At the corner of Orchard Street
Glimpses 15 Vaughan Street
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Tag Archives: History
West End Walks. 4 Orchard Street
Update 6.24.16: Having found a new resource on architects practicing in Portland, I can now state the architect of this house was James P Thomas. Thomas was a grandson of the noted William Widgery Thomas and a graduate of Harvard University. Thomas played a big role in public and residential architecture in Portland during the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.
Having highlighted the entry in the first Portals post, I think it’s time to take a closer look at this house. A product of a booming era, the home has some wonderful architectural details combined with a bit of interesting history.
Glimpses. The intersection of Atlantic & Wilson Streets
55 Atlantic Street. Tax records call it ‘Italianate’. Okay. Seems like a very non descript apartment building.
Turn the corner
Continue reading
461-463 Cumberland Avenue. The Doten House
After the Civil War and the great fire, the center of Portland became increasingly commercial and many of the residential neighborhoods followed Horace Greeley’s advice and headed west. The wonderful neighborhoods of the West End were developed in this period. Another, perhaps less recognized, area is the Deering Street section in West Bayside.
West End Walks. 15-17 Winter Street
The Winter Street neighborhood characterized by brick Federal buildings such as the Danforth Inn along with Victorian-era single and multi-family homes. The biggest neighbors are Mercy Hospital and The Irish Heritage Center in the former St Dominic’s Church. Nestled among these buildings is 15-17 Winter Street also known as 52-54 Gray Street. A rather small wooden home that shows an incredible amount of preservation both in the building and the lot on which it stands.
Do red doors still mean the mortgage is paid?
20 South Street
South Street runs from Pleasant Street to a concrete wall on the edge of Spring Street in Portland’s Gorham’s Corner neighborhood. South Street originally ran from Spring to Free Streets with the current section being laid out around 1830. This is the same time frame that our subject was built. The earliest parts of South Street were removed during the era of Urban Renewal and now lie under the Cross Arena.
West End Walks. 2 interesting little places.
94 Pine Street & 137 Emery Street
A wonderful pair of Queen Anne homes tucked into the corner of Pine & Emery Streets. These are some of the unsung heroes of the West End
West End Walks. 75 Vaughan Street
75 Vaughan Street. A Gothic mashup with some truly wonderful features.
This is not a ‘pretty’ house.
West End Walks. 387 Spring Street
387 Spring Street. A ‘moving’ story.
Nestled on a tree-lined lot at the far western end of Spring Street, this little gem is a voice from a much earlier time. Continue reading
West End Walks. 387 Danforth Street
387 Danforth Street. A home from the deeper past.
387 Danforth Street. The William Vaughan house. This is from a much earlier era than it’s neighbors. The tighter, symmetrical, massing along with matched chimneys, first-floor windows that are much taller than the second floor, and the strongly detailed entryway with arched window above place it squarely in the Federal Style. Continue reading
Portland House Stories 