Greek Revival

Cornwall Hollow Baptist Church // 1844

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During the nineteenth century several small, rural settlements dotted the landscape of Cornwall, Connecticut. The hamlet of Cornwall Hollow this building, the Baptist Church, and contained a tannery, store, gristmill, sawmill and cemetery. The church at Cornwall Hollow was erected following dissolution of the Baptist congregation at nearby Cream Hill in 1843. A new church constitution was adopted in 1844 and this new meetinghouse erected the following year. At its height the congregation included 100 members. The Greek Revival style church once had a belfry, but it was removed sometime in the 20th century, likely due to repair costs. The interior included a curved ceiling, and windows line the side elevations. The congregation saw dwindling numbers and closed in the early 20th century. It is now privately owned, but lovingly preserved.

Foster-Beck House // c.1845

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This attractive Greek Revival style residence with later porch was likely built in the 1840s and is one of the finest homes in the village of West Cornwall, Connecticut. The house was likely built for Stephen Foster (c.1816-1863), a merchant and railroad contractor who had constructed a portion of the Housatonic Line railroad near West Cornwall, further opening the village up to trade. Stephen and his wife, Helen, lived here for some time until around 1860 when they relocated to a larger, Italianate style mansion nearby. In 1867, this property was purchased by George Beck, a German immigrant and partner of the Vollmiller Shear Shop, who manufactured metal shears and scissors in West Cornwall. It is likely that Beck was owner of the house at the time the wrap-around porch with scroll-sawn columns.

Myron Norton House // 1840

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The Myron Norton House, built in 1840, is located in the central village in Goshen, Connecticut. Built of stone, the house is unique as the only example of a stone house in the village, and the only Greek Revival house that departs from the usual gable-roofed form, having a square plan and hipped roof with monitor. The home was built for Myron Norton (1788-1853) and his wife, Caroline (Marsh) Norton, who outlived her husband by 23 years, living here until her death in 1876. Myron Norton made his fortune patenting and selling pineapple cheese molds, where he pressed the curds from local cows in wooden pineapple-shaped molds to give them the desired shape. It is the house that cheese built!

Lavalette Perrin House // c.1844

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The perfect whimsical blending of the Classical Greek Revival and the intricate details of the Carpenter Gothic styles can be found under one roof in Goshen, Connecticut; this is the Lavalette Perrin House. Built c.1844 for Lavalette Perrin (1816-1889), who graduated from Yale in 1840, and became licensed to preach in 1843. Reverend Perrin was in his late 20s when he accepted the call to become the pastor of Goshen’s Congregational Church in 1843. Upon arriving to town, he had this residence built soon after, blending two differing styles in a blissful composition. Perrin remained in Goshen until he was called to New Britain in 1858, where he remained until his death. Unique architectural features of the home include the flushboard siding, pilaster-and-lintel framed doors and windows (very rare in this form), and wave-like bargeboards. What a special home!

Israel Snow House // c.1850

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The Israel Snow House stands at 9 Water Street in the South End of Rockland, Maine, and it is one of the region’s finest examples of late Greek Revival architecture. The residence was built for Captain Israel Snow (1801-1875), a mariner and captain of several vessels, including the schooner Maria (1829), the brig Snow (1835-36), the brig Lucy Ann (1842), and the Barque Star (1848). In 1850, he and his wife Lucy moved from Thomaston to Rockland, and he would build this stately mansion where they raised seven children. Some records put the construction of this house at 1861, but that seems very late for such an example of this style. In 1863, he founded Snow’s Point Shipyard on Mechanic Street in the South End. Rockland was the fourth largest seaport in the United States in terms of production and commerce at the time, and Snow’s shipyard was a large part of that production. This residence is now offices to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Overlook Mansion // 1842

