U. S. Post Office and Customs House - Belfast Commercial Historic District - Belfast, ME - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

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U. S. Post Office and Customs House - Belfast Commercial Historic District - Belfast, ME

in NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings

Posted by:  T0SHEA

19T E 499395 N 4919109

Its namesake is Belfast, Ireland and it is now a quiet little city on the shore of Penobscot Bay, home to artists and artisans, history and heritage. The city has not one, but two historic districts.

A primary contributor to the Belfast Commercial Historic District, the post office stands at the northwest corner of the district and is number one on the list of contributing buildings in the district:

Buildings and sites contributing to the character of the district;

1. U. S. Post Office and Custom House, 1855-56.
Ammi B. Young of Washington, D. C., Architect
Italianate, 2 stories, brick with wood, stone and metal trim.
From the NRHP Nomination Form

Completed in 1857, the Belfast Post Office is a large two story brick building with a large overhanging dentilled cornice. Its designer was treasury architect Ammi B. Young. A matching dentilled brick beltline runs around the building between the two storys. All windows and doors are arched at the top with wooden hoods over. The façade of the building has an extended portice with a wide balcony across its width. Approaching its 159th birthday, the building is in excellent condition. The second floor is no longer used by the post office and is presently rented to the Belfast Bay Shade Company. The building is at 1 Franklin Street in Belfast.

Named for Belfast, Ireland, Belfast, Maine was settled by Scotch-Irish settlers who arrived in 1770, having first tried settling at Londonderry, N.H. Today the seat of Waldo County, Belfast lies at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River on Penobscot Bay, about 45 miles east of Augusta. Incorporated as a city in 1853 , it was to be the eighth in Maine. In Belfast is one of the older churches in the state, First Church of Belfast, a Congregationalist Church, a National Historic Place, erected in 1818. There are about a dozen other National Historic Places in the city, with many fine old houses still standing, as well.

Below is an excerpt on Belfast from the American Guide Series book, Maine, A Guide 'Down East', while further below is a short history of Belfast, from the city's website.

Early History
In the spring of 1770, Belfast was settled by Scottish-Irish families from Londonderry, New Hampshire. Legend has it that the name Belfast, after the Northern Ireland city, was chosen by a coin-toss. Fear of British attack led these original proprietors to abandon the settlement during the American Revolution, but they returned in the 1780s to build a vibrant, prosperous outpost that would become the market center for the outlying area.

1800s
Abundant timber, a gently sloping waterfront, and proximity to varied agriculture gave rise to shipbuilding and maritime commerce. Hundreds of wooden sailing ships were built by local shipyards, and during the 19th century, as much as 30% of the male population was employed in the maritime trades. In 1868, construction began on the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad, which connected Belfast to the Maine Central Railroad at Burnham Junction. Belfast merchants sold a variety of goods, and steamship operators who provided transportation between coastal towns advertised “shopping excursions” to Belfast. Prosperous shipbuilders and merchants constructed the architecturally significant houses that dominate our residential neighborhoods today.

Two disastrous fires consumed much of the downtown area in 1865 and 1873, but merchants rebuilt with brick, creating a pleasing and long-lasting commercial district. The Belfast Historic Districts, residential and commercial, are included on the National Register of Historic Places.

1900s
The city’s prosperity, built on shipbuilding and commerce in such unglamorous cargoes as hay, ice, apples, and fertilizer, began to fade as the 20th century unfolded. A four-story shoe factory dominated the industrial area, and Belfast became a blue-collar town. By the 1950s poultry, sardine, and potato companies had set up processing plants along the waterfront. Belfast called itself the Broiler Capital of the World, and each July, thousands came to eat barbecued chicken on Broiler Day.

In 1962, Route 1 was rerouted around the City and across a new bridge. The rerouting was seen by some as the death knell for a once-vibrant shire town. In hindsight, the bypass preserved the City’s heart and soul, and in the 1980s a rebirth began. The arts flourished, and the stately houses and commercial buildings were restored. In the early 1990s, USA Today named Belfast as one of America’s culturally cool communities. Today, Belfast is that rare combination of quiet small town with an active social and cultural life that is attractive to residents and visitors alike.
From the City of Belfast