Kennebunkport Architecture

Westlook // 1905

Buildings of New England2 Comments

One of a handful of Prairie style homes in Maine, the Abbott Graves House – named ‘Westlook‘ – of Kennebunkport, was designed by Graves himself and built in 1905. The two-story residence is of frame construction with a low-hipped metal roof (originally red tile) and three internal brick chimneys. The exterior is covered with a simulated stucco finish.

Born in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1859, Graves began architectural studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1867 but was forced to leave due to financial problems before completing the program. For a few years he supported himself by working in a florist’s establishment where he earned a reputation as an arranger of flowers for interior decoration. An amateur painter since early youth, he began in earnest to develop this talent, concentrating on floral still life. He was eventually able to support himself in a small Boston studio and in 1884 to 1887 studied in Paris. His work was exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1887 and received the first of five medals he was to be awarded by that illustrious institution. Returning to Boston in 1889, he opened his own school and established himself as a distinguished painter of floral scenes and genre works. He brought his family and some students to Kennebunkport for the first time in the summer of 1891 staying at one of the first hotels in that newly emerging resort community. Graves fell in love with the community spending more and more time there each year until eventually he became a year round resident. In 1905 he designed Westlook, as he named it, and resided there until his death in 1936.

Ivory Goodwin House // c.1808

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Built by Ivory Goodwin (1783-1851), a joiner who moved to Kennebunkport from Berwick, Maine in 1799. Goodwin and his wife Mary, lived in this small Cape house with their six children, a pretty amazing feat in its own right! The Federal/Greek Revival home is five bays wide with a central entry with sidelights and pilasters flanking.

Captain George Nowell House // 1854

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Captain George W. Nowell and his wife, Frances, the daughter of the wealthy Capt. William Jefferds, built this elegant Italianate style home in 1854 that stands on Temple Street, next door to the Kennebunkport Post Office. George was a sea captain, following in his father’s footsteps and also invested in several of the ships he sailed, but had the fiscal foresight to insure his interests against loss. His prized ship was named “Tropic” and she was launched in 1855, less than a year after his house was built. On a cold December day in 1862, Nowell, captaining The Tropic left Philadelphia with a cargo of coal for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company in San Francisco. She and her crew of 20 were never heard from again. George was not yet 40 when he perished. His youngest son, Frank, never met his father and was only 8 years-old when his mother passed in 1872. Shipbuilder David Clark bought their Temple Street home and George’s brother took his children to live in Bangor.

The captain’s reputation as a prudent and charitable man was recognized by Victoria, Queen of England. She awarded Capt. George W. Nowell, of the ship Tropic, an engraved spyglass in testimony of his humanity in rescuing her subjects, the crew of the Village Belle, of Nova Scotia. The telescope and a certificate, signed by the Queen, have been proudly protected by the Kennebunkport Historical Society.

The family home features bold corner quoins, bracketed door and window hoods, and paired rounded arch windows at the top floor.

Lyric Theater // 1919

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

One of the more identifiable buildings in Dock Square in Kennebunkport Village is one of the first you typically see when arriving from neighboring Kennebunk. The wood-frame building perched on stilts at the edge of the Kennebunk River features a prominent pyramidal roof and stunning windows. Through some digging, it appears the building was built in 1919 as the Lyric Theater, a 350-seat motion-picture cinema, that catered to the summer residents. Sometime after the 1970s, the theater was converted to retail use and now is home to Saxony Imports a place where you can pick up some presidential swag, gag gifts, or touristy clothing.

Gideon Walker Farmhouse // 1745

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

One of the older extant homes in Kennebunkport is the Gideon Walker Farmhouse, built in 1745. The home once sat on a larger parcel of land, on the outside of the village, which at the time, only had a handful of other homes nearby. At the time, the town was named Arundel, and was later renamed Kennebunkport, in reflection to its economy becoming one of shipbuilding and trade along the Kennebunk River. As the village population grew, the Walker land was sold off and developed for other large estates. The Georgian house featured a small, one-story projecting entry, typical of the period. In 1910, owner Anson McKim of Montreal, hired Portland architect John Calvin Stevens to update the home, which included the addition of the front entry’s second story and a large side addition approximating the size and location of the former barn which once stood there. The home has since been renovated a few more times on the interior and exterior, yet it still retains its historic integrity.

John Hovey Perkins House // c.1850

Buildings of New England3 Comments

This large house in Kennebunkport Village was built in the 19th century for John Hovey Perkins (1804-1859). The Federal home was constructed sometime in the early 19th century, and by 1857, it was updated by the local master-builder, Bernard Littlefield, who likely added the two-story columned side porch and other detailing. The home was originally located at the corner of Green and Pleasant Streets, across from the Captain Lord Mansion, and was moved in 1900 to its present location on South Street. The house was converted to a bed & breakfast, known as The Inn on South Street, and it has seemingly been converted back to a single-family home.