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In about 1842, a Salem merchant, Joseph Adams, built this stately Greek Revival style mansion on Pine Street in Danvers, Massachusetts. Named “Overlook”, the house is a simplified adaptation of the temple-front form with three columns supporting an entablature and closed pediment above. Joseph Adams was an instrumental force who brought an Episcopal church to Danvers, bankrolling the new building there himself. By 1862, the house was owned by Milton P. Braman (1799-1882), who had just retired as pastor for the First Church of Danvers. Of particular note, when news reached Danvers of the assassination of President Lincoln, a gang of men there captured two men who had said unkind words of the late president, and tar and feathered them. A number of the mob were said to have planned to also go to Rev. Braman’s house here to do the same to him, as he was said to have been a “copperhead” a democrat who opposed the American Civil War and wanted an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. Reverend Braman got wind of the plans of the local mob and had men stationed in the windows with shotguns, with the order to shoot anyone who entered the property. Luckily for all involved, the mob never showed. He would later move to Brookline and Newton. Overlook remains a significant country estate and very well-preserved by the owners.

Adams Hall // c.1828

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According to local histories, this significant Greek Revival style property on Elm Street in Georgetown, Massachusetts, was owned by Josiah Adams (1757-1852), a farmer, a Revolutionary War veteran, and a fourth-generation descendant of the immigrant Robert Adams, who arrived here from Devonshire, England by about 1629. In March 1849, the town’s Congregational Society purchased Adams Hall for eight hundred dollars to house the church vestry, which remained in the building for forty-one months until a new building was built for that purpose next door. Later, Adams Hall was owned by Moses Tenney (1808-1903), operator of a prosperous saw mill in Georgetown, and served at one time in the state senate. The structure retains its significant temple-front with four, two-story Doric columns supporting the portico. Also special on this residence is the use of flush-board siding and the oversized first floor windows.

New Gloucester Universalist Meeting House // 1839

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Constructed in 1839 by local carpenter/builder Jeremiah Cotton, the Universalist Meeting House of New Gloucester, Maine, is a dignified example of the Greek Revival style in a rural context. The First Universalist Society of Christians in New Gloucester was organized in 1805 with members drawn from nearby communities including those of Gray and Poland. In 1830, the congregation reorganized itself into the First Universalist Society of New Gloucester and Pownal. During its early history services were apparently held at various places in the community for it was not until November of 1838 that a meeting was called “…to take such measures for Building a meeting house as a majority of Subscribers or proprietors may think proper.” After World War I, membership began to decline and from the 1930s until the society’s demise in 1957 services were infrequently held. In 1969 the property was acquired by the New Gloucester Historical Society, who maintained and restored the building. The flushboard siding, fully pedimented gable, pilasters, and symmetrical façade containing two entry doors, all work together to display the Greek Revival style in a high-style example, but in a rural setting. The building appears to be opened periodically by the Historical Society.

Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library // 1923

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In 1906, the citizens of Boothbay Harbor voted to establish a free public library for all to enjoy. In 1923, the need for more library space, along with a desire for a World War I Memorial, led to the approval of a bond for the purchase of a 1842 Greek Revival style house on Oak Street. The building was remodelled for use as a library by the Boston architect William Stanley Parker, and was enlarged in 1966 to a design by Parker’s son, Stanley Jr. The temple-front, Neo-Classical entry was added at this time and harkens back to the original classical style Greek Revival home, while clearly showing a grander scale seen in the 20th century.

Former Boston & Maine Railroad Station // c.1845-1893

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Photo courtesy of City of Boston Archives

The Boston & Maine Railroad opened in 1845, and over the years, became the dominant railroad in northern New England with many of its lines terminating at this station for a half-century until the original Union/North Station was built in 1893 consolidating many of these northbound lines under one roof. The Boston & Maine Station was located in Haymarket Square, southeast of the present North Station and the building was a landmark in the Greek Revival style. The brick building with monumental pilasters and pediment at the facade commanded the heavily trafficked site until it was demolished in 1893 when the lines relocated to the newly built Union Station on Causeway Street. The architect for the station was Richard Bond.