hill Tower // 1903

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Originally part of the town of Charlestown, Massachusetts, Prospect Hill is now located in the nearby town of Somerville, established in 1842. As one of the hills closest to the city of Boston, the hill played a pivotal role in the line of defensive works constructed after the Battle of Bunker Hill. The area developed slowly, with old farms around Prospect Hill, largely subdivided in the late 19th century for residential development. Around this time, in 1886, the Prospect Hill Park Association was formed, and in 1898, land here was purchased for a public park. The focal point of the iconic neighborhood park is the stone castle structure at the top. Completed in 1903 to commemorate soldiers of the Revolutionary and Civil wars, the rusticated granite tower was designed by Ernest W. Bailey, the City Engineer of Somerville, who also worked to landscape the surrounding park. The granite blocks were shipped in from Deer Isle, Maine. By the 1960s, the structure began to suffer from deferred maintenance. The City of Somerville added the concrete retaining walls to shore up the landscape, which worked for some time. Decades later in the early 2000s, the structure was at risk of further deterioration. Through Community Preservation Act funds, the tower and surrounding landscape were restored and made safer, making this important memorial accessible and enhanced for all to enjoy. 

Essex County Old Granite Courthouse // 1841

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Aligned in a row on the north side of Federal Street in Salem, the Essex County Court complex is a tour de force of the evolving architectural tastes of three centuries. At the eastern edge of the complex, the Old Granite Courthouse stands as the oldest of the group. The two-story temple-form building is of rectangular plan with gabled roof oriented towards the street. The facade features a recessed porch with paired columns surmounted by Greek Corinthian capitals which are set between broad, squared Doric corner pilasters. The granite building was designed by architect, Richard Bond (1797-1861) of Boston, and the structure is often referred to as one of the finest Greek Revival-style Civic buildings in New England. The courthouse remained in use until the J Michael Ruane Judicial Center at the end of the block was completed in 2012. The Old Granite Courthouse and adjacent Old Superior Courthouse were both vacated and have been essentially mothballed ever-since under the ownership of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance as surplus. The fate of the two buildings remains undetermined.

Rockland Public Library // 1903

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The Rockland Public Library in Rockland, Maine, is an architecturally significant civic building that showcases the coastal town’s prosperity at the turn of the 20th century. The library was built in 1903–04, and was funded in part by a $20,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie. It is the city’s only major example of Beaux Arts architecture, a style that is also uncommon in the state. The library was designed by Maine native George Clough, who used granite quarried from nearby Vinalhaven in its construction. The building was later expanded by an addition at the rear, but from the street, the handsome Beaux Arts library looks near-identical as to when it was built over 120 years ago!

Rockland Custom House & Post Office // 1873-1969

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Photo included in HABS documentation

It saddens me to see photos and learn about some of the amazing buildings demolished in the name of “progress”; it is even more disappointing when said building is replaced by a surface parking lot (over 50 years later)! This great stone building was built in Rockland, Maine, in 1876 as the town’s post office and custom house by the Federal government. Relatively unknown architect Alfred B. Mullett is credited with the design as he served from 1866 to 1874 as Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury Department. The building can be classified as Italianate-Second Empire in style and is constructed of massive, rough-faced granite block walls with a shallow mansard roof above. The building was offered for sale by the U.S. Government in 1967, likely due to the upkeep costs and a shrinking local population with the dependency on maritime trade diminished. The building was ultimately razed in late 1969, with a new, uninspiring, post office built next door to this site.

Morrill Memorial Library // 1896

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One of the best parts about New England is the diversity of the architecture and history of local public libraries. The Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts, was erected by George H. Morrill in memory of his daughter Sarah Bond Morrill, who apparently died in 1895 of Typhoid Fever at the age of 22. George Morrill made his fortune as one of the largest producers of printing inks in America. The business was founded by Samuel Morrill, father of George H. Morrill in 1845 in Andover, but in 1856, he moved the works to South Dedham (present-day Norwood). The company grew rapidly and factories were built in Norwood and expanded to meet increasing operations. Mr. Morrill built a massive estate in Norwood (no longer extant) and also houses for his family members nearby to create a small enclave for the family. One of the lots on Walpole Street was utilized for a memorial library in honor of his late daughter. Architect Joseph Neal, who originally worked for Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge in Boston, designed the Richardsonian Romanesque library constructed of rough-faced granite blocks with a red terracotta tile roof above. The main entrance was deeply recessed within a great Assyrian arch typical of an arch-type that was a hallmark of the public and ecclesiastical buildings of Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson during the 1870’s and 1880’s, but has since been enclosed by a vestibule, somewhat diminishing the original entry. The library was originally cruciform in plan but one-story additions constructed in the 1960s, on either side of the original facade have altered its original volume, but at least they are of a similar material. The library is one of the more unique in the Boston area and a testament to a father’s love to their children.

Portland Mariner’s Church // 1828

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Talk about a unique church! The Mariner’s Church in Downtown Portland was built in 1828 and is modeled after Faneuil Hall in Boston and East India Hall, Salem, Massachusetts; and was the first Greek Revival building in Portland (with some lingering Federal flair). It also for many years was Portland’s largest building! Its concept was that of a place of worship and education center for seamen of the port city between their voyages on the open sea. The ground floor was designed to house shops for merchants whose rent would support and maintain the building. The structure is virtually unchanged from how it looked nearly 200 years ago and showcases the importance of the sea to the port towns and cities of New England!

Portland Custom House // 1868

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Probably my favorite building in Portland, Maine is the former Custom House building, an imposing granite building located a stone’s throw from the Portland Harbor. It was built to accommodate the city’s growing customs business, which, by 1866, was collecting $900,000 annually in customs duties—making Portland one of the most significant seaports in the country. The building is typical of the notable designs completed under the direction of Alfred B. Mullett, Supervising Architect of the Treasury from 1865 to 1874. Constructed between 1867 and 1872 (due to delays in obtaining granite for the upper stories) the U.S. Custom House combines elements of the Second Empire and Renaissance Revival styles and is one of the best preserved custom houses in New England. The interior custom hall is especially remarkable.