Elm Street Congregational Church and Parish House - Bucksport, ME
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 44° 34.424 W 068° 47.664
19T E 516324 N 4935619
This old wood frame church, built in 1838, has a very tall spire which is topped with an octagonal finial and a "fish" weathervane. That spire makes an excellent landmark, and has for many decades.
Waymark Code: WMR1HK
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 04/27/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member lumbricus
Views: 1

Designed by noted Bangor architect Benjamin S. Deane, this church is an excellent example of his favorite style, Greek Revival. This shows especially in the façade of the building with an extended portico supported by four fluted columns and topped by a Greek pediment, the whole surrounded by a larger Greek pediment. The building remains clad in shiplap siding, with broad corner boards resembling pilasters, as it was when built.

Above the entrance is a very Greek three stage belfry with the tall octagonal steeple and fish weathervane. The building has undergone very little modification, the major one being the replacement of the tower with the current one in 1850. A Hook organ with 666 pipes, Opus 328, by E. & G. G. Hook of Boston, Massachusetts was installed in 1863.

This is the second church to have been built by the congregation, the first, built in 1811-14 burned in 1910 while serving as the town hall.

The Parish House, the second half of this historic place, was built well after the church, in 1876. Its design is quite different from that of the church, being essentially a Second Empire design. With the later addition of a hall to the rear of the parish house, it is now larger than the church.
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Elm Street Congregational Church
and Parish House

Bucksport's Elm Street Congregational Church and Parish House, which were built in 1838 and 1876, respectively, are significant and highly visible aspects of this community's important historic architecture. Although the designer of the parish house has not as yet been identified, the church was created by Benjamin S. Deane (1790-1867), a noted Bangor architect who received a number of church commissions from congregations in eastern Maine. This particular example is an important example of Deane's early work in the Greek Revival style and is, therefore, eligible for nomination to the National Register under criterion C and criteria consideration A.
From the NRHP Nomination Form
Address of Tower:
31 Elm Street
Bucksport, ME USA
04330


Still Operational: yes

Number of bells in tower?: 1

Relevant website?: [Web Link]

Rate tower:

Tours or visits allowed in tower?: Unknown

Visit Instructions:
Please post an original picture of the tower taken while you were there. Please also record how you came to be at this tower and any other interesting information you learned about it while there.
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