Museum Reader

Waldo-Hancock Bridge, Bucksport, Maine 804

Matt — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:39:52 +0000

One of the Eastern Steamship Company sister ships, Belfast or Camden, passes under the Waldo-Hancock Bridge on its Bangor to Boston route on the bridge’s opening day in November 1931. Boston-Bangor steamboat servicer had begun in 1823. The Eastern Steamship line, consolidating a number of Maine lines, took over the service in 1901, with passengers and freight and later adding automobiiles. In 1935 it advertised a special $5 rate to transport an automobile and driver from Bangor to Boston; the passenger fare was $5.80. Promotional literature promised “unforgettable glories…of mountain, meadow and river hamlets,” stops at “ports beloved of seafaring New England,” and views of “glimmering islands.”

The Waldo-Hancock Bridge was quite a striking sight, too. Bridge designer David B. Steinman of New York described the trusses as “a new artistic type emphasizing horizontal and vertical lines” that were compatible with the “rigor of the natural rocky setting, the stern lines of adjacent Fort Knox, and the background colonial architecture in the adjacent towns.” The bridge allowed motorists to bypass Bangor on their trip east. Vehicles were charged a $.35 toll each way, and it remained a toll bridge until 1952.

Belfast and Camden made its last trips in 1935. They were no match for the automobile. The Waldo-Hancock Bridge was replaced by the Penobscot Narrows Bridge in 2006.

Catalog Number LB2007.1.104664

Buck Harbor Gift Shop, – So. Brooksville, Me B59

Matt — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:32:19 +0000

In the 1940s, when this photo was most likely taken, summer visitors generally came to Buck’s Harbor on their sailboats. From the Yacht Club, it was a short walk to the center of the village, where there were two markets and a garage, The Buck’s Harbor Gift Shop, up the hill from the marine shop, was run by Mabel Gray,. She and her husband Ray, who owned the Buck’s Harbor Market, lived next door.

Condon’s Store and Condon’s Garage, also in business in Buck’s Harbor in the 1940s, are much better known, however. Author Robert McCloskey brought them to life 60 years ago in the beloved children’s book One Morning in Maine.

Catalog Number LB2010.9.118515

Northport, Me

Matt — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:20 +0000

Bayside in Northport was originally a Methodist summer camp, where thousands gathered for two weeks in late August and early September for preaching, edification, entertainments, and socializing. Many came by steamer or horse and buggy for a day, while others came to stay. The first accommodations were large tents, which evolved into cottages. In August 1876, when 10,000 people are said to have attended camp meetings in the huge outdoor auditorium, there were 278 tents, 70 permanent cottages, and a large new hotel.

Some of the cottages were large, simple structures known as “Society Cottages,” built by specific church congregations. However, the colorful Carpenter Gothic cottages with intricate “gingerbread” trim, such as this one built by Alfred Flood of Waterville, came to dominate Bayside as it developed as a summer resort village. In July 1896, a reporter noted, “The cottages looked nicely in their new and variegated coats of paint. Probably the one that attracts the attention of the visitors more than any other is the Flood cottage.”

The camp meetings ended in 1936, and the Flood cottage on Clinton Avenue no longer stands. Bayside today is a vibrant summer community of residents who share a great sense of pride in the community’s history and continuity.

Catalog Number LB2008.17.116911

Cabins with Running Water, Tourists Inn, Searsport

Matt — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:24:42 +0000

Catalog Number LB2008.19.114943

Tourists Inn Over Night Cabins, Searsport

Matt — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:23:44 +0000

Catalog Number LB2008.19.114942

Tourists Inn, Searsport

Matt — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:22:54 +0000

Located on Route 1 on the north side of Searsport, the Tourists Inn and Cabins was among several cabin colonies in the area that offered a lodging alternative to the overnight camps and tourist homes of the 1920s and early 1930s. Individual cabins afforded guests privacy and comfort; they even had running water and screened porches so that vacationers could enjoy their leisure without pesky insects. The sign, “Inspected and Licensed 1931” assured the traveler of cleanliness. A few years later Duncan Hines began publishing his famous restaurant and lodging guides, and “Recommended by Duncan Hines” signs were sought out by discriminating travelers.

The Cash Grocery Store at the Tourists Inn sold snacks for motorists and a small inventory of grocery items. Neighborhood children could walk to the store on a wooden sidewalk to buy penny candy. The women at the tables near the road, possibly members of a sewing circle, are selling needlework, ice cream, cakes and candy to support the local church. Automobile travelers were a good market for roadside sales of handiwork, antiques, jams and jellies, and fresh produce.

Catalog Number LB2008.19.114932

Humphrey’s Motor Court and Lodge, Rockland (Glen Cove)

Matt — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:13:41 +0000

A listing in Duncan Hines’ Lodging for a Night, a popular guide for travelers published in 1938, was much sought after by the owners of tourist accommodations. “Modern Guest Houses, located in the country or at the edge of town, and up-to-date Auto Courts away from noises, are the types of places most desired by discriminating motorists,” wrote Hines in his introduction to the publication.

The lodging facility opened by Bertha and Everett Humphrey in the 1930s on Route 1 in Rockport offered both kinds of accommodation, which earned Hines’ seal of approval. Its listing read:

1 Guest House & Cottages: Humphrey’s. Open May to Oct. 6. Simple cottages
and 3 rms in farmhouse. On a hill overlooking the bay. No rms. WB. No meals.
E. 2NB $2.00 up. FPark. Pets P.

A variety of lodging facilities have occupied the hill above scenic Glen Cove for decades. Humphrey’s operated until about 1970. Its site is now the Strawberry Hill Seaside Inn.

Catalog Number LB2007.1.114776

A Port Clyde Lobster

Matt — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:08:01 +0000

Maine vacationers have always liked to send postcards of lobster traps, lobster boats, and lobsters. This one must have received lots of attention in the 1920s. Here Eldridge Stone is holding a lobster that probably weighs more than 8 pounds. Its size far exceeds today’s legal catch, which has a size limit of 5 inches from the eye socket to where the tail starts. The average lobster on a dinner plate weighs 1¼ or 1½ pounds.

Stone was quite a colorful character in Port Clyde. He was said to be a rumrunner during Prohibition, who would take his boat out to a cove, sink it when the police were after him, and then raise it after things quieted down. He also liked to make gifts to friends of fresh fish he helped himself to from someone else’s catch.

Catalog Number LB2007.1.113533

View at Crescent Beach, Me 122

Matt — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:58:56 +0000

The lighthouse and sandy beaches at Owls Head have attracted summer visitors for generations. At Crescent Beach, a summer colony began to take root in 1895 when local fish dealer and farmer Fred Smith built an open dancing pavilion. He began serving fish chowders made with milk from the cows he stabled out back. Soon he added a roof to the pavilion, built a large dining room and kitchen, installed one of the first telephones in town, and constructed a long pier so the steamboat could land. His business became so popular that he built the boardinghouse that is shown in this photo, flanked by cottages. By 1900 the Crescent Beach Inn also had a bowling alley, shooting tables, and billiards tables. Smith was instrumental in bringing the electric trolley line from Rockland and Thomaston to Crescent Beach, and he also built the road along the beach.

Rusticators as well as local families built the cottages in the early 1900s. Crescent Beach’s heyday lasted until about 1930. New owners revived the Inn after World War II, and it attracted guests from all across the country. The building is now gone, but the cottages have been refurbished, and Crescent Beach is again a popular summer destination.

Catalog Number LB2007.1.112973

Dancing Pavilion, Penobscot Park, Searsport

Matt — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:56:24 +0000

Penobscot Park, opposite Sears Island, was quite an attraction in the early 1900s. A persuasive advertisement in the Republican-Journal in July 1910 read: “The only public bathing and boating place in Waldo County. Come and try one of D. R. White’s FAMOUS SHORE DINNERS. Large dancing pavilion with good music. Swings, ball grounds, bathing, boating and fishing. We guarantee to please.”

The Bangor and Aroostock Railroad developed Penobscot Park shortly after it opened its Northern Seaport Line to Searsport in 1905. At the time Sears Island was owned by a syndicate of men who were prominent in the railroad company and planned to develop a resort on the island. The Bar Point House, dance pavilion, merry-go-rounds, and a shore dinner for 50 cents a plate attracted summer people as well as local residents. The dances attracted bands from outside as well as within Waldo County. In this photograph dancers are waiting for the Marine Band from Greenville to start playing.

Penobscot Park was closed during World War I but reopened for seven more years in 1920.

Catalog Number LB2007.1.111378